transforming art education in saudi arabia: inclusion of

TRANSFORMING ART EDUCATION IN SAUDI ARABIA: INCLUSION OF

SOCIAL ISSUES IN ART EDUCATION

Ghadah Shukri H. Albakri

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

August 2020

APPROVED: Jim Laney, Major Professor Carol Wickstrom, Major Professor Dan Krutka, Committee Member Nadine Kalin, Committee Member Misty Sailors, Chair of the Department of

Teacher Education and Administration Randy Bomer, Dean of the College of

Education Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse

Graduate School

Albakri, Ghadah Shukri H. Transforming Art Education in Saudi Arabia: Inclusion of

Social Issues in Art Education. Doctor of Philosophy (Curriculum and Instruction), August 2020,

242 pp., 26 tables, 24 figures, 3 appendices, references, 217 titles.

The purpose of this study was to describe in-service Saudi Arabian art education

teachers’ (a) philosophies of education before and after an issues-based art education (IBAE)

workshop, (b) perceptions of the IBAE workshop and its products, (c) perception of the

importance of IBAE approach, reasons, topics, and challenges after the workshop, and (d)

perception of IBAE within the Saudi Arabian context. A mixed-methods approach was followed.

The qualitative portion of the study utilized a post-workshop questionnaire and reflective essay

completed by 37 participants, and personal teaching journal protocol and focus group discussion

from 18 participants who attended the workshop and implemented the IBAE lesson in their

classrooms. Analysis of the data confirmed that art teachers’ perspectives towards IBAE

positively increased after attending the IBAE workshop. Specifically, in the quantitative

findings, participants indicated a positive attitude toward the teaching philosophy of social

reconstruction after the IBAE workshop. These results demonstrate that the tenets of social

reconstruction align with the IBAE approach. In addition, the quantitative data suggests that

teacher participants’ overall perception of the importance of addressing social issues in the art

curriculum was positive, with 91.9% of respondents agreeing. Overall the qualitative findings,

indicated a positive attitude toward the IBAE workshop. Further, the analysis confirmed that

these teachers had positive perspectives toward incorporating social issues in their art education

again in their classroom of the IBAE approach especially within the Saudi Arabian context.

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Copyright 2020

By

Ghadah Shukri H Albakri

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Achieving my dream of earning a Ph.D. would not have been possible without the

support of my family, committee members, and friends. I would like to dedicate this study to my

family. Without their love and support, I would not have been able to complete this journey. To

my parents, Shukri and Khairiah, thank you for your prayers and your support, which have kept

me optimistic during the process of completing this study. Special appreciation goes to my dear

husband Dhafer, for being my rock and supporting everything, and our two sons, Mazen and

Battal; thank you for offering help, patient, and being supportive. Thank you to my brothers

Faisal and Hussam, and my sisters Maha, Jameela, Shatha, Reema, and Shahad, for being

supportive all the time. Thank you to all of my friends and relatives, who supported me and kept

asking when I would return home. I thank the Islamic Society in Denton, especially Imam

Mohamed and sister Marie. Indeed, huge thanks go to the Saudi government for providing the

scholarship for me to attain my degree. I would like to acknowledge my committee members,

first, Dr. Carol Wickstrom, whom I appreciate beyond words. Dr. Wickstrom, I would like to

thank you for guiding me through the entire process and particularly for your expert help in the

qualitative part. Thank you for being so supportive and kind. Dr. Jim Laney, your guidance,

contribution, and role as a Major Professor were a valuable part of my dissertation writing

process and in the creation of a professional development IBAE workshop. Dr. Laney, thank you

for your support, time, and knowledge in preparing the art workshop, which made my

dissertation much more powerful and fruitful. Dr. Nadine Kalin and Dr. Dan Krutka, thank you

for your support, time, knowledge, and optimistic motivation. Finally, thank to Dr. Jeffrey Rasch

and Jim Redmond, for their support, time, and commitment. Their constant support, help, and

encouragement improved my dissertation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii

LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ...................................................................... 1

The Global Movement to Integrate Social Issues Within Art Education ........................... 2

Saudi Arabian Integration of Social Issues Within Art Education ..................................... 3

The Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................... 6

The Method of Study .......................................................................................................... 8

Potential Contributions of the Study ................................................................................... 9

Organization of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ............................................................. 11

Research Question 1 ......................................................................................................... 11

Vision 2030 ........................................................................................................... 11

Changes Related to Arts Education ...................................................................... 12


The Historical Roots of Art Education in Saudi Arabia ....................................... 13

The Phases of Growth and Development.............................................................. 14


The Current Status of Saudi Art Learning and Teaching ..................................... 20

Saudi Art Education and/or Social Studies ........................................................... 22

Needed Developments in Light of Recent Socio-Political Changes in Saudi Arabia .................................................................................................................... 23


The History of the IBAE (IBAE) Approach ......................................................... 25

Instructional Strategy of the IBAE (IBAE) Approach .......................................... 27

Definition and the Procedures of Using IBAE (IBAE) ........................................ 28


Humanistic and Social Reconstruction Concept Foundation with IBAE: Why? . 30

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Conceptual Foundations of the IBAE Approach .................................................. 31

Philosophies for Humanism and Social Reconstructionism in Light of the IBAE in Saudi Arabia.......................................................................................................... 39

My Positions and Examples .................................................................................. 43


Art Education Approaches in Light of Social Issues ............................................ 44

Why was IBAE Chosen for this Study? ................................................................ 50




The Importance of Issues-Centered Education ..................................................... 56

The Imperative to Make Issues-Centered Education Part of the School Curriculum............................................................................................................................... 57

The Global Movement to Integrate Issues-Centered Education Within the Art Curriculum ............................................................................................................ 58

How Issues-Centered Education Informs Art Education ...................................... 59

Applying Issues-Centered Education in the Art Curriculum ................................ 65

Example of Informing Students about Social Issues in Art Education ................. 68

IBAE: Example of a Particular Educator .............................................................. 71

Research Question 10 ....................................................................................................... 73

Research Question 11 ....................................................................................................... 74

Recommendations for Using IBAE ...................................................................... 74

Possibilities and Limitations Offered by Various Approaches ............................. 75

IBAE in the Saudi Context ................................................................................... 77

To Achieve the 2030 Vision in the Art Education Curriculum ............................ 80 CHAPTER 3. METHOD OF THE STUDY ................................................................................. 82

Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................. 82

Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 83

Research Sites and Participants ........................................................................................ 84

Instruments ........................................................................................................................ 85

Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Questionnaire ........................................................... 85

Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire ............................................ 85

Modified Milbrandt (2002) Questionnaire ............................................................ 86

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Personal Teaching Journal Protocol and Focus Group Suggested Questions Protocol ................................................................................................................. 86

Mixed-Method the Research Design ................................................................................ 87

Procedures for Answering Questions................................................................................ 89

Data Collection and Analysis............................................................................................ 94

Pretest and Posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Questionnaire ........................... 94

Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire ............................................ 95

Modified Milbrandt (2002) Questionnaire ............................................................ 96

Personal Teaching Journal Protocol and Focus Group Discussion ...................... 98

Inductive Approach ........................................................................................................... 99

Thematic Analysis Approach .......................................................................................... 100

Possible Threats and Complications ............................................................................... 103

Credibility and Trustworthiness of the Study ................................................................. 103 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS OF THE STUDY ............................................................................... 105

The Demographic Characteristics of the Participants ..................................................... 105

Quantitative Analysis and Findings ................................................................................ 112

Research Question 1 ........................................................................................... 112

Research Question 3 ........................................................................................... 120

Qualitative Analysis and Findings .................................................................................. 129

Phase 1: Prepare and Explore Data, Identify Big Ideas ...................................... 131

Phase 2 A: Re-read, Examine Data, Create Coded Data, Place Coded Data in Sub-Categories ........................................................................................................... 132

Phase 2B: Data Summary, Revise Coding Scheme ............................................ 137

Phase 3: Focus Coding Scheme and Report Findings ........................................ 145

Category 1: Evaluation of IBAE by Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire ...................................................................................................... 147

Category 2: Perception of IBAE Lesson Plan Generation and Implementation by Using Journal Protocol and Focus Group Discussion......................................... 152

Summary ......................................................................................................................... 160 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS..................................................................... 163

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 163

Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 167

Conclusions Related to Quantitative Results, Research Question 1 ................... 167

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Conclusions Related to Qualitative Results, Research Question 2 ..................... 169

Conclusions Related to Quantitative Results, Research Question 3 ................... 175

Conclusions Related to Qualitative Research Data, Research Question 4 ......... 178

Merging the Quantitative and Qualitative Data .............................................................. 190

The Qualitative Confirmed Quantitative Analyses/Findings for Question 1...... 190

The Qualitative Confirmed Quantitative Analyses/Findings for Question 2...... 192

Relationship of the Conclusions to the Teaching Philosophies of Social Reconstructionism and Progressivism ................................................................ 193

Implications and Challenges for Classroom Practice ..................................................... 196

Recommendations for School Leaders, Teachers and Teacher Educators, National Curriculum Leaders, and Future Researchers ................................................................. 198

School Leaders .................................................................................................... 198

Teachers and Teacher Educators ........................................................................ 199

National Curriculum Leaders .............................................................................. 200

Future Researchers .............................................................................................. 201 APPENDIX A. STUDY ITEMS................................................................................................. 203 APPENDIX B. IBAE WORKSHOP PICTURES ...................................................................... 214 APPENDIX C. LIST OF IBAE ARTWORKS’ PICTURES...................................................... 216 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 228

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LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 3.1. List of Instruments to Collect Data .............................................................................. 84

Table 3.2. The Research Timeline ................................................................................................ 88

Table 4.1. Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Demographic Variables: Age..................................................................................................................................................... 106

Table 4.2. Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Demographic Variables: Highest Qualification (Degree) and Academic Major ................................................................ 106

Table 4.3. Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Years of Teaching Experience, Level Taught, Number of Years Teaching Current Grade Level, and Teaching Experience at Grade Level(s) ............................................................................................................................ 107

Table 4.4. Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Teaching Experience by Subject......................................................................................................................................... 108

Table 4.5. Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding the Types of Art Lesson Used and Social Issues/Topics Addressed ........................................................................................... 108

Table 4.6. Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Subject Matter Knowledge and Formal Backgrounds ................................................................................................................... 110

Table 4.7. Paired Sample Descriptive Statistics at Pretest and Posttest for Four Teaching Philosophies (N = 37) ................................................................................................................. 113

Table 4.8. Paired Sample t-Test Results: Paired Differences for the Four Pretest-Posttest Teaching Philosophy Variables .................................................................................................. 115

Table 4.9. Percentages of Art Education In-service Teachers’ Disagreement Responses at Pretest and Posttest on Kauchak & Eggen’s Questionnaire (2014), from High to Low ......................... 117

Table 4.10. Percentages of Art Education In-service Teachers’ Agreement Responses at Pretest and Posttest on Kauchak & Eggen’s Questionnaire (2014), from High to Low ......................... 119

Table 4.11. Response Alternative Percentages Related to Addressing Contemporary Social Issues within the Art Curriculum ........................................................................................................... 121

Table 4.12. Response Alternative Percentages for the Importance of Addressing Contemporary Social Issues Within the Art Curriculum and for Underlying Reasons/Rationales .................... 122

Table 4.13. Response Alternative Percentages for the Importance of Various Contemporary Social Issues/Topics in the Art Curriculum ................................................................................ 123

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Table 4.14. Response Alternative Percentages for the Importance of Various Challenges in Addressing Contemporary Social Issues Within the Art Curriculum ......................................... 124

Table 4.15. Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for the Importance of Addressing Contemporary Social Issues within the Art Curriculum (N = 37) .............................................. 125

Table 4.16. Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for Underlying Reasons/Rationales for Addressing Contemporary Social Issues within the Art Curriculum (N = 37) ........................... 126

Table 4.17. Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for the Importance of Various Contemporary Social Issues/Topics in the Art Curriculum (N = 37) ................................................................. 127

Table 4.18. Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for the Importance of Various Challenges in Addressing Contemporary Social Issues in the Art Curriculum (N = 37) .................................. 129

Table 4.19. Qualitative Data Analysis Procedures ..................................................................... 131

Table 4.20. Phase 2A: Re-Read, Examine Data, Create Code Data, Place Coded Data in Categories ................................................................................................................................... 135

Table 4.21. Example of the Sub-Categories Collapsed into One Coding Scheme ..................... 139

Table 4.22. Tag Cloud from Phase 2B: Revised Coding Schemes of Polished and Non-Repetitive Codes........................................................................................................................................... 140

Table 4.23. Phase 3: Category 1 ................................................................................................. 148

Table 4.24. Phase 3: Category 2 ................................................................................................. 153

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 4.1. Percentage plots of types of art lesson used. ............................................................ 109

Figure 4.2. Percentage plots of social issues addressed .............................................................. 109

Figure 4.3. Line graph based on % of responses to subject matter knowledge levels. ............... 111

Figure 4.4. Line graph based on % of responses to formal background levels .......................... 111

Figure 4.5. Circle/pie graph of the teachers’ prior backgrounds in IBAE. ................................. 112

Figure 4.6. Mean plots of art education teachers’ philosophies before and after the IBAE workshop. .................................................................................................................................... 114

Figure 4.7. Percentage plots of art education teachers’ pretest-posttest disagreement responses..................................................................................................................................................... 118

Figure 4.8. Percentage plots of art education teachers’ pretest-posttest agreement responses. .. 119

Figure 4.9. Tag cloud from Phase 2 (B): Revised coding schemes of polished and non-repetitive codes. .......................................................................................................................................... 144

Figure 4.10. Category 1 word cloud for coding schemes. .......................................................... 147

Figure 4.11. Category 2 word cloud for coding schemes. .......................................................... 153

Figure 4.12. Final focus coding schemes showing the final relationships between sub-categories...................................................................................................................................................... 161

Figure 5.1. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for benefits of IBAE and the IBAE workshop..................................................................................................................... 171

Figure 5.2. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for quality of IBAE workshop ..................................................................................................................................... 171

Figure 5.3. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for reasons for using IBAE approach............................................................................................................................ 172

Figure 5.4. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for teachers' perceptions of IBAE workshop ...................................................................................................................... 174

Figure 5.5. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for the challenges in IBAE and the IBAE workshop ................................................................................................... 174

Figure 5.6. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for IBAE within Saudi society ......................................................................................................................................... 179

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Figure 5.7. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for IBAE lesson implementation process .............................................................................................................. 181

Figure 5.8. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for teachers’ views of IBAE implementation ................................................................................................................. 182

Figure 5.9. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for students' behaviors based on teachers' observations .................................................................................................. 185

Figure 5.10. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for topics generation..................................................................................................................................................... 186

Figure 5.11. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for challenges in implementation of IBAE lessons ................................................................................................ 187

Figure 5.12. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for improvements and suggestions .................................................................................................................................. 189

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

In the 21st century worldwide, there has been increased interest in art education programs

aimed at producing art that incorporates or comments on social issues. Alazmi (2017) and

Nordlund, Speires, and Stewart (2010) have described these developments. This movement was

in agreement with what artists themselves do. Artists have often played a key role in social

movements, addressing such social issues as violence, racism, and terrorism. For example, the

paintings, photographs, and poetry they have created question, challenge, and aim to change

situations of inequity.

Through artistic expression, as Petru (2016) argues, artists can change and challenge

cultural narratives. Like other Arab countries, Saudi Arabia has tended toward ignorance about

contemporary art, and there is a lack of such practices at schools because of the influence of what

is culturally acceptable and of social aspects such as religion, tradition, and gender. Saudi Arabia

is now seeing some change (AlSaud & Qurban, 2016; Al-Mutairi, 2017). For example, Mission

2030, a plan to reduce dependence on oil, diversify the economy, and develop public service

sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism, has been initiated.

Art education in Saudi Arabia appears to be undergoing change, too, so there may now be

space within the art curriculum for students to use art to explore social issues. In 2016, Saudi

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman issued an authoritative document entitled Vision 2030,

which describes Saudi Arabia as the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds and the hub connecting

three continents. Not only does it present goals for enhancing Saudi Arabia's economy and

positioning the country more prominently in global markets, but it also presents changes to be

made in the social infrastructure, including education. One of the three major themes is that of a

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“vibrant society.” With this document, the country is committed to increasing the number and

variety of cultural activities and to showcasing Saudis’ myriad talents. Attention is given to

developing children’s character, including “social skills, cultural knowledge, and self-awareness”

by “reshaping our academic and educational system” (p. 28). Mention is made of preparing a

“modern curriculum.” Vision 2030 focuses on promoting and reinvigorating social development

to build an active and productive community.

Even though there is a global movement to integrate social issues within the curriculum

and within art education specifically, a review of prior studies revealed that there are gaps in our

knowledge about the ways art teachers are able to survive in difficult circumstances, to make

changes in their programs to accommodate the requirements of various kinds of students, to learn

more about the art forms native to their country and community, and to respond to pressures of a

global nature (Alamoud,1991; Al-Salloum, 1995; Alsaud & Qurban, 2016; Alshehri, 2005;

Kattan, 2015; Lutfi, 2018).

The Global Movement to Integrate Social Issues Within Art Education

Art can be used as a means of exploring the basic values related to social issues affecting

the community. Some scholars (Albers, 1999; Atkinson & Dash, 2005; Beauregard, Gunter, &

Paquette, 2017; Carpenter, Cornelius, & Sherow, 2010; Chalmers, 1996; Chang, Lim, & Kim,

2012; David & McCaughan, 2006; Freedman, 2000; Lindström, 2014) have pointed to the

potential of art to strengthen education through the lessons it provides on social issues. Art has a

unique ability to bring us onto a path to social change; it can play a significant role in the

community.

Several scholars have provided recommendations for pedagogy. For example, Chang,

Lim, and Kim (2012) have suggested three strategies to teach art education, one of which is an

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issues-based approach. They emphasize using social and cultural issues as a foundation for an art

course. In a similar recommendation, Taylor, Carpenter, Ballengee-Morris, and Sessions (2006)

have suggested that “rather than basing curriculum on learning a medium or technique, we

recommend that art teachers base their units of instruction on a problem, issue, or question

gleaned from works of art and visual culture” (p. 39). This method enables students and art

teachers to be more reflective when framing societal issues and enacting solutions. Finally,

Carpenter II (2019) agreed with Ross Schlemmer (2017) when he confirmed that an “art

education scholar should emphasize a new terrain of consciousness that is socially responsible

and ethically sound and goes beyond mere promotion of aesthetic quality to contribute to

improved quality of life” (p. 165). This kind of work is often grounded in the community.

Art for Life offers practical ideas for revealing the meaning and connection of art to

humanity. This kind of art helps art teachers and students become effective, active, and

functional in their community. Unlike most art pedagogy approaches, Art for Life presents a

holistic path and process to the art curriculum, during classroom explanation and overall art

content presentation, attractive to art students today (Anderson & Milbrandt, 2004). Thus, this

research has helped future art teachers and in-service art teachers, and it has promoted teaching

and learning of art for life and the consideration of the importance of IBAE.

Saudi Arabian Integration of Social Issues Within Art Education

Islamic art was the foundation of artistic vision in Saudi Arabia before the immigration

into the country of citizens of neighboring countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco,

with which Saudi Arabia participates in terms of cultural history. Through this immigration, the

mixing of Islamic art and Western art became Modern Arabian Art. Distinctions between

Western and Middle Eastern art are essential, and so are distinctions between Western and

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Middle Eastern art education. In the 19th century, Bassiouny (1984) listed a variety of factors that

differentiate the style of art education in the Middle East from Western art education and pointed

out that “within taste and style there are the tempo, attitudes, habits, and reaction to visual reality

which the Easterner has acquired through a long history of living in a certain environment” (p.

147).

A deep-rooted Islamic heritage defines Saudi culture and society. Contemporary arts

appear in the Islamic-Arab-Saudi culture. The Saudis’ art reflects their values, traditions, and

customs, which are apparent in their dress, display, sculptures, portraiture, dance, photography,

festivals, architecture, and museums—and also in their classroom art education. Several galleries

have been established for the youngest artists in different art fields such as digital photography,

animation and cartoons, caricature, and portraiture.

Today, the Kingdom is witnessing a revival in the arts. By 2012, the Saudi art scene had

become very much alive. Danforth (2016) listed the following kinds of art created by young

artists: “conceptual art, digital art, installation art, performance art, pop art, street art, and video

art” (p. 97). Youth have formed networks and collaborations related to art. Contemporary Saudi

art has become a significant component of the Middle Eastern cultural infrastructure. Saudi

contemporary artwork has many new talents and initiatives, and art markets are contributing to

the development of the Saudi Arabian art scene. This emphasis on new and exciting art has led to

an increase in artistic production as well as is its reception.

Art education—focused on visual arts, dance, theater, and music—also seems to be

undergoing change. There may now be space within the art curriculum for students to use art to

explore social issues. According to Al Zahrani (1988), the first art policy was made official in

1957. The history of art education is connected to the history of general education. Over the

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years, art education has faced serious challenges associated with resources, but a major challenge

has been a lack of awareness of its importance. Although art education has had to go through

difficult circumstances, it has become increasingly important. Fathal (1990) described the goals

of art education in Saudi schools as seeking to help students progress in the following areas:

“emotional growth, intellectual development, physical development, perception, social

development, aesthetics, creativity, the use of the senses, respect for and love of work, self-

expression and the relieving of frustrations, self-confidence, knowledge of tools and equipment”

(p. 5). Also, he added two more contributions: the expansion of knowledge of art terminology

and the power to benefit the individual and the community.

Today, visual art education is taught in K-12 grade schools for two hours every week. Art

has become a fundamental school subject in which students may pass to the next level or fail

according to their achievement. However, some private or international schools and art

organizations have provided classes in other kinds of arts. In 2018, the Ministry of Education in

Saudi Arabia provided the national art education curriculum and free textbooks for K-12 grades.

The current Saudi art education curriculum, which is grounded in policy established in 2008,

remains open for further developments and revisions.

According to the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2018), the

education policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia indicates that art education should emphasize

society, the environment, social issues, and the cultural environment. Also, it should meet the

students’ needs and be motivated by the effort to ensure student learning and creativity. Further,

art should concentrate on the characteristics of the learner and should support the rapid

development of the student’s mental abilities through training in criticism in spoken or written

forms and discussion with adults or peers of social issues in the Saudi community. Thus, the art

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education curriculum and systems have the potential to promote student engagement in

community projects that are socially constructed through collaborative practices. There is a need

for research to be conducted in the same context, leading to analysis from different perspectives.

My dissertation focuses on art education in Saudi Arabia—its current status and future

directions with respect to social issues. The findings show a need for teaching about issues in art

education. In this investigation, I examined the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education

teachers’ philosophy, beliefs, opinions, and perceptions of social IBAE, specifically within the

context of Saudi Arabian society.

The Purpose of the Study

As a lecturer at Princess Noura University, I started my career as an issues-centered

teacher. That orientation increased through my developmental journey as a teacher. When I

moved from art education to the curriculum and instruction department, I engaged with the

question of how to make the theoretical subject interesting for students and more beneficial and

important for the community. I switched the focus in the syllabus from the dry theoretical

information and presentations in the textbook to creating projects and group tasks, each of which

selected and practiced the values important to the society. For example, students were asked to

step outside their own experience and interests for assistance with their work by interviewing

individuals in the community. The classrooms were alive, as they had never before been

regarding students’ relationships with their classmates.

