The author writes this article to remind art educators of the importance of crafts in art education. They have noticed that scant attention is given to crafts in contemporary art education in the United States. Through this article, the author would like to reflect on why crafts are essential in art education by considering their role in…

A theory of art education is suggested which is likened to the facets of Rubik's cube. The parts of this theory include understanding the value of art in education, giving visual form to ideas, responding to visual information, planning and teaching, and evaluating art learning. (IS)

Asserting that elementary classroom teachers want and need specific, inexpensive, practical art projects and that art educators in teacher education should supply such projects and ensure their aesthetic and philosophical soundness, the author describes a scheme for generating a year's worth of such activities for each grade level, K-6.…

Art teachers should view themselves as part of the total organizational structure of schools with art curricula written in the same form and with the same degree of specificity as that of other disciplines. Art teachers must invite scrutiny and use accountability to develop support for their programs. (RM)

Alberta's (Canada) new 1984 elementary art curriculum, which is described here, has as its central focus the child as artist. It is concerned with having children think and behave as artists. (RM)

Examined are inadequacies of the eclectic or contextualist classroom principle, defined as a philosophy of art education which selects scholarly art content offerings related to the production, criticism, and history of art as it relates to the school environment or context present in a particular time and place. (RM)

Art teachers should create individualized learning programs for their students. Such art programs can assure personalized programs for disabled students and elevate the development of basic skills in art, artistic expression, and art appreciation. (Author/RM)

Maintains that a continually recurring task for art educators is preparing, delivering, and revising instruction design to help student achieve art curriculum goals. Describes a course to develop instructional materials using multimedia computer software. Includes 11 figures illustrating the technique. (CFR)

Maintains that postmodernism is a complex set of cultural and historical phenomena that is easy to discuss, but difficult to describe or to teach adequately. Outlines undergraduate and graduate seminars in art education that focused on postmodernism and the visual arts. Includes student comments about the course. (CFR)

Describes observations of art education in a Japanese junior high school during a three-month period in 1990. Discusses the teacher's role, classroom environment, course objectives, and teacher-student interaction. Identifies cultural differences and how they affect instructional methods and student achievement. (CFR)