In the beginning, some students resisted this instruction because they felt it was more

difficult than listening to the lecture and having tests at the end of the semester. However, in the

final report, these students learned and love the subject more than they would have with more

7

traditional treatment. They also ended up with more creative ideas and questions. They reached

and discovered knowledge beyond the scope of an essay or test.

Besides, as a Saudi Arabian and an international student who has lived in the U.S. for

more than seven years, I have been positioned between two cultures. While living and studying

in the U.S., I have become increasingly aware of global developments in art education, and I am

motivated to learn more about status in my country. Moreover, as a Saudi who lives out of the

country now, I have heard from abroad about new plans for the country, including curriculum

changes or additions that address social issues. I would like to explore the inclusion of social

issues in the Saudi art education curriculum.

In “The Role of Art Education in Interpreting and Controlling Ethical and Social

Behavior Among Students in General Education Grades,” Alshehri (2005) gave insights on the

role played by art education in explaining and encouraging moral and social behavior of general

education pupils and the importance of using this kind of art. To achieve this goal, he

recommends linking art education with social issues and moral behavior in order to have a

positive influence on students' personality development. He confirms the importance of giving

more focus to art education in the school timetable and working for better qualification of art

education teachers. In addition, he recommended doing more research in Saudi art education

research focusing on moral behavior and social issues.

Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe in-service Saudi Arabian art education

teachers’ (a) philosophies of education before and after an IBAE workshop, (b) perceptions of

the IBAE workshop and its effects, (c) perception of the importance of IBAE approach, reasons,

topics, and challenges after the workshop, and, (d) perception of IBAE within the Saudi Arabian

context.

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Q1: What is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching before and after a professional development workshop on teaching about social issues with and through art?

Q2: After participating in a professional development workshop on social IBAE, what is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan generation and activity?

Q3: After participating in a professional development workshop on social IBAE, what is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of (a) the IBAE approach, (b) reasons for using IBAE, (c) various potential social issues topics in IBAE, and (d) various potential challenges in addressing social issues by using IBAE?

Q4: After participating in a professional development workshop on social IBAE and after implementing an original IBAE lesson plan, what is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of the lesson implementation activity and of social IBAE, especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society?

The Method of Study

A mixed methods approach was followed. Teddlie and Tashakorri (2009) have described

the mixed methods approach, which integrates quantitative and qualitative criteria, as an

alternative to the qualitative-quantitative dichotomy. This study drew pragmatically from both

traditions in data collection and analysis. My research answered questions from a number of

perspectives to make sure there was no gap in the information and data collected. According to

Stange, Crabtree, and Miller (2006), mixed methods research involves “integrating quantitative

and qualitative approaches to generating new knowledge and can involve either concurrent or

sequential use of these two classes of methods to follow a line of inquiry” (p. 292).

The quantitative part of the study consisted of a pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen

(2014) questionnaire and modified questionnaires from Milbrandt (2002) to be completed by 30-

50 in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers. These instruments were used to answer

Research Questions 1 and 3 respectively.

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The qualitative part of the study utilized a post-workshop questionnaire and reflective

essay to answer Research Question 2. It also utilized a teaching journal protcol on lesson

implementation and a focus group discussion session to answer Research Question 4. The

qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis.

Potential Contributions of the Study

Previous research has examined various changes in Saudi Arabia’s art education through

the years (ALSaud & Qurban, 2016; Alshehri, 2001; Al-Mutairi, 2017). These prior studies,

however, have not focused on the capacity of Saudi art education, current or envisioned, to

address social issues. Moreover, they have not studied Saudi Arabian in-service art education

teachers’ philosophy, beliefs, or opinions about addressing contemporary social issues in art

education classrooms.

Saudi Arabia has indicated it seeks to become less isolated and more engaged as a

society, and Saudi art shows this inclination as well. But what about children’s art education? Is

it becoming more socially cognizant and more socially engaged, too? With this study, I

examined the in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy, beliefs, and opinions

about addressing contemporary social issues in art education classrooms, a goal which has not

been attempted before.

Organization of the Dissertation

This introductory chapter has provided an overview of the study, which is described in

more detail in subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 provides a review of related literature, which

includes the following major areas: the relation of art to social issues, the effect of integrating

these areas, the extent to which the art education curriculum is following this trend, and the

extent to which art education teachers are adopting this orientation. Chapter 3 describes the

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methods of the study, including quantitative and qualitative data collection. Chapter 4 presents

the findings from the analyses of both kinds of data, and Chapter 5 is a discussion of those

findings in terms of what they contribute to our understanding of addressing social issues within

art education, specifically in Saudi Arabia.

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The culture of Saudi Arabia is a rich one that has been shaped by the country’s Islamic

heritage, its historical and traditional role as an ancient trade center, and its Bedouin traditions.

The community in Saudi Arabia has experienced tremendous improvement over the past several

decades. The Saudi people have taken their values and traditions – their customs, hospitality, and

even their style of dress – and adapted them to the modern world. Saudi traditions are rooted in

Islamic teachings and Arab customs, which Saudis learn about at an early age from their families

and in schools. Fifty years ago, conservative groups banned some forms of art and exerted great

influence over the Saudi society. However, today the new vision has led to great changes in the

Saudi community.

Research Question 1

What changes are currently taking place in Saudi Arabia, and how do these relate to arts education?

Saudi Arabia has developed rapidly since the explosion of the oil industry, from 1938

onward. As the oil industry really took off and became a huge part of the economy, it suddenly

brought great wealth to the country (Alghamedy, 1986). Since then, the country has experienced

breathtaking economic and social change that has affected people’s perspectives on life.

Vision 2030

Vision 2030, announced on 25 April 2016, can be summed up in a few words

corresponding to the main axes of the vision: a thriving economy, a vibrant society, and an

ambitious homeland. Additionally, there have been changes in art since 2016. The plan included

the creation of the world’s largest Islamic Museum as part of the motivation for producing

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Islamic art. Moreover, there are transformative relations between the state and its citizens,

politically, economically, and socially. In Vision 2030, the Saudi government indicates a degree

of social liberalization to permit the growth of the entertainment and tourism activities, as well as

comprehensive reforms to the education system, and a huge emphasis on education reform,

theaters, museums, concerts, and art exhibitions. According to Kinninmont (2016), “Vision 2030

envisages a Saudi Arabia made up of citizens who are more active and independent: better

educated, more capable of critical thinking, more entrepreneurial, many working in the private

sector” (p. 41). All of these social contract austerity measures, transformations, and changes

require engagement from the Saudi community to achieve their goals and overcome obstacles.

Changes Related to Arts Education

The Saudi arts can be categorized into eight areas: archeological heritage, architecture,

calligraphy, cultural institutions, folk music and dancing, poetry, heritage and culture, and

traditional dress and jewelry. Art education in Saudi Arabia has been affected by several factors,

including religion, tradition, culture, politics, and previous civilizations’ art. Islam is the

government’s official religion and is the foundation of the country's laws. The vast majority of

Saudi citizens are Muslim. Saudi Arabia may be the most conservative country in the Middle

East. Saudi Arabian art education (as reflected by national curriculum documents), the adopted

art textbooks, and the teaching practices of classroom teachers, all reflect these factors.

Fifty years ago, art was relatively neglected and ignored. There was only one type of art

in the community and schools, visual art. Other kinds of art were banned. Because of

conservative groups, there was a minimalist view of artists, arts, and art disciplines despite the

long and powerful history of the arts in Islam. Even though art was limited fifty years ago in the

areas of both art and art education in Saudi Arabia, today the situation has become different

13

because of the new Vision 2030. All bans against forms of art have been removed and canceled.

While in the past art was undervalued, considered boring, and restricted, art education today is

important and has become an important class in schools (Almuraie, 2019). Furthermore, other

forms of art have also been taught in schools, such as music education.

Responding to the new vision, billions have been invested in the culture and in

encouraging art activity, for example, through the government leaders’ announcement of a

projected $64 billion investment, in connection with the private sector, into cultural development

over the next decade (Mohammad, 2018). Indeed, under the comprehensive reforms, Saudi

Arabia is changing—rapidly. For example, the first cinemas have been opened. An opera house

is already underway. Furthermore, entertainment cities, music festivals, graffiti, and public art

installations have popped up. Visual art and art centers are supported, which is a central

development in this complete cultural transformation. The Crown Prince purchased Leonardo da

Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. Recently, he has announced the creation of the Misk Art Institute, an

artist-led organization promoted by the Misk Foundation and funded by the state.

Research Question 2

What is the history of art education in Saudi Arabia?

The Historical Roots of Art Education in Saudi Arabia

One difficulty in surveying the historical roots of art education in Saudi Arabia is that,

according to Al-Risais (2010), there is limited research about the Saudi art situation and history

as compared with the nation’s political, social, and geographical development; thus, he wrote

The History of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia in order to explore the history of Saudi art and the

development of the art field in the country. Saudi Arabian art falls under two categories: visual

art and plastic art. In various artistic fields, artists produce work using a variety of techniques,

https://news.artnet.com/about/arsalan-mohammad-710

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tools, and materials including sculpture, drawing, pottery, ceramics, murals, graphics, engraving,

and porcelain, in addition to caricature, Arabic calligraphy, design, fashion, advertising, and

photography.

In the history of Saudi art education, the teaching of painting faced strong opposition

from some conservative scholars who protested against its endorsement in the public education

program. Their point of view was that drawing is photography and that photography (i.e.

simulating images of God's creation) is prohibited in Islam. However, people gradually

understood that drawing is not just like photography; instead, it is a means of expression of taste

relating to aesthetic values in things and in nature, and these aesthetic values are reflected in the

behavior and actions of the learner. King Abdul Aziz (1876 -1953) took a decisive position

towards not accepting the opinion of those who advanced the practice of drawing. The effort to

prevent the teaching of drawing continued and extended to opposition against some other kinds

of art such as music, drama, and portraiture.

The Phases of Growth and Development

According to Al-Risais (2010), art has been developed in four phases in Saudi Arabia: the

first from 1908 to 1970, the second from 1971 to 1980, the third from 1981 to 2002, and the

fourth from 2003 to 2010. Modernity has arrived in the Kingdom, with its intellectual and

technical effects. Also, art has influenced other fields which can be identified with negative

effects such as cultural weakness in the Ottoman era, Western colonialism, and the role of the

media. Arab culture had a negative view of formalism, but other influences have been seen as

positive.

The kingdom did not undergo any kind of western colonialism. However, the kingdom,

like other countries, still made use of the foreign and Arab expertise necessary to promote

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growth and development, in line with its vision and position within the Arab Islamic world. The

teaching and learning of art education went through different stages in Saudi schools and

communities in the history of the Kingdom. In this section, I will discuss the most important

events that took place in the development of art education in Saudi Arabia.

The First Phase (1908-1970)

The area of the modern-day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia consists primarily of four different

regions: Hejaz, Najd, and the areas of Eastern and Southern Arabia. The Kingdom was founded

in 1932 by Ibn Saud. He combined the four regions into a single state through a series of

successful campaigns starting in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh. School education in Saudi

Arabia began during this stage. This phase also saw the beginning of art in Saudi Arabia. The

current configuration of art education in the nation also began during this phase.

Al-Risais (2010) stated that drawing materials should be included in the study plan at the

charity school in Makkah in 1908. This was followed by the teaching of traditional crafts in the

schools of Islamic sciences in Medina in 1925 when drawing was taught to students in the third

and fourth grades in one class each week. In 1936, the ministry of education, named Almaref,

was established, and the teaching of drawing in weekly classes in high schools was approved.

Furthermore, the documents confirm that the beginning of art education in the Kingdom came

after the first curriculum plan was approved in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1947 (Ministry

of Education, n.d.).

Furthermore, in 1952, the department of cultural affairs at the general presidency for

youth care directed attention at the affairs and talents of young people in the Kingdom and at the

planning and implementation of programs and technical activities, which are approved annually

by the department of cultural affairs. Among the basic materials in education, drawing materials

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(the phrase was also used as the old name of art education) were used at all stages or plan. In

1953, the Ministry of Education supervised the first exhibition of school activities. The Ministry

also provided group educational training courses in the classroom, aiming to raise the level of

science teaching in all fields of study for K-12 teachers, including the art field for drawing and

crafting artworks (Al-Risais, 2010).

Al-Zahrani (1988) confirmed the first approved curricula for art education in the various

elementary, intermediate, and secondary educational grades, which were established in 1957.

Then, in 1958, art education started for grades K -12 in Saudi Arabia. Then, in 1959, King Saud

bin Abdul Aziz opened the first art exhibition in the Kingdom's schools in Riyadh. In the same

year, art was adopted as part of public education for girls. Art education was called arts and

crafts. The aim was to train the students in manual skills in the use and formation of raw

materials in order to familiarize the students with patience, perseverance, and self-confidence.

In 1962, formal accreditation was adopted for art education instead of arts and crafts. The

aim was to educate students and modify their behavior aesthetically and technically through

drawing lessons and the production of works of art through automatic expression, painting, and

drawing from memory. School art exhibitions started in 1969. From that date until now, art

exhibitions in schools have become a familiar phenomenon to educational professionals, parents,

and followers of art education and its activities. In this phase, the ministry of education provided

scholarships to study abroad in Egypt, Italy, and Romania to prepare educational experts in the

field (Al-Risais, 2010).

Also, in this phase, the Institute of art education for teachers was established to prepare

the art teachers that were needed at that time. Even though the goal was educational and

academic, its establishment can be described as the cornerstone or foundation of the artistic

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background of a large number of artists of the Kingdom. At the end of this phase, as a result of

what happened earlier, personal and collective art exhibitions were begun. This led to the

existence of an active group of Arab artists in other countries and also in the Kingdom, in

Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. Finally, in 1968, the Center of Fine Arts in Jeddah was

established by the Ministry of Education. Its aim was to develop the art of asceticism by focusing

on the knowledge of nature through the "creative" artistic process and its practice and on the

veracity of the process (Al-Risais, 2010).

The Second Phase (1971-1980)

This phase saw the implementation of the fifth State's development plans for the first

time in 1970, implementation of the first two plans, and more attention than before paid to

develop arts and cultural affairs in the Kingdom. In this phase, continuing external scholarships

were provided for 80 teachers to study art education and plastic art in the U.S., Egypt, and Italy.

Furthermore, beautification projects were started in the form of artworks and the implementation

of works of art at a variety of scales. It was stipulated that the work should be carried out using

strong materials and should be solid and strong enough to withstand various weather and climate

factors, employing materials such as local stone, marble, iron, copper alloys, cement, steel, glass,

and tiles and ceramic molds. These works were placed in important locations in cities and in

places within the vision of people during their day-to-day movements, such as street

intersections, large squares, other squares, and coastal streets, as well public parks (Al-Risais,

2010).

In addition, in 1973, the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts was established. The

General Directorate for Youth Welfare became an institution of the government with an

independent personality and budget that is administratively linked to the Supreme Council for

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Youth Welfare. This phase included continuing exhibitions at different levels and places and

with different goals, including the Saudi contemporary art exhibition, The General Exhibition of

the Kingdom's Regions, and General Exhibition of Atelier. In 1974, the Ministry of Education

abolished the teaching of art education from the school curricula because it was not considered

important and mandated that the time be used for teaching other subjects. This led to the lack of

a suitable technical culture in accordance with what is presented to students in other subjects and

in comparison to what is presented to their peers around the world (Al-Risais, 2010).

The year after, art education returned to schools again, and art education departments

were established in universities to prepare art teachers and to increase the awareness of art

expression and attention to research in the art field. Since 1975, the General Presidency for Girls'

Education has published books on art and feminism for girls in what were termed home

economics classes for various grades in girls’ schools (Al-Risais, 2010). In middle and high

schools, students could choose between art education and home economics class.

The Third Phase (1981-2002)

This phase saw the beginning and spreading of plastic art internally as well as its

externalization because of the many public and private institutions that influenced the artistic

movement. In 1992, the Ministry of Education issued a new curriculum for art education in

primary and middle schools. It emerged in the form of a general framework that contained the

general objectives of art education and the specific objectives for each class. It also included

instructions to the teacher about preparing the plan and choosing the subjects that the teacher

should determine himself, whether in the area of drawing or in that of handicrafts (Al-Risais,

2010).

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During this period, plastic art became fiercely competitive in finding a suitable place in

the cultural arena, despite the many obstacles and difficulties. A large part of the activities of this

phase was a product of what had been done in the previous two phases. In this phase, external

scholarships for postgraduate studies were provided for art education faculty and teachers to

study abroad in Egypt and the U.K. This phase also saw the establishment of more programs of

art education for around 25 art education departments in different cities in the country.

Furthermore, in 1984, the Ministry of Education set guidelines for the teachers of art education at

the primary and intermediate levels (Ministry of Education, n.d.).

In this phase, beautification of buildings and government institutions with works of art

was implemented. Another effort in urban beautification was expressed through works of art, this

time inside the buildings of public government institutions. Government art galleries are an

important patron and a strong supporter of all plastic artists in developing countries. The number

of these locations, the quality of their establishment and their processing, and the diversity of

activities in them reflects a large extent the extent of the attention of the officials and their care

for this area of artistic production and what goes with it (Al-Risais, 2010).

Also, there was a contribution from other governmental institutions to the promotion of

plastic art through support for the establishment of a number of exhibitions and artistic

competitions for Saudi artists, including also nonresident artists. Furthermore, the private sector

contributed to the promotion of plastic art in four ways: cultural artistic contribution, commercial

artistic contribution, artistic media contribution, and purely commercial contribution (Al-Risais,

2010). The composition of artistic groups was one channel that was initiated and supported by

artists and private institutions. Fine art presses offered articles and news about the field of

national and international artists. Finally, the literature on fine art fell under two types, which are

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general works of literature on art and scientific studies of art (i.e., at the Master and Ph.D.

levels).

The Fourth Phase (2003-2010)

In this stage, the Ministry of Culture and Information Agency for Cultural Affairs and

The Saudi Society for Plastic Arts were established to sponsor artists and exhibitions.

Additionally, the Ministry of Culture sponsored a number of activities, including exhibitions and

collaboration in international cultural relations with other Arab and Islamic countries that are

connected to the movement’s cultural, social, and other dimensions (Al-Risais, 2010).

Research Question 3

What is the current status of art education in Saudi Arabia, and what changes are needed in light of recent socio-political changes in Saudi Arabia?

The Current Status of Saudi Art Learning and Teaching

Today, students in public elementary schools have two visual art classes weekly. Art

textbooks are provided at the beginning of every semester as electronic eBooks and as hard

copies. Teachers use art textbooks as a guide for the techniques and skills that students will learn

and practice; however, they can use any concept and idea that they wish to use. Every grade has

two textbooks for the two semesters (first and second). Also, the teacher has the teacher’s guide

art textbooks. Today, art education is one of the core classes in all general education in Saudi

classrooms from elementary to high school.

In Saudi art education, according to Al-Risais (2010), there are three main topics: (1)

sources of inspiration, (2) areas of artistic expression, and (3) artistic trends. The first subject

reflects general humanitarian issues and social issues, Islamic heritage, Arab heritage, and local

nature and heritage. The areas of general humanitarian issues and social issues include many

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issues that concern humans at any place or time and reflect the subtle interaction of artists with

them. Examples include childhood, motherhood, aging, wars and Makah, the poor, the wretched,

famine spread throughout the world, refugee problems owing to reasons of oppression, and

oppression from the relationship between the human heart and one’s fellow man. This also

includes addressing human environments or communities (Al-Risais, 2010).

Today the arts have become very different, and there has been a huge change in the

country. Recent scholars and the current king have viewed past teachings as a part and a

requirement of the past, but also as something which continues today. The current religious

authorities have become less powerful and less severe than previous conservative proponents

who viewed things the same way 50 years ago. In the new Saudi Vision 2030, the current king

confirmed not only the possibility of accepting participation in the arts but also support for

participation in this field. Many carnivals, displays, and shows are supported in the country

today. According to Dercon (2018), today, large amounts of money are flowing through the

kingdom for the purpose of increasing contemporary art and culture.

Saudi art teachers must pay attention to the emotional, social, behavioral, and academic

progress made by students, sometimes intervening and soliciting the support of colleagues when

appropriate. If necessary, they may need to change their instructional approach and provide

students with additional support to make their learning and growth as efficient as possible.

Teachers need to keep confidential and accurate records about individual students’

attendance as well as their performance and conduct in the classroom. They must enforce and

uphold the policies of their companies and school boards, as well as administrative procedures

and the rules and regulations of their school (Alamoud, 1991; Alharbi, 2017; Alheezan, 2009;

AlSaud & Qurban, 2016; Alshehri, 2005). Finally, they must participate in professional learning

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and development at the independent, school, district, and regional levels in order to further

improve their professional skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Saudi Art Education and/or Social Studies

In general, social research includes everything produced through the work of social

experts to “tell about society” (Becker, 2007). The relationship between art and social studies

makes it possible to implement both of them through a cooperative pairing in a combined

curriculum. Education of both arts and social studies may be improved sequentially and

cumulatively (Manifold, 1995). While the field of social studies presents knowledge regarding

human practices, art has the power to produce an informal understanding of human practices that

occur during personal contacts and that generate ideas, values, attitudes, and insights. Art is a

way of knowing and studying the past, present, and potentially also the future. It may reflect time

as history, geography as a place, and politics and citizenship as issues of concern to people. For

example, the teaching of visual art is one of the effective teaching methods that promote visual

and critical thinking to imagine a series of historical events or geographical places as having

interconnected basic designs of form and purpose.

In many countries such as the United States, social issues like racism, terrorism, and

social responsibility are explored in terms of citizenship education (Enslin & Ramírez-Hurtado,

2013; Swaine, 2012). However, in Saudi Arabia, as is also the case for other Arab countries,

social issues continue to be seen in terms of t traditional conception. Faour (2013), who analyzed

the status of citizenship education in Arab countries, described the promotion of “official”

religious and political views and noted limits on students’ ability to engage in discussion or to

express ideas.

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Alharbi (2017) presented a detailed description of citizenship education in Saudi Arabia,

where the emphasis is on “citizens’ responsibilities, duties, identity formation, and obedience

towards the system and how one can achieve them,” not on such values as “freedom, equality,

fairness, freedom of expression, and participation in the decision making the process” (p. 82).

Teachers are expected to keep to the official curriculum. Even the forward-looking Mission 2030

emphasizes morality over engagement.

The content of social studies appears under Islamic studies, history, geography, and

citizenship education classes. Thus, the current study considers social studies as one of these

subjects. Al-Jaber (1990) stated that the goal for teaching social education is to address and

increase the knowledge of the surrounding environment, particularly the geography of the

country and the world, the natural surroundings, and the social, political, and economic

institutions of the country. Also, Saudi social education focuses on the responsibilities and roles

of the individual in assisting the society and the important relationships between the Arabic and

Islamic world, as well as countries of the Middle East and the rest of the world. Additionally,

social education should emphasize studying with regard to the problems of the rest of the world,

such as drought, the effects of war, and the efficient and wise use of natural resources.

Needed Developments in Light of Recent Socio-Political Changes in Saudi Arabia

In Saudi social education, according to AlSaud and Qurban (2016) and Alshehri (2005),

even though art is one of the common important contemporary social sciences in its promotion of

the power of desired citizenship values for their significant role in improving an artistic function

and powerful artistic sensitivity, there is a weak relationship between the social studies and the

art education curriculum. They confirm that the role of art education is major in achieving

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societal development efforts. Thus, using art in the social studies curriculum will be of aid in

obtaining these goals.

Educators have stressed that art education could be related to issues studied in social

studies classes such as citizenship education in support of knowledge about the societal-cultural

identity, heritage, and history (Atwah, 1995). However, when it comes to art education in

schools in Saudi Arabia, social issues are often left out of most of the curricula. However, they

appear more prominently in artistic works, which can be found in some areas such as museums

in historic places in the country and in the geography or history classes. Also, artistic works can

be seen in some extracurricular activities at schools such as those involved in national day, Eid

celebration, tree day, and teacher day.

Teaching art in schools has allowed people to create aesthetically pleasing and beautiful

artwork and show their artworks at exhibitions, but it has not led to helping students to

understand themselves (Alheezan, 2009; Alshehri, 2005), or increase their knowledge about

social issues or global issues. Saudi art education merely aimed at the production of art for art’s

sake, which became a central concept for art learning in Saudi art education classes. Alamoud

(1991) studied how visual art is recognized, valued, and appreciated in Saudi culture. He found

Saudi art education was limited to studio art, with little concern for social issues. Even though art

is the mirror and window for society and can reflect society’s issues, it is obvious there is a

limited relationship between art education and society.

Focusing on the teaching and learning of social issues in art education and after reading

and analyzing all viewpoints about the teaching and learning of social issues through art

education in Saudi Arabia, I believe in the power of art education in this country. Also, I believe

that the Saudi schools can serve as a promoter of social progress; however, some important

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landmarks of progress have yet to be achieved. I believe art teachers' strong concerns can

generate ideas for art active learning that can lead to social betterment in society because I

believe we are teaching to change the world and build the community.

Research Question 4

What is issues-based art education (IBAE)?

The History of the IBAE (IBAE) Approach

Art is a vital part of the practice of social life. In Art and Citizenship: The History of a

Divorce, Wiles (2016) argued that the primary purpose of art is to create society and citizenship

as activities of the community. According to Elliott, Silverman, and Bowman (2016), art can

make a positive transformation for humankind all over the world. People have a possibility of

learning about life through art. Dewey (1934) stressed the need to integrate art with personal and

community life and connect it with the everyday experience of life. Freedman and Stuhr (2004)

believe that the aim of art education must be not only to train students to become professionals

having high-quality skills and producing quality artworks but also to increase the relevance and

meaning of those artworks, praxis, and values in people’s lives. This aim, if met, will enrich the

social production of art.

Prior to the 18th century, the idea of arts as primarily a social phenomenon was owing to

the European idea of “art for art's sake,” which meant that art was divorced from any

educational, moral, or utilitarian purpose. Théophile Gautier (1811–1872) was the first person to

use the phrase as a slogan in the introduction of Mademoiselle de Maupin’s book in 1835. Elliott,

Silverman, and Bowman (2016) confirmed the idea that art is only for “internal or aesthetic

properties of entities considered to be ‘works of art’” (p. 3). Sadly, this aspect reduces the

importance of art as a powerful expression of social, political, ethical, and moral values. As

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artists, scholars, art educators, and art researchers, we need to find evidence to support the idea

that art's true worth is its benefit for communities of actual people. The artwork is created so

humankind can live and experience their conflicts and challenges. The arts reflect also and

invariably expressions of ideological faiths, knowledge, perception, and values.

Hence, artistic attempts prove to be a type of political responsibility to consider issues

and are involved in social themes. The function of the arts must be increased ethical

responsibilities. Art reflects humankind’s praxis, sharing, expression, and critical perspective,

and it reflects the critical perspective on the artist’s community, time, and place. There are many

examples of the relationship of art to social issues, including arts such as music, crafts, or visual

art. Some of them are at the local or international level, and they deal with contemporary or old

issues (Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002). For example, many current artists have created artworks

reflecting on issues such as the Holocaust, the terrorist acts of 9/11, and the Arab spring.

Bowman (2016) explained the relationships between citizenship and responsibility

through the examination of artistic participation and its importance in association with

responsibility extended to community need. The idea of using arts for community social issues

and citizenship involves many direct and essential assumptions for the methods of education in

the arts. The essential function of the arts' praxis is helping students to recognize and face local,

national, and world dilemmas through their artworks. The aims of art are not only to teach

technical skills, aesthetics, and expression, but also to encourage a generation to recognize and

understand primary community difficulties and participate in artworks in forms that are

beneficial for humankind. Grossberg (1994) confirmed that children “gain some understanding

of their own involvement in the world and in the making of their own future” (p. 18).

In Art as Experience, Dewey (1934) claimed that art has an ethical responsibility to the

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community and that art arises from and is connected with people’s practice during their lives.

Also, if people want to make art separate from life, the value of this art will be reduced for the

sake of aesthetic benefit. Arts must be grounded in social practices and experiences. Elliott,

Silverman, and Bowman (2016) stated that “if the arts are inherently social practices, they should

be viewed, studied, and practiced as forms of ethically guided citizenship” (p. 6).

Instructional Strategy of the IBAE (IBAE) Approach

Bowman and Frega (2012) stated that in school, art teachers concentrate on the training

of art skills more than on education about the intersection between ideas and art and on personal

satisfaction more than on dilemmas and issues faced by students in their everyday lives.

However, in order for pupils to make meaning from their various contacts, they must be

encouraged to integrate knowledge into their own life. They have observed efforts to bring an

interdisciplinary approach to the schools. These efforts aim to show how the arts are linked in

substantive ways to other topic areas (Stewart & Walker, 2005).

Several art scholars such as Albers (1999), Elliott, Silverman, and Bowman (2016), and

Wiles (2016) agreed with them that the methods used for teaching and learning art today are not

adequately educative. Art educators ignore the importance of the moral dimension that

characterizes human practices. They attempt to drive pupils from merely putting their effort into

artistic production skills to working for a broad range of social ethical issues. As part of a

knowledge community, artists, art educators, researchers, and teachers should be working more

purposefully to assist pupils to understand how the arts could create and produce a meaningful

difference in people's lives to make the world a better place to live in. Elliott, Silverman, and

Bowman (2016) said that art education should consider the “form of apprenticeships through

28

which students learn to approach art in ways that are socially responsible, responsive, and

constructive” (p. 11).

Dewey claims that authentic art should not merely provide aesthetic values but should

also have a target of assisting in the betterment of the individual and the community. Bowman

(2016) believed that “Because art has tremendous power both to effect social good and to subvert

it—to shape healthy vibrant modes of human collectivity and to undermine them—I submit that

artistic citizenship involves both remarkable privilege and tremendous responsibility” (p. 59).

Finally, art should aim to build fundamental beliefs that help citizens rotate around responsibility

and to enhance the strengths and ideas that include the individual’s aesthetics and the

advancement of citizenship goals.

Definition and the Procedures of Using IBAE (IBAE)

IBAE is an approach that connects art to the everyday lives of students through

exploration of real-world circumstances and gives each learner the chance to be an individual in

the classroom as well as experience different personal views and be more forgiving of others

(Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002; Gude, 2009). Social issues such as identity, culture, class, ability,

religion, beliefs, environment, morality, or community can be explored creatively during issue-

based art education lessons.

Helguera (2011) introduced four components for doing art social curriculum, which

include a comprehensive understanding of the methodical approaches, the possibility of

reconstructing and reconfiguring itself, an experiential approach toward art, and a refunctioned

curriculum of art history and art technique. Furthermore, Guay (2002) recommended seven steps

to use with IBAE: 1. Recognize the need for social action in art education curriculum; 2. Search

for resources; 3. Brainstorm and plan together and sharing resources; 4. Present “what if” idea

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possibilities; 5. Organize and develop a time line; 6. Follow the planned art learning experience;

and 7. Students and teachers in the end reflect and critique their accomplishments.

To plan an IBAE lesson, Guay (2002) suggested starting discussions about important

contemporary social issues by helping students brainstorm with mind mapping to discuss issues

in their community, which is an important and sensitive stage of the instructional lesson. He

suggested that the teacher could use teamwork and provide a list of issues such as “relating to

people of different ages, races, genders, and socioeconomic classes; biases and prejudices;

homelessness; family and belonging, the first peoples; the needs for community of diverse

peoples; conservation of natural environments, rain forests, ecology, interdependence, recycling

and cooperation; war, the depression, and industrial expansion (agriculture to industry); the

human body, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and AIDS” (p. 306); then teachers must be involved in

planning for integrative learning and ask why the issues occur and assist each other to more fully

understand their practices and experiences of these issues, the students' s practice of these issues,

and the chance for positive interconnected education. First everyone chose the issue, asking

“What do you want your artwork to say?” Then students chose the type of art that they use to

express these issues. Discussing social issues is fundamental to provide students with a safe

environment and welcoming space, help students to symbolism ideas, and practice analyzing and

interpreting artwork to share and express their ideas. Emphasizing the individual differences and

experience will provide different results.

To assessment this method, in understanding the importance of joining knowledge

construction to authentic, real-world action, educators have seen that evaluation methods must

also be connected to the lives of learners. Stewart and Walker (2005) stated that "students are

helped to apply their new understandings to life situations, to demonstrate their achievement

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through performance tasks and projects, often in contexts other than those strictly associated

within the school” (p. 13). In addition, Laney (1996) suggested carrying out social action as the

last step in using DBAE and IBAE so that the students would be able to come up with a

reasonable/viable social action plan and a way of assessing the impact of that plan.

Research Question 5

What are the theoretical, philosophical, and/ or conceptual frameworks underlying IBAE?

Humanistic and Social Reconstruction Concept Foundation with IBAE: Why?

IBAE combines the two elemental conceptions and connects social reconstructionist and

humanistic curriculum conceptions. The humanistic evidence offers insights and stresses the

good in human behavior to focus on ways to promote the development of an individual’s self-

actualization (DeCarvalho, 1991; Firdaus & Mariyat, 2017; Valett, 1977; Weinstein & Fantini,

1970), while at the same time the Saudi 2030 Vision (2016) focused on “the fundamental values

of initiative, persistence, and leadership, as well as social skills, cultural knowledge and self-

awareness” (p. 28).

On the other hand, social reconstructionism is a philosophy centered on achieving social

change. As a practice, it aims to achieve social equity by developing the various social systems

upon which society rests. Its conceptions are dominant because they are being used to

reconstruct a new democratic society and values in Saudi Arabia. The approach seeks to equip

students with knowledge and skills to promote human rights, peace, morality, and social issues.

This kind of concept is a vehicle for social improvement, and it focuses on the intrinsic value and

equality of all humanity (Brameld, 1977; Martin, 1994; Stuhr, 1994).

The social agenda of art education can be a foundation that the community will work

through, of which Anderson (2003) indicates examples such as “personal, group-centered, and

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cross-cultural understandings approached through art” (p. 58). This understanding of social art-

motived issues is the basis for IBAE. Thus, the next section examines the educational concepts

and philosophies that appear to underlie the methods that I chose, covering the expressed and

implied principles and learning objectives concerning the actions and processes involved in using

IBAE is in Saudi Arabia.

Conceptual Foundations of the IBAE Approach

The Humanistic Conceptual Foundation of the IBAE Approach

The humanistic idea became universal in 1970. The humanistic concept contends that in

attempting to be scientific and rational, teachers and students can miss the personal and social

aspects of the curriculum and instruction, as well as ignore the artistic, physical, and cultural

aspects of subject matter (Hunkins & Ornstein, 2016). The key defenders of humanism include

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. A primary goal of humanism is the development of self-

actualized, independent people (Hunkins & Ornstein, 2016; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994).

In school, Firdaus and Mariyat (2017) stressed that the teachers’ function is to promote

learners to think critically and act according to the values of humanity. When the humanistic

approach is connected in education, the result will be a good student who is critical of reality.

Humanism focuses on human freedom, honor, and potential. According to Huitt (2009),

humanism is essential to examine the person as a whole, as a child grows and progresses over the

course of a life. It reflects the fact that the study of the self, motivation, and goals are areas of

particular interest (Hunkins & Ornstein, 2016).

In humanism, education is student-centered and personalized, and the educator’s role is

that of a facilitator. Affective and cognitive requirements are fundamental, and the goal is to

develop self-actualized people in a cooperative, supportive environment (DeCarvalho, 1991).

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There are five basic principles of humanistic education, which are being self-directed; producing

students who want and know how to learn; self-evaluation; the idea that feelings, as well as

knowledge, are essential in the learning process; and the conviction that learning is best in a non-

threatening environment. The creation of artworks and poems is conceptualized by this theory.

Thus, this philosophy matches and has a strong connection with art education (DeCarvalho,

1991). Therefore, art education should incorporate this concept to provide equal billing and

emphasize behavioral and cognitive philosophy. Humanistic thought confirms that art is as

essential as science. This idea reflects the relationship between this theory and social art in the

curriculum (Weinstein & Fantini, 1970).

This approach is a good fit for the Saudi art education curriculum context because the

Saudi art education curriculum uses academic subject matter and systemic concepts (Albakri,

2010). In addition, the curriculum is characterized by a traditional style even though there is a

new Vision for 2030 that must have new concept curriculum. Vision 2030 emphasizes three

themes, a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. My idea will work with a

vibrant society with strong foundations that aims to promote and reinvigorate social development

in order to build a strong and productive society and strengthen caring for families and

developing of children’s character. In addition, the vision emphasizes commitments to measure

how effectively schools are engaging parents in their children’s education. We will establish

parent-led boards in schools to open discussion forums and further engage with parents. Teachers

will receive training to raise their awareness of the importance of communicating with parents

and to equip them with effective methods to do so successfully (Gaudelius & Spiers, 2002).

However, the current Saudi art education curriculum is limited and weak regarding the

areas of helping students be self-directed, emphasizing self-evaluation, encouraging expressed

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feelings, and avoiding a threatening environment in teaching and learning art education. Many

students study for the reward of receiving high scores only (Albakri, 2010; Alheezan, 2009;

Almuraie, 2019). This framework will assist teachers to consider the importance of Saudi student

engagement, social life adjustment, and the strong imperative of family and community because

of the strong requirement to emphasize this concept in working for positive change in the

community.

According to Firdaus and Mariyat (2017), the primary purpose of the humanistic

approach in education is furthering the education process that was begun and is seen as existing

for the benefit of humanizing humankind. To humanize humans is to help them attain self-

actualization, self-understanding, and self-realization so that students can learn optimally.

Unfortunately, the curriculum is failing to help all students achieve self-actualization, self-

understanding, and self-realization so that they can learn optimally (Albakri, 2010).

Thus, the use of IBAE will help to achieve this objective to encourage social

development. This kind of approach will be appropriate for the Saudi art curriculum because of

the need for new developments of this kind in the global education world. This approach will

provide the kind of education that builds children’s fundamental characters successfully and

accomplishes the empowering of children’s education. These effective methods will create

discussion forums and further engagement with parents and teachers to raise their awareness of

social issues as they communicate with parents and equip them with effective methods to do so.

When Saudi students study within the humanistic art curriculum, they focus not only on

understanding the knowledge but also on emotional expression, especially with artworks. Thus,

learners develop the two sides of the brain because they think while they are gaining knowledge

and express their feelings (Valett, 1977). Therefore, this kind of curriculum is required because

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of the traditional methods that have been used and that depend on low-level thinking (Albakri,

2010). Also, with relation to key humanist concepts, the curriculum documents outline a role for

teachers as facilitators and mediators of the learning process (Combs, 1974). The humanistic

emphasis in the art curriculum provides learners with experiences that contribute to their

liberation and development. Self-actualization is crucial for the art curriculum given the past

years of dehumanization of learners, especially Saudi students.

The humanistic curriculum emphasis should include the uncovering of the self and

achieving the ability to respond to issues as a total person, both cognitively and effectively. It

aims to enable students to become self-confident, self-governing, and contributing members of

society (Weinstein & Fantini, 1970). To provide students with good experiences, the art

education curriculum should allow students to explore various themes through artwork and to

have self-confidence and help classmates in their art education. The connection between learners

and instructors becomes more significant and meaningful.

The Saudi art curriculum should work to further the Saudi Vision 2030 and to increase

the student’s ability to respond to issues as a total child, both cognitively and effectively. Saudi

art education should aim to enable the generation to become self-sufficient, self-directing, and

contributing members of society. For example, the art education curriculum might allow them to

investigate different issues through artwork in order to have self-confidence and help classmates

grow through their art education. The relationship between students and teachers must be

friendly and have meaning. Indeed, while the use of these approaches may make some

developments easier to implement, other goals for social dynamics may be difficult to achieve in

the culture, but not impossible.

Through the humanistic concept, Saudi students will learn to empathize and engage in

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critical analysis of social movements. Regarding this humanistic idea, learning becomes holistic,

focusing not only on the intellect but on the affective domain as well. This will increase

awareness and improve students’ skills in relation to social issues in order to solve these issues

positively and effectively (Alheezan, 2009). Also, this will allow for critical processing or

dialectical learning for all of society. The Saudi art education curriculum should outline the role

of the teacher as the facilitator, the mediator of the learning process, the resource gatherer, and

the motivator of student participation, who should value the individuality and worth of learners,

which is a key attribute of a humanistic curriculum.

The Social Reconstructionist Conceptual Foundations of the IBAE Approach

In the art curriculum, social reconstructionism is apparent in the history and cultural

heritage curriculum as the focus is on issues of identity. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987) founded

social reconstructionism as a way of reacting against certain realities that had been created by

World War II. The social reconstructionist movement became most influential in the 1930s. The

concepts it promotes are concentrated on art for life and social expression, on social art, and less

on art for art’s sake art. Furthermore, this new concept curriculum emphasizes technical skills to

prepare students for future careers, and an array of subjects are offered at the high school level,

namely, building, metalwork, professional graphics, and woodwork. This curriculum

concentrates the moral issues of education in society (Brameld, 1977).

IBAE humanistic approaches are better situated to see wider use in Saudi art education,

but social reconstruction is less common and limited in its use in countries such as Saudi Arabia,

in particular given the kingdom’s royalty government. Therefore, this concept will concentrate

on addressing social issues (e.g., poverty, war, health concerns, and the environment), but it will

not address issues such as democracy or social justice (participating in or establishing a political

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organization or calling for government accountability). These social issues are the kinds of issues

that Saudi Arabia is facing right now.

The ideal curriculum is one that is based on social issues. A reconstruction approach

critically tests the civilization, studies controversial issues, considers reality, and serves learners

and teachers in their efforts to promote culture (Hunkins & Ornstein, 2016). In My Pedagogic

Creed, Dewey (1897) provides five articles about the social reconstruction concept, describing

different aspects of school through his reports on education, school, the subject-matter of

education, the nature of the method, and the school and social progress. Dewey (1915) stresses

that society is an organic union of individuals, and the school is precisely the form of community

life. He believes that the child is a human being and his/her social life is the basis of his/her

growth; he considers the student as human and emphasizes his/her relationships with social life

and community.

Additionally, Brameld (1977) believed that “students and teachers must not only take

positions; they must also become change agents to improve society” (p. 70). He focused on

understanding teacher responsibilities to discuss social issues in their lessons. Reconstructionist

instructors concentrate on a curriculum that highlights social improvement and positive changes

as the purpose of education. McNeil (2009) stated the social reconstructionist desire as that the

learners would “improve the real world” (p. 31). Regarding the Saudi Vision 2030, which the

country is working to achieve, the social reconstruction concept will be helpful for achieving

important social aims.

For example, one of the Saudi 2030 Vision’s (2016) objectives is to “endeavor to

strengthen, preserve, and highlight our national identity so that it can guide the lives of future

generations. We will do so by keeping true to our national values and principles, as well as by

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encouraging social development and upholding the Arabic language” (p. 17). In line with this

concept in the art curriculum, art teachers should provide lessons on identity and national values

and principles. Also, they should create experiences for students that promote social values and

support improvement and create positive changes in line with the purpose of this vision.

The focus is on finding ways to deal with issues of controversy, especially in literature

and social studies. The focus is on dialogue, inquiry, and multiple perspectives. The

reconstructionist curriculum is a postmodern, conscious, open system of action that is interactive

and focuses on communal conversion. This curriculum should include political, economic,

social, cultural, and artistic aspects which impact the nature of the curriculum. For social

reconstructionists and critical theorists, the curriculum focuses on student experience and

stresses. Furthermore, Hunkins and Ornstein (2016) discussed social action in relation to real-

world problems, such as hunger, violence, terrorism, inequality, and inflation.

Community- based learning and bringing the world into the classroom are also strategies.

In the Saudi context, there is no need for social justice because it is required as a result of the

Islamic Sharia law which is the basis for the government; however, there is a need for continued

modernization; as Saudi 2030 Vision (2016) stated, changes are needed for the “social welfare

system to make it more efficient, empowering and just” (p. 29). Therefore, art lessons should

further the vision goals that promote and reinvigorate social development to build an active and

productive society and strengthen Saudi families, provide an education that develops children’s

fundamental characters, and empower social support systems.

Additionally, according to Anderson (2003), through critically examining “artworks,

students may gain access to attitudes, mores, and cultural understandings of themselves as

cultural beings in their own culture and concerning the cultures of others, thus fostering the sense

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of global community. Understanding others humanizes them in our eyes” (p. 65). In summary,

the social reconstruction art education curriculum focuses on the organization of art as a

discipline that encourages students to become good citizens. In fact, the art education curriculum

wants the students to do what artists do.

Art education plays a vital role in assisting all of us – teachers and students alike – to

improve relationships through which we come to understand ourselves and others: relationships

that form the society, not only of personal beings, one with another, but also the community in

the more meaningful knowledge of understanding our station our life. This understanding agrees

with the Saudi 2030 Vision (2016), which aims to embed positive moral beliefs in children’s

characters from an early age by reshaping our academic and educational system. Schools,

working with families, will reinforce the fabric of society by providing students with the

compassion, knowledge, and behaviors necessary for resilient and independent characters to

emerge. According to Gaudelius and Speirs (2002), the focus will be on the fundamental values

of initiative, persistence, and leadership, as well as social skills, cultural knowledge, and self-

awareness. It will also promote cultural, social, volunteering, and athletic activities by

empowering our educational, cultural, and entertainment institutions. Therefore, through

focusing on art education and social reconstruction, art educators can apply all of these values

and directions in the art education class (Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002).

Regarding art education, Chung (2004) pointed out that social reconstructionist aims to

enable human beings to understand and change inequitable social relationships through aesthetic

practice. She believed in empowering learners to examine contemporary issues and become

apprised of and able to face unfair social relations. However, to support art education for social

improvement, art instructors should re-conceptualize art education and progress beyond

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understanding art as a form of artistic construction.

Indeed, with social reconstruction, the Saudi art teachers and educators must identify

social issues that have influenced students, which are part of their society, and as artists who can

consequently influence society by creating works that raise awareness of poverty, war, health

concerns, and the environment. This will promote knowledge and skills relating to human rights,

identity, and social issues and provide insights about class, gender, and ethnicity in the

community. In the process of art education, teachers should open a dialogue on topics such as

poverty so that students can engage in conversation and then express their values and their

understanding of poverty (Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002). Finally, humanistic and social

reconstructionism concepts in the art education curriculum are concentrated on social

improvement and increase the awareness of the social issues for the society.

Philosophies for Humanism and Social Reconstructionism in Light of the IBAE in Saudi Arabia

The epistemological structure of a curriculum conception concentrates on the nature of

knowledge and how we come to understand. Four major educational philosophies can be adopted

in classrooms; these are Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism.

These educational philosophies differ in their conceptions of what should be taught. This section

examines the educational philosophies that underlie the methods and concepts that I have chosen

in relation to using IBAE in Saudi Arabia. There are various development theories for these

concepts. I have applied progressivism and reconstructionism as main philosophies, in addition

to the related theory of learning, humanism. The next section presents the educational

philosophies that underlie the methods that I have chosen.

Progressivist Philosophy

In my search for which concepts would be appropriate for the methods that I will use in

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art Saudi context, I found Dewey to be the closest as his work concentrates on students as

humane and individual. For Dewey, it is important for the human to participate in the community

to understand himself and society. John Dewey (1859-1952) was a psychologist, a philosopher, a

social critic, and perhaps a political activist as well. Indeed, Dewey considered human life,

experience, knowledge, empowerment, and goals as central, but to what? How did he use these

concepts? Dewey (1902) saw the school as an organization which could bring about humane

reform (a humanistic view of the curriculum), and social reform (a reconstructionist view of the

curriculum) for students; as a progressivist, he stressed learning by doing as opposed to rote

learning. Students were to learn how to live, not only to learn the content. As a pragmatist,

Dewey (1915) believed that reality must be experienced.

Progressivism believes that education should focus on helping learners develop into

enlightened and intelligent citizens; students should learn by doing (Dewey, 1915). He stressed

that learners should live entirely instead of preparing for adult life. Also, teachers in this school

of educational philosophy used experimental methods in teaching that encouraged the learners to

gain knowledge from experience and to let the students interact with nature and society.

Progressivists emphasize that students should test ideas by active experimentation and grow

while experiencing the world to make meaning through practice in the physical and cultural

context.

Dewey’s ideas are expounded upon in his books and essays (e.g. My Pedagogic Creed,

1897); The School and Society (1915); The Child and the Curriculum (1902); Democracy and

Education (1916)), which significantly impacted curriculum improvement. His ideas led to the

avoidance of a curriculum that was centered on the subject matter (Dewey, 1902); rather, he

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designed a curriculum that was responsive to the needs and experiences of the individual and

society. He is connected to progressivist, humanistic, and social reconstruction concepts.

Humanist Philosophy

The roots of humanism are in the thought of Erasmus (1466-1536), who believed in five

fundamental principles for the goodness of children, that humans have free will, moral

conscience, the ability to reason, aesthetic sensibility, and religious instinct. He promoted the

idea that students should be treated politely and humanely and that education should not be

oppressive and tough (Scimecca, 2007).

In addition, this philosophy was developed as an educational philosophy by Rousseau

(1712-1778), who stressed the essential goodness of humans, understanding through the senses,

and education as a progressive and unhurried process in which the improvement of human

character would take place through the unfolding of life. It is also rooted in progressive theory as

Dewey promoted the child-centered movement in the 1920s. The humanist philosophy, which is

the center of the curriculum, reflects the aim of assisting understanding of schools, curricula, the

person, and the community. Regarding the humanistic curriculum, choice of what is to be

learned is critical and motivational; the learners should also be exposed to experiences which are

beneficial not only to themselves but also to the good of humanity as each learner is an

individual within a group of individuals (Weinstein & Fantini, 1970).

To Dewey (1915), the school as a social institution was to be a vehicle of social change

and therefore should equip learners with knowledge as humans and skills to enable them to be

agents of social change. As Dewey (1902) expressed, students were both individual human

beings and members of the community. I find humanism and social reconstruction to be the best

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matches for IBAE approaches in the Saudi context. Thus, the following section will discuss

humanistic and reconstructionist concepts and philosophies in light of the IBAE approach.

Dewey’s ideas had a profound influence on curriculum improvement. Dewey (1902) gave

birth to a curriculum that is child-centered, peer-centered, growth-centered, action centered,

process, society-centered, change centered, and equality-centered (Hunkins & Ornstein, 2016;

Webb, Metha, & Jordan, 2003). In The Later Works of John Dewey, which expressed a

humanistic concept, Boydston, (2008) stated “what humanism means to me is an expansion, not

a contraction, of human life, an expansion in which nature and the science of nature are made the

willing servants of human good” (p. 266).

Reconstructionist Philosophy

Regarding social reconstruction philosophy, the reconstructionist theory is related to

socialist ideas in the 19th century. Several scholars, such as Counts, Dewey, Lippmann, and

others, advocate social issues in education. Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that stresses

the addressing of social issues and a search to create and build a better society and a global

democracy. Social Reconstructionists were rooted in humanistic movement and social activism;

examples include Count and Rugg, whose theories rethink, reconsider, and conceptualize the

curricula. The curriculum theorists in that movement were preoccupied with discovering how the

curriculum might affect the social, political, and economic development of society (McNeil,

2009).

One of the leading theorists of the social reconstructionist model of the curriculum was

Paulo Freire (1993). Paulo Freire believed that Third World Countries should adopt his cultural

action ideas for concretization. This concretization awareness is realized just when the

participants are engaged and achieve in-depth knowledge of the real lives and can transform that

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reality. Freire confirms that the policy creators should be aware of curriculum restrictions in

order to prevent them.

Both social reconstructionists and critical theorists held the belief that to improve human

conditions and overcome oppression, it was necessary to change systems. Paulo Freire (1921-

1997) was from Brazil. He had lived in poverty, an experience which led him to promote

literacy and education as a way of achieving change in society. He felt that it was necessary for

humans to learn to fight against oppression, neither oppressing others nor becoming victims of

oppression. Critical understanding and dialog are necessary to achieve this, and awareness must

be developed in order to defeat oppression and domination. Freire rejected the idea of “teaching

as banking,” in which education is deposited into the students’ heads by the teacher, seeing

education instead as an inquiry process in which the world is invented and reinvented by the

child (Freire, 1993).

Participation in social life is the primary objective. Moreover, Freire (1993) agreed that

knowledge helps to create perfect citizens and students should learn many aspects of life, such as

different languages, drawing, cooking, and sewing, in order to have new experiences.

Additionally, he stressed the preparation for activities or education processes by making sure the

teachers are educated and the environment is fully equipped for the activities.

My Positions and Examples

In humanistic and social reconstruction, the primary aim for IBAE approaches to art

education is to assist learners to understand issues about themselves and others through art.

Using this approach in the Saudi context will help in the discovery of the nature, values, and

strategies of Saudi traditional art and culture. Toward achieving a more moderate Saudi

transformation, IBAE will contribute to seeing modernist art as a reaction to the traditionalism of

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the Saudi community. Moreover, this kind of art will support postmodernism as a response to the

modernism of Saudi art, making possible changes to what we see today. According to Danforth

(2016), the country seems to be oriented “anew toward its past with a willingness to move

beyond the inertia and the conservatism of certain religious figures. This effort is worthy of

praise and is part of an attempt to construct a more moderate Saudi identity” (p. 166).

The main features of the teaching and learning of art education using IBAE are directed

at engaged learners in the higher stages of thinking and cognitive ability; these features will help

to improve the critical thinking for Saudi students because of the traditional methods that are

used at schools. Also, this method will open dialogue and communication, promoting support for

Saudi society, and developing ideas for integrated learning beyond the art classroom. In the

Saudi context, I will not emphasize social justice or social change because of the imperial system

and government.

However, I have addressed some of the basic features of social issues. Due to the special

features of the Saudi context, some features cannot be applied to the art education curriculum in

Saudi Arabia. I will be able to cover the main aspects of Issues Based-Art Education along with

the discipline-based art education (DBAE) ideas about community in the light of humanistic and

social reconstruction.

Research Question 6

What other instructional critical approaches are there, and why was IBAE chosen for this study?

Art Education Approaches in Light of Social Issues

For purposes of education, various local and global art instructors have started to shift

away from stress on traditional fine arts disciplines toward a wider variety of art and social issue

education. For example, Albers (1999); Lindström (2014); and Roman (1968) concentrated on

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art as an agent for social change and art production in a community. However, Anderson and

Milbrandt (2004) focused on art for life. Ballengee, Morris, and Stuhr (2001) were concerned

with multicultural art and visual culture education. Also, Carpenter and Tavin (2009) focused on

visual culture, community, and public pedagogy. On the other hand, Bethel and Foels (2016)

addressed social work education using the arts. Below, I discuss these approaches to issues-based

art education.

Early in the century, professionals in education had considerable influence on policy

debates about the school as a civil organization, including the balance between its roles in social

transmission and art education. There are several types of IBAE throughout the world, some of

which are discussed in this section. It is beyond the scope of this study to review each issue-

based kind of art education, and I limit this treatment to the history of learning theory in relation

to social aspects of IBAE. These approaches represent the primary areas of social art

reconstruction, including art for life, visual culture, and multicultural approaches.

The Art Education for Life Approach/Socially Engaged Art/IBAE/Issues-Centered Art Education According to Whitehead (1967), there is only one subject matter for education, and that is

life in all its manifestations” (p. 6). This perspective guides the idea of art education for life and

relates to how students understand themselves and others from the home to the whole world. It

aims to assist students in understanding themselves and others through art and preparing them for

success in school and life. Anderson and Milbrandt (2004) believe that art education must be a

social tool for developing people’s lives by using social reconstructionism; also, artworks are

both windows and mirrors of people lives. It is this kind of art’s concern to provide a sense of

identity, value, and worth contexts that change the social issues within a community (Anderson,

2003). Teachers need to implement programs that allow discourse on morality and social

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criticism and give their students the choice to understand and participate in contemporary issues

in their community.

Community and social growth are the goals of art for life. Art educators argue that the

effect of combining the artwork into social issues will be to create a deeper dialogue by

influencing students’ lives (Wagner-Ott, 2002) as well as their critical thinking ability as they

encounter the critiques and perspectives of their classmates who have chosen the same issues

with a diversity of consequences (Lampert, 2006). There are three components to the four

disciplines besides art education (production, aesthetic, criticism, and history), which are visual

culture, personal creativity, and new technology for art for life (Anderson & Milbrandt, 2004).

The practicing of IBAE has been transformed into new avenues for teaching and learning that

require crossing an array of bridges, creating new approaches and settings for art teaching and

learning.

The curriculum of IBAE includes closed-ended instructional aims and open-ended

instructional outcomes that lead to and complement each other. Closed-ended goals are intended

to teach skills and concepts. Open-ended meaningful outcomes are intended to empower students

to practice the skills and learn to express themselves meaningfully. According to Anderson and

Milbrandt (2004), in the context of using art for life, IBAE teaching and learning require a

natural connection between the skills and concepts gained through closed-ended goals and the

creative self-expression reached in terms of open-ended results. These skills need to be taught

and studied.

Art education should address how community life can be constructed and organized to

create a positive lifestyle and enable individuals to benefit from the strength arising from diverse

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cultural traditions. With this realization of diversity, students will be better prepared to change

prevailing connections of power and strength within their lives (Anderson, 2003).

This understanding of art will help teachers to provide programs that open dialogue on

morality and social critique that engages instructors and pupils in the most critical present issues

and possibilities. Anderson and Milbrandt (2004) discussed four advantages of teaching and

learning the art for life, which are participating in a higher level of thinking, leading the

conversation about issues, enhance social support for students’ performance, and promoting

combined learning beyond the art classroom. Art is not merely aesthetically pleasing but also

necessary for our life and the quality of our life. There are seven strategies of IBAE, which are

the thematic inquiry, dialogue and cooperative exploration, critical analysis of art in authentic

contexts, historical contextual research, development of skills in making art, creative expression,

and critical reflection on personal and social meaning (Anderson & Milbrandt, 2004).

The Visual Cultural Approach

Visual culture is related to the changing nature of the art object, which plays an important

role in social construction; it is a form of social production. Early scholars on visual culture were

John Berger and Laura Mulvey. Martin Heidegger (1977), who referred to visual culture, pointed

out that “a world picture . . . does not mean a picture of the world but the world conceived and

grasped as a picture. . .” (p. 130). Visual culture is the aspect of culture represented in visual

pictures; it is the relationship between visual perception and knowledge.

Mirzoeff (1998) defined visual culture in general as “the visualization of things that are

not in themselves visual” (p. 6). One of the main tasks of visual culture is to know how these

complex images come together. Visual culture “does not depend on pictures but on this modern

tendency to picture or visualize existence” (p. 6).

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Freedman (1994) provided an outline of the relationship between gender identity and

curriculum through focusing on three phases of teaching visual culture, including understanding

females as forms of visual culture, responding to visual culture, and recognizing the gendered

characteristics of culture. Art education requires a deep understanding of the scope of diversity

issues by all those concerned with education. She advocated the teaching visual culture, as well

as understanding and analyzing the related social issues. Duncum (2009) confirmed that the

importance of visual culture is “to consider the relationship between imagery and the student

viewer” (p. 71). It combines the symbolic forms through which we look at the linearity of human

life and its development.

Furthermore, Kalin (2008) stated that the visual culture under discussion is different from

the real visual practice associated with a culture. In addition, Jameson (1984) argued that we are

living our lives through visual symbolism in “a whole new culture of the image” (p. 534). This

rethinking of art education requires an effort to theorize visualization as a method of

communication that is relevant to education and social conditions rather than merely

concentrating on esthetic expression. Duncum (2002) described two phenomena related to visual

culture, which are “a whole way of life, or ways of life, that is lived through imagery, and a

particular kind of image culture” (p. 15). Visual culture should be practiced within a Saudi

dialogical pedagogy (Alshaie, 2017). Students often know more and learn more quickly than

their teachers. Thus, the dialogue should be opened between student knowledge and teacher and

seen as one way to address visual culture. While adapting to students’ lived experiences, learning

requires a reframing of that practice in light of historical models and theory.

The Multicultural Approach

Multiculturalism has its roots in the late 1800s. Globalization is building an ever more

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diverse world. Thus, there is a need for multicultural education in the curriculum. Based on prior

studies, using social issues in art education will increase students’ awareness of different national

and global issues that are important for the community and the whole world in empowering

school culture and social structure. In the multicultural nation, learners have significant

opportunities to investigate another ethnicity, that of their classmate. Consequently, art

instructors have responsibilities to address; for example, Li (2018) advocated introducing "racial

issues and racism in class with students to foster a more accepting attitude" (p. 2) and assisting

them to reflect as they express their ideas visually.

Additionally, Dorn (2006) stresses that art education researchers must change their

research tradition to include social issues. Most of the current teaching of researchers in art

advocates and is engaged with social issues through art activities to investigate other cultures.

Furthermore, there are now domains in which students study social or environmental issues

through the art education curriculum because students will learn how to communicate concepts

about themselves or others in the world. Chalmers (1974) stressed that students need to see art as

having a communicative purpose through which it supports and maintains continuity and change

in cultures. Art educators should understand the social foundations of the multicultural arts and

promote the idea of the arts as a fundamental movement by confirming their function, value, and

necessity (artistic and non-artistic) in the enhancement of human activities. Therefore, students

can practice arts to better “maintain, perpetuate, and change their own culture as well as to

decorate and enhance their environment" (p. 25) as they increase their awareness of other

cultures.

Moreover, Chin (2016) advocated moving beyond a human relations approach in

multicultural art, which is the approach most heavily critiqued by theorists. He agreed with

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Cohen-Evron (2005), Mason (1999), and Milbrandt (2002) that there is a need to show how a

multicultural approach in art education classes has been practiced and performed in the

classroom as it is transformed from multicultural theory to practice. Furthermore, Chin (2013)

worked to promote the integration of multicultural curricula; he suggested five dimensions for

accomplishing the social construction of multicultural education through art education, which is

“content integration, equity pedagogy, knowledge construction, and transformation, empowering

school culture and social structure, and prejudice reduction” (p. 5). He suggested these

dimensions to assist art teachers in integrating social reconstruction of multicultural art into their

art curricula and practices in the classroom.

McFee (1996) believes in the necessity for art teachers to be aware of their cultural

values as they attempt to understand their students' cultural backgrounds and develop them so

that they can more successfully live in an evolving multicultural society because art is the basic

language of this diversity in their visually symbolic information age. There is a need for more

research to carry out multicultural and cross-cultural visual art education today. She states, "the

main goal of multicultural art education is to help students live in changing multicultural

societies, respecting their own background culture and its art as they learn to respect others'

culture and others' art” (p. 17). Art teachers and researchers who promote them are among the

quiet advance guard in these days of cultural diversity and change.

Why was IBAE Chosen for this Study?

What is the role of the curriculum? What is the role of the school? Is it a part of the

community? Should the school change the learner and separate her/him from societal

experiences? In what ways should the school collaborate with society? Should the school change

society? What happens if students choose topics in their curriculum from issues in their own

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society? All of these questions come to mind when one considers curricula related to society.

Schools, which are formal institutions that are related to more complex organizations, exist

within the social context. The social foundations of the curriculum should be recognized in

schools as well as in the home, the family, and the community. Because schools impact the

culture of the people that schools serve, at the same time as culture shapes the schools and the

curriculum, the school curriculum should consider a community’s needs and requirements. Thus,

using issues-based education can assist schools to impact the culture and society strongly

(Anderson & Milbrandt, 2004; Dewey, 1915; Martin, 1994).

In the art education field, the goal of the IBAE approach is to prepare students to

discover, examine, and participate in the power of art to increase social awareness about other

cultures through art education classes. Therefore, using IBAE will assist students to learn about

different cultures and to improve their understanding of themselves and others. Under this

curriculum, learners can discover how art is a reflection of cultural ideas, beliefs, and social

conditions as they negotiate life experience with art and make comparisons and contrasts

(Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002).

I recommend using IBAE for the Saudi art curriculum because it represents a

comprehensive approach through which students can understand themselves and others and

develop real-life skills for expressing meaning. The most effective approaches will be those that

are appropriate for the quality and characteristics of students, the educational environment, and

the possibility of application. Students can use art as a means to participate and express their

information in a way that can be healing and effective. AlSaud and Qurban (2016) recommend

using artistic practices for the improvement of social values and issues. According to Alshehri

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(2005), Saudi students should engage in social activities in relation to different common

responsibilities in the art education class.

It is important for the art education curriculum and art education systems to engage the

community in projects that are socially constructive and incorporate collaborative practices.

There is a need for research to be conducted in a context that leads to analysis from different

perspectives. Teachers and researchers need to become more ethical and self-critical by debating

among themselves as cultural participants working to help others along the path to art knowledge

(Stokrocki, 2004). In the context of the social IBAE approach in Saudi Arabia, there will be new

approaches to learning about issues that can more effectively deal with issues in society.

Research Question 7

What is discipline-based art education (DBAE)?

Discipline- based art education (DBAE), which integrates the art disciplines of art

history, art criticism, aesthetics, and art production, provides a curriculum development model.

DBAE, pioneered by J. Paul Getty in the 1980s, is one important educational program. It aims to

make art education more aligned with other academic disciplines and to build a standardized

structure for assessment. It not only was designed for grades K-12 but also has been established

at other educational levels. DBAE supports the idea that art education is for every student, not

only for those who have talent in creating art. Greer (1997) confirmed that the reason to promote

DBAE was to encourage the improvement of art education, shifting it from having an external

role in the curriculum to having a fundamental position in primary pedagogy.

DBAE is an important approach to art education, and Dewey may further be credited as

the godfather of DBAE because of his focus on interdisciplinary teaching and cooperative

learning. Dewey brought the outside world of work into the art curriculum and stressed the need

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for doing and for relating knowledge to learner experiences in art education. Currently, DBAE is

in vogue and has become an innovative way of teaching social issues. John Dewey’s ideas in

School and Society (1915) influenced the reconstructionist model of curriculum. DBAE is part of

art education for life and includes three additional foci, which are visual culture, community, and

technology.

Dewey (1915) stressed the importance of considering society when developing the

curriculum. Furthermore, he believed in social reconstruction through education and democracy.

He emphasized and employed these ideas to criticize unwanted characteristics and to recommend

improvement and change. He preferred to perform in schools and presented a model that society

should strive to achieve for the purpose of forming minds in understanding as well as modifying

the more stubborn characteristics of adult society.

Research Question 8

How can DBAE be used alongside IBAE?

The DBAE approach is connected to social issues from two sides. First, it is connected to

the four disciplines in the arts. From the other side, art criticism works perfectly because it can

represent social issues and incorporate criticism of these issues. It can move the student critic to

a position on personal and social issues that can be described only through works of art.

Emphasizing this point, Risatti (1987) stated that in “the rationale for teaching art criticism, it

might be useful first to discuss the art-critical process itself and the concepts and skills that

contribute to it” (p. 220). The function of social art often mirrors a specific society’s current

agenda or aims. Art educators throughout history have used many methods to educate learners.

Regarding the use of DBAE alongside IBAE, according to Laney (1996), DBAE can be

easily adapted for the objective of including other non-art disciplines. He recommended seven

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specific procedures to incorporate art-social lessons in employing the DBAE paradigm to assist

art education teachers to design their curricula. These steps are

(1) choosing a social studies concept, (2) locating a work of art, (3) researching the content and context of the image, (4) developing guided discussion questions, (5) developing an art production activity, (6) developing an activity to reinforce the social studies concept, and (7) planning a variety of assessments. Explanations and helpful tips are provided by the author for each step (p. 89).

When teachers merge DBAE with IBAE, the main aim is to reinforce pupils' learning by

enhancing the connections between the new knowledge and pupils' own background experience

and knowledge. Social action plays a strong part in developing students’ knowledge/skills; thus,

this stage provides examples of practical ideas and activities to help build a social action that

inspires students' own original ideas on how to be involved in activities that have the potential to

benefit their community. As they carry out social action with their art work, social action will

assist in helping the pupils 'live' the concept(s) in the classroom by giving them real-life

experiences with the concept(s). By using DBAE and IBAE, the students are more able to come

up with a reasonable/viable social action plan and with a way of assessing the impact of that plan

(Laney, 1996).

The teacher could lead a discussion or brainstorming session on how to translate what

they have learned into social action and how to evaluate the success/impact of their efforts. For

example, in an art-social lesson on the appreciation of cultural diversity, the teacher could ask

pupils to prepare to plan one of the social actions below and to implement the social action plan,

including. Examples of social actions are the following:

1. Pupils can turn the artwork into a poster with a caption/ message for display in the school hall.

2. People can sign their names to indicate agreement or appreciation of cultural diversity or the message on the poster.

3. Pupils can conduct a survey to get their classmates’ reactions to the artwork or poster.

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4. Pupils can organize a school fashion show of traditional costumes and invite the community.

5. Pupils, on a special declared day, can wear traditional costumes to school to represent different regions of Saudi Arabia.

Research Question 9

What prior research has been done regarding teaching about social issues with and through the arts?

Evans, Newmann, and Saxe (1996) defined Issues-Centered Education as a concentration

on “problematic questions that need to be addressed and answered, at least provisionally” (p. 2).

The main differences between traditional curricular approaches to social studies and the issues-

centered curriculum is that traditional social studies curricula measure success by the students’

having learned the facts presented in textbooks and teacher presentations, whereas the issues-

centered curriculum measures their progress toward achievements reflecting an intellectual

ability to discuss controversial issues which will prompt students to engage in the development

of the community actively (Evans, Newmann, & Saxe,1996). It aims to help students learn about

reality rather than merely learning traditional knowledge.

From the late 1940s to the present, controversial social issues have been incorporated into

education. Pedersen and Totten (2013) pointed out that Gross was a clear voice arguing for the

insertion of controversial problems and approaches into the education system. Robinson and

Nelson (2007) noted that “Apparently, without a systematic approach in mind, but with a keen

sensitivity to the needs of young people and the aims of a democratic society in the midst of

theory’s second Red Scare, Gross felt his way toward a progressive pedagogy of problem-

solving and dealing with social issues” (p. 225).

Additionally, OchoaBecker (2006) questioned how well we are preparing our citizens.

She concluded we were doing “not very well” (p. 141). Social studies curricula are responsible

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for citizenship education. She complained that these curricula have depended on the lecture,

textbook, and memorization that students tend to see as uninteresting, an approach which has

been reflected in the low levels of citizen cooperation and participation with regard to the issues

that face their communities and to global issues. A survey of this topic reveals that there are

different terms used to refer to a pedagogical approach that incorporates social issues into a

curriculum, including issues-centered education, social issues for a change, art education for life

approach, socially engaged art, issues-based art education, integration of social and art education,

and social practices in the disciplines.

The Importance of Issues-Centered Education

When school systems adopt a social issues-centered curriculum, that will increase the

benefit to the community which arises from critical thinking, investigating, creativity, evaluating

of evidence, and decision making. Thus, an issues-centered curriculum does not merely focus on

content; it also improves students’ rational abilities. Here, I review prior studies of the

importance of teaching social issues as part of the school’s pedagogical practice. Evans and Saxe

(1996) confirmed that practicing this kind of education will assist students to take part in projects

that will have a clear influence on real social issues. The issues-centered curriculum represents a

significant commitment to increasing assistance to citizens and the quality of community life.

Social studies and issues-centered education developed from the earliest human practices

and experiences. Charles Beard, a progressive historian, began working to improve social studies

education and discussed the complex challenges that social studies presented to educators in the

1920s. The fundamental roots of the issues-centered curriculum are grounded in studies of social

issues that inform the human situation and help students to build the personal knowledge

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necessary to find resolutions. Also, Beard (1929) argued that human issues were of central

importance in social studies.

The issues-centered curriculum directly empowers students. Ahlquist (1990) concluded

that one purpose of social studies was to aid students in solving everyday dilemmas in their lives

and to support their development of a moral ground on which individual and social connections

can be built. He believed that the issues-centered curriculum must aim not only for argument or

rational thought but also for effecting positive change for the community. From another

perspective, Hanvey (1982) claimed that issues-centered education could improve students’

abilities in perspective awareness, helping them gain the skills to diagnose, analyze, assess, and

value various views on the particular problem. Art teachers should use social issues not only as

the subject or for critical thinking but as pedagogical creeds.

The Imperative to Make Issues-Centered Education Part of the School Curriculum

Many scholars (Evans & Pang, 1992; Engle & Ochoa, 1988; Lee, 1974; Oliver & Shaver,

1966; and OchoaBecker, Morton, Autry, Johnstad, & Merrill, 2001) have stressed the importance

of making the study of social issues part of the school curriculum and concentrating on social

issues as a part of curriculum disciplines. Furthermore, Evans, Newmann, and Saxe (1996)

agreed that teachers should understand and apply the main aspects of issues-centered education,

along with its indications for curriculum, instruction, method, and evaluation. Engle (1989)

directed most of his work toward supporting a curriculum centered on decision making about

social issues.

Furthermore, Robinson and Nelson (2007) studied the historical and intellectual

frameworks of various perspectives of social studies education. Using issues-centered instruction

in the curriculum will be beneficial in improving students’ understanding of the subject matter;

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further, it will result in more positive attitudes and deeper knowledge on the part of students

regarding how to represent their views. Also, Hahn (1996) agreed that knowledge is gained and

attitudinal consequences occur when teachers include issues in their curricula and have

themselves internalized those beliefs and reflected them in their instruction methods. Moreover,

when the curriculum includes issues- centered education, students might engage more in class

conversations, engage in more deep thinking, and become more knowledgeable; they also will

enjoy thinking and doing research about social issue considerations that will be reflected more in

their understanding of their community’s issues.

In sum, it is fair to describe the issues-centered study as a focus recommended and

supported by progressive curriculum research. Also, the education system should confirm the

importance of and continue to make efforts to implement issues-centered practices (Wraga,

1999). If the community, teachers, and educators want future generations of students to be

successful, they must prepare them to take on the responsibilities involved in participatory

citizenship; therefore, their education should include a curriculum that is issues-centered.

The Global Movement to Integrate Issues-Centered Education Within the Art Curriculum

Art can be used as a means of exploring the basic values relevant to social issues for the

community. Some scholars (Albers, 1999; Atkinson & Dash, 2005; Bethel & Foels, 2016;

Berman, 2009; Beauregard, Gunter, & Paquette, 2017; Chang, Lim, & Kim, 2012; Carvalho,

2014) have pointed to the potential of art to improve education through providing lessons on

social issues. Art is unique in its ability to lead us in the direction of social change, and it,

therefore, has a significant role to play in the community.

Several scholars have provided recommendations for pedagogy. For example, Chang,

Lim, and Kim (2012) have suggested three strategies to teach art education, one of which is an

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issues-centered approach. They emphasize using social and cultural issues as a foundation for art

courses. In a similar recommendation, Taylor, Carpenter, Ballengee-Morris, and Sessions (2006)

suggested that “rather than basing curriculum on learning a medium or technique, we

recommend that art teachers base their units of instruction on a problem, issue, or question

gleaned from works of art and visual culture” (p. 39). This method enables students and art

teachers to be more reflective when framing societal issues and enacting solutions.

How Issues-Centered Education Informs Art Education

Dewey’s (1909) book, Moral Principles in Education, confirmed that art was the main

discipline that reflects and is centered on social issues and the transformative power of

art. Students can create simpler forms and images in their minds regarding social issues within

the community as they experience art, as is evident in the art from Greece and Rome, which

represents those prior societies even though "the civilizations are themselves relatively complex"

(p. 37). That art reflects the different aspects of agricultural life and hunting and shows great

power of individual expression. The arts can also give us clear insight into persistent issues

pertinent to society.

Dewey (1909/1985) argued that the art curriculum help to improve students' experience

and skills to deal with social issues because of the power art gives students to express

themselves, as well as providing a reference to a special viewpoint on community issues, and a

particular perspective on contemporary issues. To Dewey, real education is always socially

engaged in the community.

Over the years, artists have used their tools and artwork to reflect on the social issues of

their time. Examples of this reflection include many artistic social movements, such as that

extending from the time of Dada through post-World War I. Dadaism was an early 20th-century

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European avant-garde art movement which began in 1915, in New York; later, in 1920, Dada

became famous in Paris. Furthermore, in the 1950s and 1960s, pop art became expressly

concerned with social criticism as its primary purpose. Famous works of art such as Goya's The

Third of May (1808), David's The Death of Marat (1793), Copley's Portrait of Paul Revere

(1768), Innes' Lackawanna Valley (1855), and Picasso's Guernica (1937) offered unique views

on a variety of political or social issues.

In the 21st century, there has been a significant increase worldwide in interest in art

educational programs aimed at producing art that incorporates or comments on social issues.

Artists have often had central roles in the world’s social movements; the issues they have

addressed include violence, terrorism, racism, and moral decomposition. Paintings, photographs,

and poetry are used to question and challenge, with an aim to change and affect situations of

inequity. Through our expression as artists and students with talent, artists can change and

challenge cultural narratives. Many artists today are faithful in their efforts to make work that

addresses urgent social issues and changes the way we see the world (Anderson & Milbrandt,

2004; Darts, 2006; Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002; Milbrandt, 2002). Most artists continue to work in

traditional styles, but other artists, as well as art educators, explore new purposes for art such as

working for social engagement and change in their art, interacting in a dialogue with society.

A review of prior studies of the use of art to affect social issues shows that it is important

for the art education curriculum and the art education system to encourage the community to

become engaged in projects that involve collaborative and socially constructive practices. All of

the kinds of arts (music, visual art, performing art, craft, sculpture, design, photography, dance,

and drama) have features that lead to their having a very positive impact on social issues; in

addition, they have enjoyed a long tradition of addressing social issues. Therefore, art is an

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optimal medium through which students can be helped to understand contemporary social issues.

To increase education’s influence on society, issues-centered instruction should be added to and

addressed in the different disciplines, and particularly in art education, taking into consideration

the implications of artistic mediums for the social issues in the local society or nationally.

Even though many studies have confirmed the importance of integrating social issues into

different disciplines’ curricula, and although art education is one of the major curricula at

schools, few studies have focused on applying these ideas to art. Beard (1929) stressed that

“human beings live not by election statistics and battle alone, but also by industry, by

housekeeping, by co-operation with their fellows, by all the arts of love, joy, and admiration ...

the schools simply cannot ignore the demands of life, keep aloof from its pressing problems of

choice and conduct” (p. 369). Students should study world conflicts and difficulties in their lives

through what they learn at schools. Evans, Newmann, and Saxe (1996) said that “the study of

issues if it is to lead to the development of in-depth understanding, must also include content

from historical cases, literature, art and music” (p. 3). Thus, the practice of Issues-Centered

Education could be assisted and complemented through the teaching of art and other disciplines

(Onosho & Swenson, 1996).

Hahn (1996) presented an overall view of the researchers who have encouraged an

issues-centered curriculum, concluding that art and the other majors such as law, religion,

education, literature, the sciences, and philosophy should provide fundamental knowledge about

the causes and effects of providing social issues-centered education. Teachers should create a

connection between social issues and the students' own personal lives as much as possible

through an interdisciplinary approach. Shaver (1992) stressed that issues-centered education

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should include not only the social sciences but also arts and that it should focus on the

knowledge produced by related research.

In addition, Kniep (1986) and Levak, Merryfield, and Wilson (1993) concluded that even

though the most significant data relevant to issues-centered education come from history,

political science, economics, geography, anthropology, sociology, and psychology, social studies

educators should incorporate the insights from literature, music, art, sciences, and mathematics in

order to view issues from various aspects. OchoaBecker (2006) believed that there was “no end

to the availability of such literature, art, and music that can heighten the significance of

controversial issues and challenges to the human condition” (p. 51). He confirmed that teachers

should know the conditions related to issues of interest and should learn how to teach, find

evidence, and apply the results.

Furthermore, Ballengee-Morris, Carpenter, Sessions, and Taylor (2006) suggested that

“rather than basing curriculum on learning a medium or technique, we recommend that art

teachers base their units of instruction on a problem, issue, or question gleaned from works of art

and visual culture” (p. 39). Rather than concentrating only on medium or technique in the art

curriculum, art teachers must raise instruction to a new level by presenting to their students a

problem, issue, or question to be resolved and trying to solve it, employing artworks. The focus

is on giving a voice to students and helping them to understand the community and to create

positive change in society. Therefore, the carrying out of art curriculum content analysis and a

survey of art by teachers and educators as a tool for examining social issues and citizenship

education is vital to art education.

Carpenter and Tavin (2009) stated that the reconceptualization of art education is causing

a change in the focus from traditional art forms to a “critical, historical, political, and self-

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reflexive understanding of visual culture and social responsibility” (p. 245). Also, they shared the

idea of Blumenfeld-Jones (2004/2006) and Pinar et al. (2004) in describing the art education

curriculum as being oriented to experiences such that “the curriculum comes to form as art does,

as a complex mediation and Reconstruction of experience. In this regard, the curriculum can be

likened to an art form” (pp. 567-568).

Among scholars studying the reconceptualization of the art education curriculum field,

one of the most prominent is Stephen Carpenter. He argued for understanding the theory of art

as related to works of art, projects, and practice in both the academic world and the community

in 2012. Carpenter (2014); Carpenter, Cornelius, and Sherow (2010); Carpenter, Cornelius,

Muñoz, and Sherow (2011); Carpenter and Taylor (2013); Arcak, Boulanger, Carpenter,

Cornelius, Muñoz, and Muñoz (2011); and Carpenter (2010) advocated for a shift from the

traditional model to a model that recognizes the critical, political, and social context.

In “Art Education beyond Reconceptualization: Enacting Curriculum through/with/

by/for/of/in/beyond Visual Culture, Community, and Public Pedagogy,” Carpenter and Tavin

(2009) argued that “these simultaneous areas of curriculum discourse support our premise that

art education is in a current state of struggle; a state that we interpret here as a

reconceptualization of art education” (p. 247). The contemporary and recently developed shift in

the reconceptualization entailed performance “in the process of positive personal and social

change” (p. 250). Art has been reconceived as responding to the “ideas of self, world, and art

worlds brought on by the postmodern condition and postmodern theorizing” (p. 251). Those who

make and those who enjoy art live in the real world, of which conflict is a part; in addition, arts

are always expressions of people's ideological and political ideas, values, and understandings,

both collective and personal.

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Furthermore, Carpenter and Tavin (2009) argued that art lessons should be designed as

directives on problem issues and that students should be taught about contemporary culture

critically, through both digital and hypermediated means. The teaching focuses on areas

including democratic attitudes regarding social issues and the study of issues of social justice.

According to Carpenter, it is important for art educators to understand the curriculum as

symbolic performing; they should not focus merely on what teachers can teach the students to

do.

All of these scholars have confirmed that research must be conducted in the same context

while resulting in analysis from various viewpoints. Researchers must become more self-critical

and more ethical by engaging in debates with each other as cultural participants working to help

others along the path to art knowledge (Stokrocki, 2004). Also, there is strong advocacy for an

increase in research that discusses and tests the use of issues-centered education in art education

at schools today. All the related literature that was found offered a platform for the use of

contemporary art as a means by which the perceptions of individuals and all of humanity can be

altered.

Through art education, educators can change the way ideas are represented and also

inspire new developments in their community. The general benefits of social art are well known.

Helguera (2011) confirmed socially involved art can ignite the dissatisfaction and disquiet that

are necessary for change; furthermore, social art helps people reflect, collaborate, and create with

regard to issues that society must face. Social art can lead to the beginning of conversation at the

citizen level as well as with participants around the world. As culture changes, the world can also

change (Darts, 2006). Furthermore, our identity is constructed via culture and art. Therefore,

artists and art educators must begin their efforts to change the world with schools and education.

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Eisner (2001) wrote that “the arts in the plural and the visual arts, in particular, are enhancements

of life, but what a teacher as a human being contributes to his or her students' lives exceeds the

scope of art, even when the arts are conceptualized in their widest form” (p. 10).

Totten (2014) believed that what everyone involved in education employs in the schools

is the prime and most powerful tool of social development and change. He asserted that

education, considered this way, is concerned with the most unique and perfect combination of art

and societal concern that is possible in the students’ social experiences. Benedict et al. (2015)

espoused a more practice- centered method in which issues are applied to art pedagogy and real-

life teaching situations or art-making contexts. Finally, it seems clear that the art teacher is not

simply involved in training individual students, but also is engaged in shaping the development

of the right kinds of attitudes about social life and understanding of issues (Helguera, 2011).

Artists and artistic works often produce great developments in terms of social and

personal experience, and they can also provide insights into social problems and situations

(Newhall, 1978) which can be applied to supporting involvement in issues and to increasing the

insight and knowledge we can have into important issues in society (Lesy, 1982). Thus, today in

classes in art education, the work of students can be applied to representing artistic expressions’

social purposes. Beyond the art curriculum, teachers of art can support and increase the

awareness of particular issues and current problems under discussion and debate in the

community.

Applying Issues-Centered Education in the Art Curriculum

Based on prior studies, to prepare effective citizens, it is important to come to terms with

issues of controversy in school classrooms. Art is one of the disciplines that give us a way to

respond to social issues, to comment on social issues, to begin to think about these problems in

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new ways, and perhaps even to devise approaches and solutions with regard to these social

issues. Social practice art, art for social issues, or issues-centered education is an emerging,

interdisciplinary field of study and practical education that rotates between the humanities and

the arts. Even though many scholars and much research advocate for the use of issues-centered

education within the curriculum, many challenges are met in the actual implementation of this

model.

According to Dana (1996), the teaching of issues-centered education depends on who is

teaching. Thus, some who are attempting to implement issues-centered education might fail due

to a weak curriculum. She recommended certain programs for following and discussing subjects

of social concern. She also recommended participating with other arts and sciences teachers to

lead massive lecture courses that focus on significant social dilemmas in greater depth. She

believed the current situation will not change until the teachers for those courses are committed

to issues-centered education. She believed that “it is in such actions that the promise of issues-

centered teacher education lies” (p. 304).

Jelich (1996) suggested several supervisory policies that would aid reflective, issues-

centered teachers, observing behavior, forming up policies, framing goals, and setting a timeline.

The most important sign of progress in the issues-centered method involves the building of an

environment which is helpful to the development of a relationship between directors, issues-

centered teachers, and students. The second sign is supporting reflective, issues-centered teachers

in defining concerns clearly in a proper discussion before they enter the classroom. The final sign

is the supporting of self-analysis on the part of thoughtful teachers concerned with issues through

the use of objective observational data and also an evaluation of their attention being paid to

addressing these concerns (Jelich, 1996).

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On the other hand, Blair (1996) claimed that art teachers have made difficult

determinations about choosing art class content that is compatible with parents’ concerns about

issues that are facing society. He suggested several ideas to deal with these challenges, some of

which are inviting community and parents, celebrating with others, and empowering students to

understand societal issues. By increasing issues-centered education knowledge such as

knowledge of censorship, teachers can determine art class content and a curriculum that satisfies

the requirements of students and leads to the greatest benefits for them (Gaudelius & Speirs,

2002).

Repa (1990) advised art teachers to not self-censor, to not avoid issues considered to be

controversial and to not attempt to imagine what might seem aggressive to someone else. In

addition, teachers should be able to discuss taboos, and the cultural issues that surround these

topics should be thoughtfully considered with pupils to improve awareness, sensitively. Evans,

Newmann, and Saxe (1996) advocated for the design of programs and projects that are useful in

dealing with issues of controversy for advocates of the curriculum that is issues-centered.

Furthermore, Engle and Ochoa (1988) called for combining study and investigation of an

extensive variety of views on the topic or issue that is under discussion, including more

conservative views, to support pupils in their efforts to make up their own minds. They

recommended using investigating questions as a link for creating models and supplies and

addressing problems from an extensive range of perspectives.

Also, Evans and Avery (1999) confirmed that art teachers’ roles in supporting issues-

centered education in class should include promoting caring and useful methods for controlling

learner behavior and building open, safe, comfortable, and supportive environments to assist

learners in free expression about the issues. Art teachers must concentrate on ideas, not

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personalities. Jones (1993) asked schools to endorse a specific procedure for supporting free

expression.

Example of Informing Students about Social Issues in Art Education

One of the challenges that face applying the ideas of social issues art education and

practice at schools is that there are not many models and examples that teachers can apply in

education. Thus, some examples that might help art teachers and artists to work in light of these

ideas are presented here. One famous example of art as social practice is Picasso’s Guernica, an

oil on canvas painting created by Pablo Picasso in 1937. The large painting portrays people and

animals suffering as they are distorted by chaos and violence. A gored horse, a cow, and fires

figure prominently in the composition. Picasso created the painting in reply to the attack by

Italian and Nazi German airplanes on the Basque Country village of Guernica in northern Spain,

an attack requested by Spanish Nationalists. However, the aim of including social issues today in

art education is not only to make art that represents occurrences of social injustice as was done

with art from the past, but also to apply the various forms proposed by the growing field of

contemporary art as part of a collaborative, cooperative, and participatory social purpose to

change reality in terms of progressive rights, community structure and law, and transformation.

In Art as Social Action, Sholette and Bass (2018) provided examples and lessons for art

teachers to help them with their engagement and practices in the classrooms. They provided very

helpful ideas thematically and addressed several issues of social concern. They confirmed there

are several programs and scholarly workers in this field who have contributed to the

development of the artistic and pedagogical commitment to the practice and study of socially

engaged art. They are concerned with different areas including pedagogy focused on feminism

and social justice, politics, critical practice, responsibility, and social engagement. They provide

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the names of many contemporary artists’ and researchers’ names, some of whom are experts in

the field, including Ted Purves, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Claire Bishop, Mariam Ghani, Adeola

Enigbokan, the Yes Men, Chemi Rosado-Seijo, Alicia Grullón, Tomie Arai, Deanna Bowen,

Nato Thompson, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Pepon Osorio, Sarah Fritchy, Liz Park, Fran Ilich

Morales, Amin Husain, Alfredo Jaar, Dread Scott, Larry Bogad, Sean Starowitz, Yevgeniy Fiks,

Marco Baravalle, Stephen Wright, and Saul Ostrow.

In Participatory Art and Social Action, Sholette and Bass (2018) stated that Ted Purves

and Tim Rollins are dedicated contemporary artists who advocate for socially engaged art

education. This project aims to increase the number of artists and theories and overall

participation in this art field. They provide description and examples from their extensive

experience to apply to the teaching of social issues in art education, and they present examples

for the lessons and activities that help art teachers and educators to use art to address social

issues.

Dewey (1897) believed that “the only true education comes through the stimulation of the

child’s powers by the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself. Through these

demands, he is stimulated to act as a member of a unity, to emerge from his original narrowness

of action and feeling, and to conceive of himself from the standpoint of the welfare of the group

to which he belongs” (p. 232). To be socially involved and to foster change, community art

practice must transfer art from the practice of art for the classroom to the practice of art for the

community.

After reading and analyzing all viewpoints about teaching and learning social issues, I

have an increased belief in the power of education. I believe that the school can serve as an

impulse toward social progress; however, sometimes this goal is not reached. In the context of

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educating and being educated about social issues in art education, I believe art teachers with

strong concerns can generate ideas for active art learning that lead to social betterment. Hamilton

(2008) emphasized that the methods of learning about social issues can and should vary, but the

goals ought to be clear. Thus, art teachers should teach social issues in their curriculum so that

they can help their students understand their lives and themselves. I hope every teacher becomes

concerned about teaching social issues as a means of developing the community.

Each approach has its own collection of challenges, and those challenges make it more

difficult for educators to achieve the goals of any content area addressed. Thus, art researchers in

the field must discuss and understand these difficulties to help teachers apply this model to art

education. Also, to develop skills in communicating and interacting with others, students must

understand social issues at the local and global levels. Through using issues-centered education,

students will learn skills and a variety of cultural knowledge that will help them to understand

social issues in various contexts and cooperate with others to address these issues and resolve

them (Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002; Gude, 2009).

To conclude, art is a crucial part of human development and is at the base of effective

education. Nevertheless, based on the research in the field, there is a need for issues-centered art

education practices and experiences because few organizations are invested in art research. The

purpose of the Art Education Journal is to share experiences and research on artistic engagement

in learning and to create and support collaborative organizations. In the 21st century, the

Journal’s trend is toward “Giving Voice to Art Education”; it focuses on advocacy, which has the

potential to affect political, economic, and social landscapes at the local and national levels.

Thus, the journal tries to promote art education beyond the educational system and in the broader

social context. As social practice art education grows in demand and becomes global, educators

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should continue to discover and develop themselves and their students. I believe we are teaching

with a goal to change the world and build the community.

IBAE: Example of a Particular Educator

Various issues-based art educators have used several types of social art approaches. June

King McFee (1917-2008) was one of the early advocates of joining art education to real life and

social issues. Her idea stressed the citizen's responsibility to assess the condition of art

participation in society. She believed that learning was behavioral organization, and the learning

that society needed was that which would produce a direct change in behavior. She addressed

multicultural approaches to art and teaching, environmental design, and ways in which

psychology can be of aid to demonstrate the way we see, understand, and know art and the world

in general. She understood the need for artists, teachers, and art educators to become engaged in

addressing societal dilemmas, and she recognized the power of art as a primary form of

expression and communication (Congdon, 2008).

Her most famous works are Society, Art, and Education in 1966 and Art, Culture and

Environment, authored with Rogena Degge in 1977. McFee is best known for promoting cultural

understanding through the arts. She believed in teaching art according to a child’s needs.

According to her “perception delineation” theory, learning was a behavioral adjustment, and the

education that society needed was guided change in behavior. She called on teachers to be

sensitive to the use of art as a communication medium and to provide students of different

cultural backgrounds with ways to cope in the mainstream of society without causing them to

devalue their cultural background. From that basic assumption come several ideas that have

some importance not only to art and art education but also to the overall cultural and global

world.

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Several contemporary social art education teachers and educators have followed her

theory; an example is Laura Chapman (2000), who believes in there are possibilities for arts

education to concentrate on civic competence in the arts, with adequate attention to critical,

historical, and contemporary studies of the overt and the covert use of artistic influences in

education, “political life, entertainment, advertising, the built environment, and consumer goods”

(p. 28). One of the best known of her books is Approaches to Art in Education (1978). Her

scholarly work considers in considerable depth some of the most important foundations for art

education, children's artistic improvement, suggested activities in different media, and program

planning and evaluation.

Another educator, Graeme Chalmers, is Professor Emeritus of Art Education and the

author for several books, the best known of which is Celebrating Pluralism: Art, Education, and

Cultural Diversity (1996). As an art educator, Graeme worked with others to move art education

into diverse areas and use the arts to address issues of social justice. Another art educator

concerned with social issues was Paul Duncum, who focused on visual culture. He published

Visual Culture: Developments, Definitions, and Directions for Art Education in 2001. He

outlined the shift from studying art to studying visual culture in contemporary cultural life and

provided suggestions about a curriculum for visual culture. He believed that visual culture is now

an art educational paradigm that should be practiced in the visual culture art education

classroom. He strongly focused on student-based research built upon critical thinking and

inquiry, each of which reflects a different understanding of the definition of studio practice in the

classroom.

Kerry Freedman, a professor of art and design education, focuses on questions

concerning the relationship of the curriculum to art and culture and on inquiries into student

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engagement with visual culture, creativity, and community. Among her publications are

Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics, and the Social Life of Art (2003) and Social

Perspectives on Art Education in the U.S.: Teaching Visual Culture in a Democracy (2002). She

suggested employing a conceptual structure for teaching the visual culture in a democracy and

recent changes in the field of art history. She believed that there are connections between art,

student development, and cognition. She proposed an understanding of art inside and outside of

school and argued for the role of arts in the curriculum and in relation to social issues. She

believed that art should be seen as socially constructed and as a meaningful expression.

Another scholar, Kristin Congdon, focuses on folk art, art education, art history, and

feminism. She writes on the topics of art in a democracy, community-based art education, and

community art in action. She published Multicultural Approaches to Art Criticism in 1989. She

argued in favor of a diversity of worldviews in art critique. The incorporation of multi-cultural

methods in art critique can help us to improve the lives of members of our society. Also, she

authored several works on feminist art education in various communities such as Feminist

Approaches to Art Criticism and Teaching Art Where Art Should Not Exist: Women’s

Empowerment in Saudi Arabia.

Research Question 10

What prior research has been done that most directly relates to the current study and its Saudi Arabia context?

To better understand Saudi social art education methods, Alheezan (2009) examined

teaching approaches that are used by Saudi art education teachers in schools. Since the teaching

of art education was not provided detailed guidance for in the curriculum as is the case with

other subjects, teachers were expected to vary their strategy for teaching the subject. Many

teachers (31%) got their techniques of teaching from advanced-planned approaches. He

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recommended that the teachers and the Ministry of Education consider applying the community

and IBAE theory in the art education class and deal with contemporary issues. He believed that

community-based instruction could impact the status of art education in Saudi Arabia. The

Ministry offers research and development linked to the improvement of the curriculum and

instruction approaches, and in doing so, it creates connections between art and society as part of

this improvement (Al-Salloum, 1995).

Alamoud (1991) argued that the Saudi Arabian Art Education Association should play a

significant role in closing the gap between art education and society. Many social and

educational problems should be addressed through the teaching of social art education. He found

that Saudi Arabian culture affects the nature of students’ acknowledgment of art objects; besides,

social and educational constituents were seen to form the contents of students' active discussions.

The teaching of social art using IBAE should take into consideration the art education class in

Saudi schools.

Finally, Alamoud (1991) and Alheezan (2009) mentioned the importance of addressing

social issues in the Saudi art education curriculum. There is still a need for different approaches

and ways to apply IBAE in the curriculum. The Saudi art educational system should base the

study of art education on its own social foundations as it pursues an art education teaching

strategy that will facilitate social understanding by creating an environment that is socially

reassuring and meaningfully stimulating.

Research Question 11

How will the current study extend the existing research literature?

Recommendations for Using IBAE

The National Art Education Association Journal, a famous journal in the art education

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field, this year called for addressing responsibilities in both the production of awareness and in

acknowledgment of the need for of change by social, political, and cultural transformations of

reimagined roles, forms, values, and faiths connected with art education. There is an active and

strong call for work that reflects positively on the community. Moreover, all evidence and

studies confirm that IBAE is an important format through which Saudi art education can make

connections among art curriculum, art, and social issues. Thus, many art educators have

suggested that the field of art education should transition from traditional art to postmodern art

that incorporates contemporary reality, lifestyles, and social issues. The current global

transformation of art education aims not only to widen the curriculum content but also to employ

new pedagogical approaches in making connections between the art curriculum and social issues.

Similarly, Taylor, Carpenter, Ballengee-Morris, and Sessions (2006) suggested that

“rather than basing curriculum on learning a medium or technique, we recommend that art

teachers base their units of instruction on a problem, issue, or question gleaned from works of art

and visual culture” (p. 39). Rather than concentrating only on medium or technique in the art

curriculum, art teachers must raise instruction to a new level by presenting to their students

problems, issues, or questions that can then be resolved through the practice of art. The focus is

to give voice to students and help them to understand themselves and the community in order to

create positive change in society on a broader scale. Art educators should develop and present an

art curriculum that considers the culture but lets the students promote the purposes of their

thinking about what might be probable, positive, or negative in their shifting cultural context.

Possibilities and Limitations Offered by Various Approaches

According to Kattan (2015), Saudi society continues to move away from the traditional

mode of expression regarding “social relations and cultural values and has replaced these

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principles with more contemporary themes: consumerism, mass production, rapid construction,

and self-expression” (p. 1). Thus, all the approaches discussed above have a significant potential

for integration with IBAE that will support the students’ efforts to analyze the importance of

social issues critically. When art teachers use one of these methods in combination with IBAE,

that will increase the strength of these strategies.

However, one of the weaknesses of IBAE with regard to engaging with social issues is

that it is not easy for teachers to choose the issues or combine them with art education methods;

thus, art educators and researchers must be cooperative in their efforts to present samples and

methods, perhaps by adopting ideas such as those in Alshehri (2005) and Anderson and

Milbrandt (2004), who proposed artistic activities for the development of social issues.

Furthermore, one other limitation of Saudi art education is that even though there are

elements of modernity and progress in art outside the schools, art is separate from other activities

outside of schools. Lutfi (2018) argued that educational institutions are focused on traditional art.

As contemporary art is not a part of curriculums in schools and colleges, she points out that there

is a disconnect between how art education is structured and recognized within institutional

systems and how learners learn and perceive art. The art education system in Saudi Arabia is

influenced by what is culturally acceptable. The older practices relating to arts and crafts are

supposed to mirror ideal and acceptable art forms. Social dynamics are at play, which limits the

progress of art educational systems (Lutfi, 2018). She suggests several changes to improve the

goals for art education, one of which is assuring that art teachers possess proper qualifications to

teach different forms of art and examining students’ raising of the value of art in Saudi society.

However, I agree with Aarts and Roelants (2015) that there is a significant opportunity to

use art education as a means to contribute to positive change in society. Thus, there is great

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potential for using IBAE as an important approach within Saudi art education. I believe social

IBAE to be a powerful means of creating transformational learning experiences for learners that

will align well with changes in the country. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 for the future and IBAE

will be of aid in the achievement of the target through the art education curriculum as a subject

that is taught at schools.

Thus, using IBAE in a Saudi context may significantly bring Saudi society together and

raise its citizens’ awareness of the meanings of social concerns, encouraging them in

organizational struggles and promoting the development of social participation as against mere

passive perception in art. Kalin (2014) confirmed that educational art projects show core

contradictions and exclusions within the constellation of education, art, and politics that should

be a central concern for those currently engaged in art education. Discussing social issues can be

uncomfortable, but doing so is necessary to provide a safe space for students to express

themselves.

IBAE in the Saudi Context

In addition to Saudi art education, researchers and Vision 2030 planners are also

concerned with addressing social issues; thus, using a social IBAE approach in the Saudi Arabia

curriculum will assist to achieve the goal. From my experience involving my own community

experiences and studying the curriculum deeply, I think there are many ways to apply an IBAE

approach to the art education curriculum to address the society’s issues and other cultures. The

Saudi government, while aiming to reduce its engagement in the economic domain, seems

hopeful of raising it in the cultural and social area through the creation of its civil society

division.

Many circumstances influence society, and we all have strong feelings and individual

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reflections. The art classroom is the perfect place to allow students to find answers to

contemporary issues and express opinions about the local, national, or global social issues

through the use of art for life. Thus, Saudi art education should engage in more efforts aimed

toward addressing how community life can be formed and should promote a positive lifestyle

and strength in diverse Islamic, Arab, and Western cultural traditions. Using this approach will

shift the understanding from the idea that art is beautiful to the idea that art is necessary for our

life and the quality and issues of Saudi community life.

This understanding of art will help Saudi art education teachers to create art curricula that

open the dialogue on morality and social critique in relation to social issues. When the socially

engaged art approach is used, Saudi students will achieve a higher level of thinking, and this will

lead to conversations about Saudi social issues. Also, a social IBAE approach in the Saudi

society will enhance social support for students’ performance, as well as improve the themes of

promoting combined learning beyond the art classroom. Based on the certain specific social

issues for IBAE discussed in prior studies, the IBAE approach might be used to deal with certain

specific social issues such as cultural diversity, environmental issues, morality issues, violence,

abuse, war, racism, homelessness, poverty, hunger, gender issues, the effects of mass media,

censorship, unemployment, terrorism, and the rights of women and workers in Saudi Arabia.

For example, teachers can introduce students to the idea of the effects of mass media

issues. Teachers might be surprised when they are able to find out more about students’ feelings

and opinions. Teachers should remember that they are working just as facilitators of the

dialogue. Then they should open the time for students to engage in symbolism and visual

metaphor exploration about mass media issues. They can then again open the dialogue to

practice analyzing and interpreting artworks. The social IBAE approach will be a good practical

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approach for the Saudi context because it will assist the generation to understand and imagine the

context from other perspectives and help them to share their opinions with others. Discussing

these issues in the art classroom will confer powerful advantages even though most of these

issues are discussed in religious and social studies classes. Thus, I recommend methods related to

social issues. IBAE as a method effectively includes social issues in the Saudi Arabian context.

This perspective will guide the idea of Saudi art education in studying how Saudi students

understand themselves and others from the Saudi community and from all over the world.

Based on the positive impact of this method according to prior studies, this kind of

artwork can be used to provide a sense of Saudi identity, value, and worth in contexts that may

positively change the social issues within this community and create a more in-depth dialogue by

influencing students’ lives and their critical thinking ability. That will be important for Saudi

society at this time of global change affecting the country. Also, it will increase the critical

understanding of social issues relevant to Saudi society. Using issue-based art education will be

necessary for Saudi society as it can serve as a powerful channel for learning. This approach can

aid in developing rational analysis as well as creativity, engage students’ hearts in society, help

them understand contemporary issues of culture, and teach them to draw meaningful connections

across the curriculum and social life. These art skills will prepare Saudi students to engage in

sustainable development and demand more corporate social responsibility. The approach also

enables students to critically engage with social issues by understanding the world and to be

ready to participate critically and creatively in it through their chosen fields of work and study.

Gender roles in Saudi society come from local culture. However, with the new vision,

there is a new interpretation of women’s issues in Saudi society in support of equal rights rooted

in the truth and right interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. Through the 2030 vision, women are

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taking their place in military leadership and senior government positions, working to support

gender equality and women’s rights under the law, seeing greater participation in the civil

service sector, benefitting from mechanisms to improve women’s employability, and being

encouraged to take up a number of job opportunities at work. Using a social IBAE approach in a

Saudi Arabian context will support these transformations. This means not only taking more

effective approaches in the art education curriculum but also developing a greater focus on

including growth and creating a social safety community.

To Achieve the 2030 Vision in the Art Education Curriculum

Because the Saudi 2030 Vision (2016) aims to “promote cultural, social, volunteering and

athletic activities through empowering our educational, cultural and entertainment institutions”

(p. 28), this research aimed to contribute to this development to achieve these goals through

teaching art education at schools including the discussion of community issues. It is clear that

there must be a focus on art and social responsibilities and development in order to build a strong

and productive society. In addition, the new focus will “seek to offer a variety of cultural venues

– such as libraries, arts, and museums – as well as entertainment possibilities to suit tastes and

preferences” (p. 22). Therefore, this research will be helpful for work in humanistic and social

reconstruction philosophy in art education classes through the use of IBAE approaches.

Because of Vision 2030, Saudi art teachers are required to work in collaboration,

organizing, planning, implementing, and evaluating classroom instruction on a daily basis in

order to help learners from a diverse population achieve success. Further, art teachers must

maintain good professional relationships with students, colleagues, and parents in such a way as

to benefit the whole learning community educationally. In doing their job, teachers are

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supervised by school principals, and they also occasionally work together with paraprofessionals,

parent volunteers, and other educators.

Art teachers are responsible for working collaboratively to plan and carry out rigorous,

effective, and developmentally appropriate instruction and interventions in line with the SAES

curriculum. They must establish clear objectives for learning and communicate them to students

and their parents. They must require students to meet high citizenship, academic achievement,

and personal growth standards. They must create a safe, positive, and interesting environment for

learning in the classroom and help to establish a positive professional climate and culture in the

school. They are responsible for the use of a variety of assessment methods to evaluate and

assess the learning progress of their students and provide regular and effective feedback

regarding their students’ progress.

The curriculum stipulates that the Saudi art teacher should be a guide, facilitator,

motivator, and mediator of the learning process. The Saudi art teacher should create a rich

learning environment by providing resources to be used to ensure that participatory learning and

teaching is dialogical and not a monologue (Almuraie, 2019; ALSaud & Qurban, 2016; Alshaie,

2017; Alshehri, 2001; Alshehri, 2005). For example, Saudi art teachers may share in decision

making by planning the social art lessons for art education classes, planning the interactions

between teachers and students, and focusing on student-selected social issues and topics, all of

which are aspects of this approach. Students are to engage with sources of art, extracting

information, interpreting it, and arguing and debating. This kind of art curriculum should

encourage multiple perspectives on teaching and learning about art. This kind of method should

expose students to a multiplicity of interpretations and meaningful content.

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CHAPTER 3

METHOD OF THE STUDY

This mixed-method research utilizes a sequential research design that consists of two

periods in which researchers first collect quantitative data and then collect qualitative data, using

multiple methods (Creswell, 2007). The rationale for this design is that it explains and clarifies

the collective results that emerge from both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative

research part of the study incorporates an experimental design to find the effect of an IBAE

workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching.

The qualitative part incorporates descriptive research that explores beliefs and

perceptions of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers after participating in a

professional development workshop on social IBAE. Furthermore, this qualitative part discovers

the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of social IBAE,

especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society after the generation of teaching lesson

plans involving social issues.

Statement of the Problem

Despite the positive impacts of IBAE on students, teachers, and entire communities

(Albers, 1999; Atkinson & Dash, 2005; Bethel & Foels, 2016; Berman, 2009; Beauregard,

Gunter, & Paquette, 2017; Chang, Lim, & Kim, 2012; Carvalho, 2014), minimal research has

dealt with Saudi Arabia’s application of IBAE and its connection to social issues within the

community.

In addition, a review of art education textbooks in Saudi Arabia revealed little or no

issues-based content and very few lessons that dealt directly or indirectly with social issues

within the local community or country. In summary, there have been many studies outside of

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Saudi Arabia about teaching contemporary social issues through art education; however, there

are limited studies inside Saudi Arabia.

However, the new “Vision 2030” of the country aims to reform the educational system

and include greater attention to art, entertainment, and social aspects. The aim of the current

study is to describe in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ (a) philosophies of

education (before and after a workshop intervention), (b) perceptions of a professional

development workshop on IBAE, (c) perceptions about the relative importance of social IBAE

and various items associated with IBAE, and (d) perceptions of social IBAE, especially within

the Saudi Arabian context.

Research Questions

This mixed-method study is about art education teaching and learning of social issues in

art education classes in Saudi Arabia. I am arguing for social issues in the art education

curriculum as a means of building a bridge between art education and social issues. To raise

critical consciousness and awareness of these practices for art education teachers, my study

sought answers to the following questions:

Q1: What is the effect of an IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching?

Q2: After participating in an IBAE professional development workshop on social IBAE, what is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan generation activity?

Q3: After participating in an IBAE professional development workshop on social IBAE, what is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of (a) the IBAE approach,(b) reasons for using IBAE, (c) various potential social issues topics in IBAE, and (d) various potential challenges in addressing social issues by using IBAE?

Q4: After participating in a professional development workshop on social IBAE and after implementing an original IBAE lesson plan, what is the status of in-service Saudi

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Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of social IBAE, especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society?

To answer these questions, specific instruments were employed to collect data, as shown

in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1

List of Instruments to Collect Data

Questions Instruments Type of research

Question 1 (A) Pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Questionnaire Experimental/Quantitative

Question 2 (B) Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire Descriptive/Qualitative

Question 3 (C) Modified Milbrandt (2002) Questionnaire Descriptive/Quantitative (Descriptive Statistics)

Question 4 (D) Personal Teaching Journal Protocol and Focus Group Suggested Questions Protocol Descriptive/Qualitative

Research Sites and Participants

The participants consisted of a convenience sample of in-service Saudi Arabian art

education female teachers who were teaching in the 2019 Fall semester. The study took place in

the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The expected number of participants in this study was 35-50 in-

service Saudi Arabian art education teachers at public schools for the three questionnaires and

the reflective essay, and 12-20 in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers at public schools

for the teaching journal on lesson implementation and focus group discussion. The research sites

were selected based on convenience within my home country and the researcher’s understanding

and familiarity with the place and society, which is important for this research study.

The number of participants in the sample was 35-50 in-service Saudi Arabian art

education teachers, all were females. The sampling method was non-random and purposive due

to the goal of the current study to discover the impact of and teachers’ reactions to teaching

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social issues through art in public. In addition, unlike other subjects’ teachers, the number of art

teachers in public schools is limited because each school may have, at most, one art teacher, and

sometimes different schools share the same art teacher.

Instruments

Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Questionnaire

In the first phase of the current study, the questionnaire designed by Kauchak and Eggen

(2014, pp. 169-170) was used to examining the in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

philosophy of teaching. This questionnaire has 16 questions that are measured according to a 5-

point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly

agree). I added demographics questions appropriate for the population and sample of the current

study to discover participants’ situations (see Appendix A.2). Additionally, I’m interested to

know about their knowledge and background regarding teaching art education, such as grade

level(s) taught, number of years teaching art, prior attendance at related workshops, current

average time spent teaching social issues, and age, etc. This instrument was used to answer the

questions, “What is the effect of an IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art education

teachers’ philosophy of teaching?”

Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire

In the qualitative part of the study, I used a reflective essay (see Appendix A.4) post-

workshop questionnaire and (see Appendix A.5) that had nine questions for evaluating the IBAE

workshop. This instrument was used to answer the question, “After participating in an IBAE

professional development workshop on social IBAE, what is the status of in-service Saudi

Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan generation

activity?”

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Modified Milbrandt (2002) Questionnaire

In the descriptive/ quantitative part of the study, this questionnaire was used for rating the

relative importance of the IBAE approach, possible rationales, possible topics, and possible

challenges. I contacted the researchers and got their permission to modify the questionnaire to be

compatible with the research questions of the current study. Questions in the Milbrandt (2002)

questionnaire were originally designed to measure the status of contemporary social issues in an

art education class in Georgia, U.S.A. I used this instrument to answer the question, “After

participating in an IBAE professional development workshop on social IBAE, what is the status

of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of

(a) the IBAE approach, (b) reasons for using IBAE, (c) various potential social issues topics in

IBAE, and (d) various potential challenges in addressing social issues by using IBAE?”

Personal Teaching Journal Protocol and Focus Group Suggested Questions Protocol

The last instruments used in the qualitative part of the study were the personal teaching

journaled protocol (see Appendix A.6) and focus group discussion (see Appendix A.7) to explore

social IBAE, especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society. The personal teaching

journal protocol and the focus group discussion were made up of several questions. These

instruments were used to answer the question “After participating in a professional development

workshop on social IBAE and after implementing an original IBAE lesson plan, what is the

status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of social IBAE especially

within the context of Saudi Arabian society?”

Finally, I translated all instruments and workshop materials into the participants’ native

language, Arabic. The entire workshop itself was given in Arabic. According to Hofstede (2001),

“Language and translation of research instruments are crucial, as is the matching of samples

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from the different cultures for functional equivalence” (p. 1). Awareness of every culture’s

various unique values, organizational systems, and environments are vital for a deeper

understanding and respect of the culture. This awareness allows for a more accurate translation

and stronger cross-cultural research. Beauford, Nagashima, and Wu (2009) state that “the

differences in value structures and social mores can dramatically affect how a sample responds to

a survey, questionnaire, or other research instrument even with the best translations possible” (p.

77). From my experience as an international student, I study within a second language and using

translation a lot is essential to have the perfect and whole meaning for my work. Thus, I

understand how it is important to spend a long time and effort to translate and translate clearly

and carefully with help from my friends in the curriculum field. I understand how subtle

differences in translation might impact how Saudi participants, for example, would respond to a

questionnaire asking for an opinion, perception, or preference because of the language and

cultural differences between east and west.

Mixed-Method the Research Design

This study used a mixed-methods design in order to avoid the disadvantages of each pure

method and deepen our understanding of how art education curriculum promotes social issues

and the extent to which taking art class enhances students’ awareness of social issues. In

addition, using balanced and integrated mixed methods strengthened this study. The current

mixed-method study consisted of two parts, (a) an experimental, one-group pre-posttest (i.e. the

impact of an IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophies of

education) and (b) a more qualitative descriptive exploration of these same teachers’ perceptions

about their IBAE workshop experience and the use of IBAE in their art classrooms, especially

within the context of Saudi Arabian society.

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The mixed method design has different forms, which include triangulation design,

embedded design, explanatory design, exploratory design, and sequential embedded design. In

this research, the embedded design was used first with pre-test data and results, then qualitative

process intervention, and finally, with quantitative post-test data and results and interpretation

(Creswell & Clark, 2017).

Through triangulation of data, the results from one research method/ strategy can be

cross-checked against the results of another such as those in Hughes, et al.’s (1997) by using

focus group discussion and questionnaires. This current research study used three questionnaires,

a reflective essay, a personal teaching journal protocol, and a focus group discussion. These

instruments gave use to both quantitative and qualitative data that allowed cross-checking of

results across different instruments and different types of data. For the experimental part, of this

study, the independent variable was the IBAE professional development workshop on teaching

about social issues and the dependent variable was the philosophy of education score or type.

Table 3.2 presents the research timeline of the research.

Table 3.2

The Research Timeline

Dates Actions

Spring 2019

Submit all six instrments to UNT IRB for approval

Submit all six instrments to PNU IRB for approval

Administer/ distribute prepare the professional development workshop for IBAE approach

Administer/ distribute informed using IBAE prior workshop and teaching in classrooms

Administer/ distribute demographics characteristics protocol prior workshop and teaching in classrooms

(table continues

Fall 2019 September

Administer/ distribute the Kauchak and Eggen (2014) pre-questionnaire for examining art teachers’ philosophy of teaching prior workshop and teaching in classrooms

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Dates Actions

Collect Demographics Characteristics Protocol and Kauchak & Eggen (2014) Pre-Questionnaire responses

Conduct the professional development workshop for five days

Administer/ distribute reflective essay template (workshop day: 4)

Collect the Reflective Essay responses (workshop day: 5)

Fall 2019 December

Administer/ distribute the post-workshop questionnaire for evaluating the IBAE workshop (workshop day: 5)

Collect the Post-Workshop Questionnaire responses (workshop day: 5)

Administer/ distribute the Modified Milbrandt (2002) Questionnaire for rating the relative importance of the IBAE approach, possible rationales, possible topics, and possible challenges (workshop day: 5)

Collect Modified Milbrandt (2002) questionnaire responses (workshop day: 5)

Administer/ distribute the Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Post-Questionnaire for examining art teacher’s philosophy of teaching after the workshop. (workshop day: 5)

Collect responses of Kauchak and Eggen (2014) post-questionnaire responses (workshop day: 5).

Administer/ distribute the personal teaching journal protocol template (workshop day: 5)

Oversee teacher implication of the original IBAE lessons

Collect the personal teaching journal protocol responses during focus group discussion

Conduct focus group discussion with 12-20 volunteers from different school

Spring 2020

Compile and analyze all data

Interpret data. State findings. State implications and conclusions

Procedures for Answering Questions

In the beginning, before using the questionnaire, I prepared a letter explaining the

purpose of my study and describing the requirements for art teachers and educators who were

participating in it (see Appendix A.1). I requested permission from the school district and my

scholarship ermission This required much time and effort on my part. Next, I contacted the

principals and provided them with the study’s informed consent form along with the IRB letter

and asked them to distribute the letter to art teachers. After they selected the week, I travealed to

Saudi Arabia to apply the workshop.

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I administered/ distributed the demographics characteristics protocol (see Appendix A.2)

and the pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) questionnaire to check the status of in-

service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy before (and also after) professional

development and IBAE workshop on teaching about social issues with and through art. After I

collected the pretest data, I conducted five sessions of the professional development workshop on

teaching about social issues (see Appendix A.3); each session was four hours in duration. The

workshop was designed to offer sufficient information about the IBAE approach to addressing

social issues in art education classrooms.

For the first day of workshop on teaching about social issues, the main goal was to

introduce Issues Based-Art Education, discuss applications, and brainstorm appropriate social

issues and related works of art. I started with an instruction on using art to teach social issues, a

definition of Issues Based-Art Education, historical background, types of arts, why we use this

approach, how we can use art as opportunities for social issues, and how we can use art as

content vehicles for teaching about social issues. Then, I provided a comparison between DBAE

and IBAE.

To be able to develop combined social concepts in the art classroom, art teachers may use

DBAE and IBAE approaches to help students better understand social issues and discover

meaning in artworks. Using DBAE approach, which unites the art disciplines of art history, art

criticism, aesthetics, and art production, a teacher can implement a curriculum improvement

model which can be efficiently modified to include other non-art subjects. Issue-based art

education IBAE can effectively function in tandem with DBAE because IBAE is an approach

that connects art to the everyday lives of students through exploration of real-world

circumstances and gives each learner the chance to be an individual in the classroom as well as

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experience different personal views and practice empathy for others (Gaudelius & Speirs, 2002;

Gude, 2009). Thus, for this lesson, I presented Laney’s (1996) steps by implementing seven

procedural actions and the IBAE approach of Guay (2002) by using planning process. I also used

a combination of DBAE and the IBAE approaches to promote combined art-social studies as an

aid for art teachers’ curricular design applications.

The main goals of the second-day session were to provide a sample lesson and start

researching the social issue, artwork, artist, and historical content. Participants analyzed issues,

artwork, social issues, and historical content by using the two worksheets (one for analyzing the

artwork and other DBAE) from my sample lesson. Thus, I provided my full example lesson. The

class discussed how to plan IBAE lessons using the steps of IBAE and DBAE. Based on my

model, the participants began working in small groups to build a lesson for their classroom using

a social issue and artwork of their own choosing. They generated an IBAE lesson based on

instructional ideas (activities, guided discussion questions), and brainstormed using DBAE

principles. Lessons were completed as homework.

For the third day, planning in-class presentations to be made in front of the whole class

was the main goal of the session. In the beginning, individuals showed their lesson plans for art

education classroom and presented part of the lesson for 15 minutes to the small group. Members

of the group provided feedback to each lesson author. In each small group, participants analyzed/

critiqued their model lessons based on the DBAE and IBAE approaches. In the end, participants

chose, from within the group, the best model lesson to present on the fourth day to the rest of the

class.

For the fourth day, each small group of participants provided a practicum presentation to

the whole class. They described their model lesson and did part of it for 20-30minutes in front of

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the other groups. There were 6 groups, with 4-6 participants each. After teaching, the group

received feedback from their classrooms and instructor for 7-10 minutes. I encouraged them to

discuss and critique each other’s lessons based on the use of the IBAE and DBAE principles.

They had smart, professional ideas, and subjects. I was so thunderstruck with their ideas. Finally,

participants wrote a reflective essay discussing their experience and finished it for homework as

needed.

At the beginning of the fifth day, I collected the reflective essays discussing the

experience and provided some summary comments and reflections on the IBAE approach

lessons. Afterwards, participants attending this workshop for five days, took the post-workshop

questionnaire, which included nine post-workshop questions (see Appendix A.5) to discover the

status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson

plan generation and activity. This questionnaire allowed for communication about how

participants felt about the workshop they attended. This questionnaire was personal and

subjective for all participants.

Then, I administered the modified questionnaire from Milbrandt (2002) to discover the

status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions about the relative

importance of (a) the IBAE approach, (b) various possible reasons for using IBAE, (c) various

potential social issues topics in IBAE, and (d) various potential challenges in addressing social

issues by using IBAE. Next I used the posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) questionnaire to

discover the effect of an IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

philosophy of teaching before and after a professional development IBAE workshop on teaching

about social issues with and through art.

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On the last day, plans were discussed for implementing the original lessons and writing a

personal teaching journal protocol to record participants’ reactions to the lesson implementation

experience. I asked for volunteers who could attend the focus group discussion. Around twenty

participants signed up for the focus group after applying their lesson for around month at their art

education classroom. We maintained contacted daily and I answered their questions through the

group function in the WhatsApp app. I offered all material and guides to apply the lesson in their

art classroom and the contact information to answer their questions. The following month, lesson

plans were taught by participants in their art classrooms. Also, they wrote the personal teaching

journal protocol. They contacted me and I continued to help them apply the lesson. They were so

exciting. Of the twenty participants who signed up early in the last day of the workshop, 18

participants applied their lesson and brought their jornal protocoal and attend focus group.

Before the focus group discussion, I collected the personal teaching journal protocol

responses so that I could use the information from them to refine the focus group discussion as

needed. However, some of them provided it at the focus group dicussion meeting.

In a focus group discussion, after teaching their lesson plans to discover how the lessons

were received and the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of

social IBAE, especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society (see Appendix A.6 & A.7).

This was a diverse pool of perspectives including 18 Saudi Arabian female art teachers’

volunteers from different schools, in North Riyadh city, and different grade levels; 90% from

them from middle schools.

Focus groups have many common features, as they are group discussions on a particular

topic organized for research purposes. They are used for marketing, but today a focus group can

be used in academic research as a stand-alone method, for research relating to group norms.

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Bloor (2001), Krueger (1997), Stewart & Shamdasani (2014), Morgan, Krueger, & King (1998),

and Morgan & Scannell (1998) state that composition and size are important when conducting a

focus group since great care is necessary to encourage the best quality of discussion impact on

the data by many factors such as the age and the social professional statuses of the participants.

The interaction between the participants was key to a successful focus group. Group size

was an important consideration in focus group research. A small group potentially limits the

discussion, while a large group can (a) be hard to manage for the moderator and (b) frustrating

for participants who are feeling they have few opportunities to participate. Thus, I organized two

focus group discussions. There were 10 participants in the first group in the morning and 8

participants in the second group in the afternoon. I recorded the focus group discussion for

transcription and analysis. Also, I administered the discussion with assistents. After collecting

the qualitative data, I used thematic analysis to find results.

Data Collection and Analysis

To collect data for this research, three questionnaires, a reflective essay, a personal

teaching journal protocol, and a focus group interview were used. The questionnaire is a set of

questions applied in conducting a survey, which is the process of gathering, sampling, analyzing,

and interpreting data from participants to elaborate on their thoughts. Usually, it is a combination

of close-ended and open-ended questions (Breyman, 2016). However, in this research, there are

two questionnaires with close-ended questions and one questionnaire with open-ended questions.

Pretest and Posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Questionnaire

In this research, I measure the in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

philosophy of teaching before and after a professional development IBAE workshop on teaching

about social issues with and through the arts. I used pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen

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(2014) questionnaire to get insight into in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

philosophy for using social issues in the classroom. This questionnaire uses Likert-scale

questions to evaluate whether or not a participant agrees/ disagree with views statements of the

philosophy of education that they have used, as well as the extent to which they agree or

disagree. These questions offer five possible responses with choices ranging from strongly

disagree to strongly agree, to measure respondents' agreement with a variety of statements.

I compared the pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) questionnaire results to

determine whether the differences between two means was significant at a probability level of p

≤ .05. To analyze the data for pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) questionnaire, this

study used a repeated-measures design. Paired-samples t-tests compare the means of data before-

and-after intervention on the same participants (Szafran, 2011). I used a dependent sample t-test

(paired sample t-test), which is a statistical procedure used to determine whether the mean

difference between two sets of observations is zero. In this kind of t-test, each subject is

measured twice, produced in pairs of observations. Common applications of the paired sample t-

test include case-control studies or repeated-measures designs (Szafran, 2011). I used SPSS to

find the outcome. Simple descriptive statistics were also reported-means and standard deviations

for each item and across all items. The number and percentage of individuals choosing each

response alternative was also reported.

Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire

In order to answer the second research question, the reflective essay (see Appendix A.4)

and post-workshop questionnaire (see Appendix A.5) used a variety of open-ended questions.

They both aimed to discover the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan generation activity after participating in a

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professional development workshop on IBAE. The questions were open-ended, which means

that the respondents could reply to them in whatever way they wished. I put the questions in

order from general to specific.

Then, I collected the responses for the post-workshop questionnaire so that I can use the

information from them to refine/ modify the focus group discussion questions. I grouped the

answers to the post-workshop questionnaires open-ended questions into different categories.

Finally, I verified the content of the questions. This qualitative data was coded using I did

thematic analysis using Atlas.ti.8 analyeses software.

Modified Milbrandt (2002) Questionnaire

In order to answer the third research question, I have collected data through the modified

Milbrandt (2002) questionnaire for addressing contemporary social issues in art education

classrooms. Milbrandt used three types of questions, which were in the form of a Likert scale,

rating scale, and open-ended questions. Thus, this questionnaire had seven question sets that

were in different styles. The first question set was meant to measure the participants’ views about

the importance of addressing contemporary social issues within the art curriculum. It used the

Likert scale format, which offered five responses, with choices ranging from strongly disagree to

strongly agree.

The second question set was meant to measure the participants’ views about important

reasons for addressing social issues by ranking the reasons from most important to least. The

third question set was written to measure the types of social issues that participants used in their

teaching which they addressed through the art curriculum from a list of possible topics. The

fourth question set measured the participants’ opinions about the most important social issues to

address through the art curriculum by ranking the social issues list according to their perceived

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value and their presence in the curriculum. The fifth question set measured the participants’

views about the challenges for teaching social issues in the art curriculum by ranking the

concerns or problems that they encountered when addressing social concerns in the art

curriculum in their classroom. For the sixth and seventh questions sets, open-ended questions

were used to encourage participants to write freely to expand on their experiences and

recommendations about (a) teaching social issues and (b) preparing for preservice teachers for

using social issues in art education.

For this research, I modified the Milbrandt (2002) questionnaire to Likert scales for easy

analysis to examine the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions

about the relative importance of the IBAE approach, possible reasons, potential topics, and

potential challenges. These questions offered five responses, with alternative responses ranging

from not at all important to extremely important to measure teachers’ perceptions about the

relative importance of a variety of statements about the IBAE approach.

I grouped and organized the questions into four main question sets, including the

importance of IBAE approach, possible reasons, potential topics, and potential challenges. The

total number of questions was 23 sets. Furthermore, I added three “other” items/ questions to

discover the importance of these social issues topics because the current research focused on

addressing social issues in art education practices in Saudi Arabia. I also added an “other” option

to three additional questions in order to better apply the questions to the Saudi Arabian context of

the current study. Also, I delayed the use of Milbrandt’s sixth and seventh open-ended questions

for the focus group discussion following the workshop and teaching of the lesson.

To analyze the data above, descriptive statistics were applied to provide useful

quantitative information. For each of the scaled items, I reported tallies, percentages, means, and

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standard deviations for each item; thus, examining the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art

education teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of (a) IBAE approaches including

one question set, (b) reasons for using IBAE including five question sets, (c) various potential

social issues topics in IBAE including 11 question sets, and (d) various potential challenges

including six question sets addressing social issues by using IBAE after participating in a

professional development workshop on IBAE.

Personal Teaching Journal Protocol and Focus Group Discussion

To answer the fourth research question, I used a personal teaching journal protocol and

the focus group discussion about art education teachers’ perceptions of IBAE within the context

of Saudi Arabian society. I collected the personal teaching journal protocol (see Appendix A.6).

In this qualitative analysis of this protocol, I used a thematic analysis framework protocol (see

Appendix A.7). Next, I met 12-20 volunteer participants, selected to represent (a) different

schools in different areas of the city and (b) different grade levels to do a focus group discussion

by using the suggested protocol. The discussion protocol included 14 questions (see Appendix

A.7). I recorded the focus group discussion because this made it easy to transcribe data after I

had permission from the participants. I selected the focus group discussion format because it

enabled me to follow up on the prior questionnaire and personal teaching journal protocol

responses in more depth.

A focus group discussion is a useful method to investigate and discover how different

sub-groups (from different schools and grade levels) think and feel about using social issues in

art education and why they hold certain opinions. Besides, it helped to provide additional data to

verify or clarify the results from prior questionnaires and protocols, identified/ suggested

potential solutions to using social issues in art education, specifically in the Saudi Arabian

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context. It assisted in adding a group or human dimension to impersonal data, thus deepening

understanding and helping to explain some of the quantitative statistical data.

Using stratified random sampling by schools and grade levels, 12-20 volunteer and

willing participants from those who had completed all questionnaires, attended the workshop,

written a reflective essay, taught their original lessons at their own classrooms, and written the

personal teaching journal protocol to be participants in the focus group discussion session. I met

them as a group. The questions were presented to art teachers to answer and discuss,

concentrating especially on a delivering/ debriefing of lesson implementation and IBAE in the

context of Saudi Arabian society. I asked the questions and gave group members an opportunity

to describe and express their experiences and their viewpoints. The focus group discussion was

audio recorded and transcribed. In this qualitative part, I did thematic analysis using Atlas. ti. 8

analyeses software.

Inductive Approach

For the qualitative part of this research study, I tried to discover new themes from the

context and qualitative data. The primary purpose of using an inductive approach is to allow

findings to "emerge from the frequent, dominant or significant themes inherent in raw data,

without the restraints imposed by structured methodologies" (Thomas, 2006, p. 2). To do an

inductive analysis of qualitative data, there is a specific procedure, including preparation of data,

close reading, the creation of themes, overlapping coding, encoded text, and continuing revision

and refinement of data.

Thomas (2006) states that to start inductive approach, the researcher should identify text

segments that contain meaning units and create a label for a new category into which the text

segment is assigned. Thus, one does inductive coding and identifies emerging themes by

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studying recordings, and data. Inductive coding and themes start with close readings of the data

and consideration of the multiple meanings that are inherent in the data. The thematic approach

is inductive, depending on the emergence of themes and codes from the data. Therefore, for this

study, I coded based on themes that emerged. There was no prior categories or coding system

developed.

Thematic Analysis Approach

To analyze the qualitative data strands by using an inductive approach, thematic analysis

was used for this study because it creates codes that are analytic and theoretical, not just

descriptive (Guest, MacQueen, & Namey, 2012). Thematic analysis was selected as a way to

move from description to analysis, comparison, and line-by-line coding. It helped this beginning

researcher to understand and find relevant themes.

The demands and requirements of this study determined the procedure and process of

data generation and analysis. I depended heavily on Saldaña’s (2016) coding process, techniques,

and thematic analysis for the qualitative data in the reflective essay, post-workshop

questionnaire, personal teaching journal protocol, and focus group discussion session. After

coding, thematic analysis is accepted as a major stage in qualitative research, especially in social

research involving answers to queries in post-workshop questionnaires and in focus group

discussions. This kind of analysis has two main stages, which include categorizing the materials

and coding (Bryman, 2016). To analyze the data, I employed a thematic analysis method for all

qualitative instruments. Analysis of the three prior questionnaires (i.e. the Kauchak & Eggen

(2014) questionnaire, reflective essay & post-workshop questionnaire, and modified Milbrandt

(2002) questionnaire) helped me refine the focus group discussion questions.

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To start qualitative data analysis procedures in this research, coding was an important

step in the operation of identifying themes. Coding is a crucial stage in qualitative research and

was especially so in this research project (Bryman, 2016; Grbich, 2013). Coding was used to

analyze in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions about the IBAE workshop,

workshop products, and the use of IBAE in the Saudi Arabian context. I grouped codes into

categories that shared commonality or the same characteristics. My categories were compared

and unified to develop themes. My themes were the products of labeling, sorting, and analytical

reflection.

Thus, I started by searching for codes related to social issues, IBAE, and repeated

perceptions. I developed a scheme for coding, including classification rules for assigning coding

units to particular categories or concepts. After I received the reflective essay and post-workshop

questionnaire back from the participants, I transcribed and analyzed the data using a traditional

approach by reading the reflective essays and post-workshop questionnaires line by line to code

and find the themes. Because this study uses the inductive research method, I searched and coded

in terms of content/ ideas/ themes that emerged naturally from the data. No prior categories were

identified. Similar procedures were followed for the personal teaching journal protocols and

transcriptions of the recorded focus group discussion session.

First, I entered all qualitative data in the Atlas.ti.8 to be coded and put into themes. The

sample responses were greatly simplified to allow for easier discussion of coding principles.

Each phrase represented a dimension for coding.

The themes are written in the blank cells in the theme form. One form was used for each

teacher that was coded. Then, I transferred the codes to sub-categories through the first and

second cycle coding. For the third cycle coding, I combined the sub-categories to themes.

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In the Atlas.ti.8, there was a memo that continued to inform the coders and research

questions, and participants. Additionally, it included all the dimensions that were being used in

the process of coding, guidance for coders, and the lists of categories that were relevant for every

dimension. As for my coding activity, I coded the reflective essay, post-workshop questionnaire,

personal teaching journal protocol, and the transcription of focus group discussion from 37 art

teachers who attended the workshop and from the 18 teachers in personal teaching journal

protocol and the focus group. Saldaña (2016) rightly asserts that coding is a “heuristic” or an

“exploratory problem-solving technique" and “not just labeling” (p. 9).

For the analysis, a transcript was read more than ten times. Each time I read, I tried to

grasp and concentrate on the repeated ideas, statements, semantics, or meanings. I created and

investigated new themes, topics, terms, phrases, ideas, concepts, keywords, and chunks of data. I

read and re-read the transcriptions to become familiar with the data. I used a framework protocol

to elaborate on the thematic analysis of the data and improved themes based off of the reflective

essay, post-workshop questionnaire, personal teaching journal protocol, and focus group data. I

concentrated on important words and repeated phrases about addressing social issues through

IBAE.

Fundamentally, to focus my coding, I put a summary of my theoretical framework, the

research questions, and the goal of the research in front of me. I documented my reflections,

observations, and thoughts on the coding process in my research journal. I recorded what was

going on in my mind during the coding process. More specifically, my reflections focused on

creating units, codes, categories, and themes (Saldaña, 2016). Finally, I dedicated a significant

amount of time to learn how to provide instructions on how to code.

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For thematic procedures, I determined the numbers for each category that had been

specified. I classified and grouped the codes under themes and subcategories. I collected all the

themes and categorized them into groups. I noted the themes that appeared in the participants-

generated documents and transcriptions. For instance, if a teacher honestly said something about

the positive impact of using and discussing social issues in class with her students, I noted this as

a “positive effect.” Next, at the bottom of every page, I noted the main themes that were found in

the document or transcript.

Possible Threats and Complications

I eliminated subjects (and their data for those who do not complete the entire IBAE

workshop. Because this study employed a purposeful sample comprised primarily of art teachers

in a specific community, care should be observed in generalizing the results. In addition, I had to

be certain that I had provided clear instructions about the relevance of each dimension and the

considerations which must be borne in mind in the assignment of codes to categories, as well as

about how to allocate codes for units of analysis because it is easy for overlapping to occur. In

such a case, it may be advisable to divide that category into smaller ones so that greater

discrimination is possible among the items under analysis. Coding reliability is another

potentially challenging area. It is necessary for there to be inter-coder reliability, or consistent

coding decisions between coders, as well as intra-coder reliability, which involves consistency

over time for a single coder.

Credibility and Trustworthiness of the Study

Credibility, trustworthiness, and validity are essential for mixed-method research, even

though mixed-method studies are demonized for lack of rigor. Comparing the trustworthiness of

strictly qualitative research studies with that of quantitative studies is misleading. I subjected this

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study to several trustworthiness criteria. Also, the credibility of this study was ensured by my

reflexivity and positionality (Morrow, 2005). In addition, I checked my analysis for my codes,

categories, and themes 10 times. Furthermore, to ensure validity, I used a variety of methods,

sources, and data, including the variety of questionnaires, a reflective essay, a personal teaching

journal protocol, and a focus group discussion; these allowed for triangulation. To provide rigor,

the coding scheme strived to achieve exhaustive categorization; to facilitate this, all possible

categories were available to coders in each dimension.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS OF THE STUDY

The Demographic Characteristics of the Participants

This research investigated the impact of the issues-based art education (IBAE) workshop

on Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions. The data analyses were intended to answer

questions regarding the following: (1) teachers’ philosophy of teaching before and after a

professional development workshop on teaching about social issues with and through art, (2)

teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan generation and activity, (3) teachers’

perception about the relative importance of the IBAE approach, possible rationales, possible

topics, and possible challenges, and (4) teachers’ perceptions of the lesson implementation

activity and of IBAE, especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society.

The quantitative part of the study consisted of a pretest and posttest using Kauchak and

Eggen’s (2014) questionnaire and a modified questionnaire from Milbrandt (2002). The

qualitative part of the study utilized a post-workshop questionnaire, reflective essay, journal

protocol, and a focus group discussion session. Data from 40 cases were screened, and three

participants had missing values. Thus, the final count of particapants was 37.

There were ten categorical socio-demographic information variables, pertaining to age,

years of teaching experience, teaching experience by subject, past and current grade level,

number of years teaching at those levels, prior addressed social issues, art type and topic of

lessons taught, and rating of knowledge and background in art education and social studies. No

missing data were detected for socio-demographic information variables. These demographic

data items were collected for the purpose of describing the study population.

Regarding the age of the participants, those 34 and older were 78.38% of the participants

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(n = 29), and those 33 years and under (n = 8) were 21.6% of the participants. All the

participants were females (n = 37). Sixty-eight percent of the participants had bachelor’s degrees,

and 20% had master’s degrees. Just over 97% of participants specialized in art education. Only

one participant (2.7 %) held a certification in a different area. None of the participants was

identified as teaching in an elementary grade. Twenty-seven participants, or 70.3% of the total,

were teaching middle school grades. See Tables 4.1 and 4.2 for more information.

Table 4.1

Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Demographic Variables: Age

Age in yrs Frequency %

25 or less 0 0

26-29 4 10.8

30-33 4 10.8

34 or more 29 78.4

Table 4.2 Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Demographic Variables: Highest Qualification (Degree) and Academic Major

Variable Frequency %

Highest Qualification (Degree)

Community College 4 10.8

Bachelor's degree 25 67.6

Master's Degree 8 21.6

Doctoral degree 0 0

Academic Major Art Education 36 97.3

Other 1 2.7

Just over 70% of the participants had more than 12 years of experience, while 29.7% of

the participants had between 3 years and 11 years of experience; 54% had from 6 to 10 years of

experience teaching at their current grade, while 27 % had from 11 to 15 years of experience

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teaching at their current grade level. Also, 10% had 16 or more years of experience teaching at

their current grade level. See Table 4.3 for more information.

Table 4.3 Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Years of Teaching Experience, Level Taught, Number of Years Teaching Current Grade Level, and Teaching Experience at Grade Level(s)

Measure Frequency %

Years of teaching experience

0-3 4 10.8

4-7 3 8.1

8-11 4 10.8

12- more 26 70.3

Level taught in the Past

High School Grade 10 27.0

Middle School Grade 27 73.0

Elementary School Grade 0 0

Number of years teaching current grade level(s)

0-5 3 8.1

6-10 20 54.1

11- 15 10 27.0

16 or more 4 10.8

Teaching experience at grade level(s)

1st Middle Grade 7 18.9

2nd Middle Grade 5 13.5

3rd Middle Grade 14 37.8

1st High School Grade 0 0.0

2nd High School Grade 1 2.7

3th High School Grade 8 21.06

Other (more than level) 2 5.4

About 94.5% of the participants had teaching experience only in art education, while

5.41% of the participants had experience teaching another subject. See Table 4.4 for more

information.

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Table 4.4

Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Teaching Experience by Subject

Subject Frequency %

Art 35 94.59

Math & Science 0 0

Religion 0 0

Social studies 0 0

Other 2 5.41

About 13.5% of participants had never addressed social issues in the art classroom. Almost

half of the participants had some experience with using social issues in the classroom; 54% of

participants were using social issues in the classroom once per semester. Seventy-five and five-

tenths percent of participants who used such issues were using painting and drawing lessons; 18%

were using photography, and 6.5% were using other types of lessons. Over half of the participants

(51.4%) were using environmental issues, and 35.1% were using appreciation of cultural diversity.

Also, 32.4% of the participants were addressing mass media, and 32.4% were dealing with gender

issues and identity values. Table 4.5 shows these results and more information.

Table 4.5 Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding the Types of Art Lesson Used and Social Issues/Topics Addressed


Type of art lesson used

Photography 9 24.3

Painting/ Drawing 32 86.5

Conceptual art 3 8.1

Ceramics 4 10.8

Sculpture 1 2.7

Other 5 13.5

(table continues)

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Social issues/ topics addressed

Appreciation of cultural diversity 14 37.8

Environmental issues 22 59.5

Violence, abuse, war 10 27.0

Racism 5 13.5

Homelessness, poverty, hunger 7 18.9

Gender issues & Identity values 13 35.1

Effects of mass media 15 40.5

Morality & Censorship 9 24.3

Other 2 5.4 Figures 4.1 and 4.2 constitute percentage plots of the data above related to types of art

lessons used and social issues/topics addressed. In other words, they show the same information

described previously but in a bar graph format.

Figure 4.1. Percentage plots of types of art lesson used.

Figure 4.2. Percentage plots of social issues addressed

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Data about in-service art education teachers’ subject matter knowledge and backgrounds

in IBAE are presented in Table 4.6. The table shows that almost all the participants had strong

subject matter knowledge in art education, while just one responded that her/his knowledge was

weak; 16.22% said their knowledge was average, and 81.08% said their knowledge was strong.

In relation to their backgrounds in art education, the table shows that 97.30% (36 out of 37) of

the art education teachers had formal backgrounds in art education.

Table 4.6 Frequencies and Percentages of Responses Regarding Subject Matter Knowledge and Formal Backgrounds

Items Measure Frequency %

Subject Matter Knowledge

Art Education

Weak 1 2.70

Average 6 16.22

Strong 30 81.08

Social Studies

Weak 9 24.3

Average 24 64.9

Strong 4 10.8

Formal Background

Art Education

Weak 0 0

Average 1 2.70

Strong 36 97.30

Social Studies

Weak 11 29.7

Average 21 56.8

Strong 5 13.5

Background in IBAE Yes 3 8.11

No 34 91.89

Relating to the inclusion of social studies in their subject matter knowledge, 64.9% of

respondents evaluated their knowledge as average; 24.3% evaluated it as weak, and only 10.8%

evaluated it as strong. Regarding formal background in social studies, the data showed that the

highest percentage of art education teachers (21 out of 37 or 56.8%) considered their background

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in social studies to be average. The table shows that 34 out of 37 or 91.89% of art education

teachers had no previous knowledge about the IBAE approach before the workshop. Just 3

(8.11%) art education teachers indicated they had strong backgrounds in IBAE. See Table 4.6 for

more information.

Figures 4.3 and 4.4 constitute graphic representations, in line graph form, of subject

matter knowledge percentages and formal background percentages as described above.

Figure 4.3. Line graph based on % of responses to subject matter knowledge levels.

Figure 4.4. Line graph based on % of responses to formal background levels

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Weak Average Strong Weak Average Strong

Art Education Social Studies

Subject Matter Knowledge

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Weak Average Strong Weak Average Strong

Art Education Social Studies

Formal Background

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Figure 4.5provides a graphic representation of teachers’ prior backgrounds in IBAE.

Figure 4.5. Circle/pie graph of the teachers’ prior backgrounds in IBAE.

Quantitative Analysis and Findings

Research Question 1

To measure aspects of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of

teaching before and after a professional development IBAE workshop, I pretested and posttested

teachers using a modified version of Kauchak and Eggen’s (2014) Likert-scale questionnaire. To

answer the first question of the study, a dependent sample t-test (a paired sample t-test) was

conducted to test the effectiveness of the professional development IBAE workshop on changing

in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching with respect to four

dependent variables (the teaching philosophies of perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and

social reconstructionism), with a probability level set at p < 0.05.

Stated more specifically, to analyze the data from the Kauchak and Eggen (2014) Likert-

scale questionnaire, a paired-sample t-test was conducted on pretest-posttest results; Table 4.6

displays a summary of the pretest-posttest descriptive statistics for all the measures used for

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examining the philosophy of teaching. It presents the number of participants along with the

means, standard deviations, and standard errors of the means for perennialism, essentialism,

progressivism, and social reconstructionism for examining the philosophy of teaching. Measures

for the 16 items on four teaching philosophy variables (four items each on perennialism,

essentialism, progressivism, and social reconstructionism) were administered twice using pre-

post questionnaires.

Table 4.7 Paired Sample Descriptive Statistics at Pretest and Posttest for Four Teaching Philosophies (N = 37)

Dependent Variables Mean Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

Pair 1 Perennialism Pre 11.86 3.622 .595

Perennialism Post 11.65 3.490 .575

Pair 2 Social Reconstructionism Pre 10.36 3.164 .520

Social Reconstructionism Post 13.16 3.484 .573

Pair 3 Progressivism Pre 10.24 3.022 .497

Progressivism Post 11.14 3.093 .508

Pair 4 Essentialism Pre 7.03 3.371 .554

Essentialism Post 6.73 3.739 .615

Results for these items were reported descriptively with means and standard deviations to

indicate the central tendency and the spread of ratings to allow for testing of the hypothesized

change in in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophies after participating in an

IBAE workshop. As stated previously, a summary of the mean ratings and standard deviations

for the modified pretest and posttest Kauchak and Eggen (2014) questionnaire using Likert-scale

items for art education teachers is found in Table 4.7. Means for progressivism and social

reconstructionism increased from pretest to posttest, while means for perennialism and

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essentialism decreased from pretest to posttest.

Figure 4.6 shows plots of the means for the four dependent variables of in-service Saudi

Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching before and after a professional

development IBAE workshop. It can be seen in this figure that social reconstructionism and

progressivism increased, while perennialism and essentialism decreased after the professional

development IBAE workshop (see the column of the means in Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6. Mean plots of art education teachers’ philosophies before and after the IBAE workshop.

As Table 4.8 indicates, the mean pretest-posttest differences for perennialism (x̄

difference =-.216) and essentialism (x̄ difference = -.297) were negative, but the mean pretest-

posttest differences for progressivism (x̄ difference =.892) and social reconstructionism (x̄

difference =2.297) were positive. In other words, mean scores for perennialism and essentialism

decreased, while mean scores for progressivism and social reconstructionism increased after the

teachers participated in the IBAE Workshop. The results of the paired sample t-test, also given in

Table 4.8, show that two of the teaching philosophies, progressivism and social

reconstructionism, yielded significant differences from pretest to posttest. In contrast,

perennialism and essentialism yielded non-significant differences from pretest to posttest.

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Table 4.8 Paired Sample t-Test Results: Paired Differences for the Four Pretest-Posttest Teaching Philosophy Variables

Pair Mean Diff.

Std. Dev.

Std. Err.

Mean Lower Upper t df

Sig. (2-

tailed)

1 Perennialism Post & Perennialism Pre -.216 1.813 .298 -.821 .388 -.726 36 .473

2

Social Reconstructionism Post & Social Reconstructionism Pre

2.297 1.561 .257 1.777 2.818 8.952 36 .000

3 Progressivism Post & Progressivism Pre .892 2.283 .375 .131 1.653 2.377 36 .023

4 Essentialism Post & Essentialism Pre -.297 3.688 .606 -1.527 .932 -.490 36 .627

Stated more specifically, the paired sample t-test indicated that there was a non-

significant decrease in perennialism philosophy from x̄= 11.86, SD = 3.622 to x̄= 11.65, SD =

3.498 after teachers participated in the professional development IBAE workshop, with t(36) = -

.726, p > 0.05. Similarly, essentialism philosophy decreased non-significantly from x̄= 7.03, SD

= 3.371 to x̄=6.73, SD = 3.739 after teachers participated in the professional development IBAE

workshop, with t(36) = -.490, p > 0.05.

In contrast, the paired sample t-test for progressivism suggested there was a significant

increase in the progressivism philosophy from x̄= 10.24, SD = 3.022 to x̄= 11.14, SD = 3.93,

with t(36) = 2.377, p > 0.05, after participants participated in the professional development IBAE

workshop (see Tables 4.7 and 4.8). With respect to progressivism, the effect size for this

analysis was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988) convention for a small effect (i.e. d = 0.20), with

Cohen’s d = (10.24- 11.14)⁄3.022 = 0.298. That means 29.8% of the teachers scored higher on

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progressivism at posttest than at pretest. Cohen (1988, 1992) suggested that d = 0.2 be

considered a “small” effect size and that d = 0.5 be considered a “medium” effect size. This

means that if two means do not differ by 0.2 standard deviations or more, the difference is

weak/trivial, even if it is statistically significant. Thus, the effect size for progressivism was

between “small” and “medium.”

With respect to social reconstructionism, the paired-sample t-test also revealed

statistically significant differences between the pretest and posttest means. The social

reconstructionism posttest mean (x̄= 13.16, SD = 3.484) was significantly greater than the pretest

mean (x̄= 10.86, SD = 3.164), with t(36) = 8.952, p < 0.05 after participants participated in a

professional development IBAE workshop (see Tables 4.7 and 4.8). The effect size for this

analysis was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988, 1992) convention for a medium effect (i.e. d = .50).

with Cohen’s d = (10.86-13.16)⁄3.327849 = 0.691137 = 0.70. That means 70% of the teachers

scored higher on social reconstructionism at posttest than at pretest. Cohen suggested that 0.5

represents a “medium” effect size and 0.8 a “large” effect size. Thus, the effect size for social

reconstructionism falls between “medium” and “large.”

The paired sample t-test for social reconstructionism suggested there had been a

significant increase in the social reconstructionism philosophy from pretest to posttest. The

highest increases in perception/status all pertained to questions regarding the IBAE workshop on

teaching about social issues. This change seems to be in line with the intent underlining IBAE—

to teach about social issues and promote social change.

Table 4.9 presents disagreement percentages, from high to low, for the four teaching

philosophies at pretest and posttest administrations of Kauchak and Eggen’s questionnaire (2014,

pp. 169-170) for examining teachers’ philosophy of teaching. The pretest disagreement

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percentages ranged from 50% for essentialism at the highest to 15.54% for perennialism at the

lowest. Progressivism, at 23.64%, and social reconstructionism, at 17.57%, fell in the middle.

With respect to posttest disagreement percentages after the IBAE workshop, the percentages

ranged from 56.08% for Essentialism at the highest to 10.81% for social reconstructionism at the

lowest. Progressivism, at 18.24% and perennialism, at 17.57%, fell in the middle.

Table 4.9 also shows information on changes from pretest to posttest with respect to

disagreement percentages. Perennialism (with a pretest-posttest change from 15.54 to 17.57%)

and essentialism (with a pretest-posttest change from 50 to 56.08%) increased in disagreement

percentages. On the other hand, progressivism (with a pretest-posttest change from 23.64 to

18.24%) and social reconstructionism (with a pretest-posttest change from 17.57 to 10.81%)

decreased in disagreement percentages.

Table 4.9 Percentages of Art Education In-service Teachers’ Disagreement Responses at Pretest and Posttest on Kauchak & Eggen’s Questionnaire (2014), from High to Low

Dependent variables Pre-Disagreement % Dependent variables Post-Disagreement

%

Essentialism 50 Essentialism 56.08

Progressivism 23.64 Progressivism 18.24

Social Reconstructionism 17.57 Perennialism 17.57

Perennialism 15.54 Social Reconstructionism 10.81

Figure 4.7 graphically depicts art education teachers’ pre-post disagreement percentages

for the four teaching philosophies in bar graph form. It shows information on changes from

pretest to posttest with respect to disagreement percentages. Perennialism is the lowest ranked

philosophy, and essentialism is the highest ranked philosophy at pretest in terms of disagreement

percentages. On the other hand, social reconstructionism is the lowest ranked philosophy, and

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essentialism is the highest ranked philosophy at posttest in terms of disagreement percentages.

Figure 4.7. Percentage plots of art education teachers’ pretest-posttest disagreement responses Table 4.10 shows the agreement percentages, from high to low, for all four teaching

philosophies for pretest and posttest administrations of Kauchak & Eggen’s questionnaire (2014,

pp. 169-170) for examining teahers’ philosophy of teaching. The pretest agreement percentages

ranged from 77.7% for perennialism at the highest to 27.03% for essentialism at the lowest.

Progressivism, at 63.51%, and social reconstructionism, at 67.57%, fell in the middle.

After the IBAE workshop, the posttest agreement percentages ranged from 87.16% for

social reconstructionism at the highest to 22.97% for essentialism at the lowest. Progressivism, at

70.27%, and perennialism, at 38.51%, fell in the middle.

Table 4.10 also shows information on changes from pretest to posttest with respect to

agreement percentages. Perennialism (with a pretest-posttest change from 77.7 to 38.51%) and

essentialism (with a pretest-posttest change from 27.03 to 22.97%) decreased in agreement

percentages. On the other hand, progressivism (with a pretest-posttest change from 63.51 to

70.27%) and social reconstructionism (with a pretest-posttest change from 67.57 to 87.16%)

increased in agreement percentages.

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Table 4.10 Percentages of Art Education In-service Teachers’ Agreement Responses at Pretest and Posttest on Kauchak & Eggen’s Questionnaire (2014), from High to Low

Dependent variables Pre-Agreement % Dependent variables Post-Agreement

%

Perennialism 77.7 Social Reconstructionism 87.16

Social Reconstructionism 67.57 Progressivism 70.27

Progressivism 63.51 Perennialism 38.51

Essentialism 27.03 Essentialism 22.97 Figure 4.8 graphically depicts art education teachers’ pre-post disagreement percentages

for the four teaching philosophies in bar graph form. It shows information on changes from

pretest to posttest with respect to agreement percentages. Essentialism is the lowest ranked

philosophy, and perennialism is the highest ranked philosophy at pretest in terms of agreement

percentages. On the other hand, essentialism is the lowest ranked philosophy, and social

reconstructionism is the highest ranked philosophy at posttest in terms of agreement percentages.

Figure 4.8. Percentage plots of art education teachers’ pretest-posttest agreement responses.

In summary, all of the descriptive, quantitative statistics presented above show positive

gains from pretest to posttest for the teaching philosophies of Progressivism and Social

Reconstructionism. Mean scores for these two teaching philosophies increased from pretest to

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posttest, and these increases were statistically significant, with effect sizes ranging from small-

medium to medium-large, respectively. Similarly, agreement percentages increased, and

disagreement percentages decreased from pretest to posttest for these same two teaching

philosophies. In addition, for Social reconstructionism and Progressivism, agreement

dramatically increased from pretest to posttest. These results suggest that the teachers tended to

agree more with Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism after participating in the IBAE

workshop—a result that seems to align well with the content and stated purpose and objectives

of the workshop.

Research Question 3

To answer the third research question exploring the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art

education teachers’ post IBAE workshop perceptions about the relative importance of (a) the

IBAE approach, (b) reasons for using IBAE, (c) various potential social issue topics in IBAE,

and (d) various potential challenges), a modified version of Milbrandt’s (2002) questionnaire

was used. The researcher used simple descriptive statistics to provide useful quantitative

information. For each of the scaled items, the researcher reported tallies, percentages, means, and

standard deviations, thus describing the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

perceptions in a quantitative way.

Descriptive Statistic--Percentages

The participants agreed that it is important to address contemporary social issues within

the art curriculum, with 91.9% of the participants indicating it to be very important (21.6%) or

extremely important (70.3%). Table 4.11 shows more complete information on the percentage of

respondents choosing each possible response alternative, from not at all important to extremely

important.

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Table 4.11 Response Alternative Percentages Related to Addressing Contemporary Social Issues within the Art Curriculum

Unimportant %

Moderately Important

Important %

Not at All Important

Slightly Important

Very Important

Extremely Important

Addressing contemporary social issues within the art curriculum 0 2.7 5.4 21.6 70.3

Regarding Reasons 1-4 for using social issues in the art curriculum, between 48.6% and 76% of

the respondents indicated that each of the reasons was extremely important, and the rest rated

each of the reasons as moderately important or very important, except for one individual (2.7%),

who indicated that Reason 1 (“It develops personal and social responsibility”) was only slightly

important. No respondent indicated that any of the reasons was not at all important. With respect

to the extremely important ratings, Reason 4 (“It raises awareness of ‘real world’ problems”)

received the highest rating (73%). Reason 2 (“It develops art content and provides creative

problem-soling experiences”) received the lowest rating (48.6%). Reason 1 (“It develops

personal and social responsibility”) and Reason 3 (“It develops tolerance and appreciation of

cultural diversity and multiple viewpoints”) fell in-between. Other reasons were listed by

participants, such as the following. See Table 4.12 for more details.

• It increases appreciation and respect for effective artistic criticism.

• It links the curriculum to social problems.

• It is important for students to discuss topics.

• It is important for me to serve my community by treating community problems and by preserving the cultural heritage.

• It is a way to express needs and problems.

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• It promotes increased self-esteem.

• It increases community appreciation for the importance of art.

• It develops self-confidence and ability to offer feelings and opinions more freely.

• It develops confidence in engaging in discussion and dialogue.

• It develops solutions and ideas to solve the problems that students suffer from.

• It increases the student’s exposure to artistic culture.

Table 4.12 Response Alternative Percentages for the Importance of Addressing Contemporary Social Issues Within the Art Curriculum and for Underlying Reasons/Rationales

Unimportant %


Important %


Slightly Important

Very Important

Extremely Important

Reason 1: It develops personal and social responsibility 0 2.7 5.4 32.4 59.5

Reason 2: It develops art content and provides creative problem-solving experiences.

0 0 2.7 48.6 48.6

Reason 3: It develops tolerance and appreciation for cultural diversity and multiple viewpoints

0 0 2.7 43.2 54.1

Reason 4: It raises student awareness of "real world" problems.

0 0 2.7 24.3 73

With respect to the importance of various contemporary social issues/topics in the art

curriculum, extremely important ratings ranged from 62.2% to 89.2% across the eight listed

topics/issues. With respect to extremely important ratings, Topic 7, “effects of mass media,” was

ranked highest (89.2%). Topic 1 (“appreciation of cultural diversity”) and Topic 6 (“gender

issues”) were ranked lowest at 62.2% each. Topics 2-5 and 8 fell between those. Other possible

topics were mentioned by teacher participants as follows. See Table 4.13 for additional details.

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• Beneficial technology

• Depression and frustration

• Addiction to electronic devices

• Smoking

• Volunteering and serving the community

• Women's rights

Table 4.13 Response Alternative Percentages for the Importance of Various Contemporary Social Issues/Topics in the Art Curriculum

Unimportant %


Important %


Slightly Important

Very Important

Extremely Important

Topic 1: Appreciation of cultural diversity 0 0 5.4 32.4 62.2

Topic 2: Environmental issues 0 2.7 0 29.7 67.6

Topic 3: Violence, abuse, war 0 0 0 16.2 83.8

Topic 4: Racism 0 0 0 24.3 75.7

Topic 5: Homelessness, poverty, hunger 0 0 0 35.1 64.9

Topic 6: Gender issues 0 0 10.8 27.0 62.2

Topic 7: Effects of mass media 0 0 0 10.8 89.2

Topic 8: Censorship 0 0 2.7 16.2 81.1

With respect to the importance of various challenges in addressing contemporary social

issues within the art curriculum section, extremely important ratings across the three listed

challenges ranged from 16.2% to 37.8%, and very important ratings across the three listed

challenges ranged from 43.2% to 48.6%. Among extremely important ratings, the highest

percentage (37.8%) was for Challenge 3 (“lack of information about artists or good lesson plans

that explore significant social issues, and little time to sufficiently research these topics prior to

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teaching”). The lowest percentage (16.2%) was for Challenge 2 (“fear of negative parental

reaction to discussions of social issues in the art classroom.”). Challenge 1 (“lack of time”) and

Challenge 4 (“lack of information”) fell in the middle. The other possible challenges that were

mentioned by teacher participants included the following. See Table 4.14 for more detailed

information.

• Teachers having limited resources

• Not all lessons being able to make use of it

• School administration not being accepting of the change

• Parents lacking awareness of the importance of the issue

• Approach/content being incompatible with the curricula

Table 4.14 Response Alternative Percentages for the Importance of Various Challenges in Addressing Contemporary Social Issues Within the Art Curriculum

Unimportant %


Important %


Slightly Important

Very Important

Extremely Important

Challenge 1: Lack of time for substantial discussion of issues in the art classroom due to other priorities

2.7 2.7 16.2 48.6 29.7

Challenge 2: Fear of negative parental reaction to discussions of social issues in the art classroom

5.4 10.8 24.3 43.2 16.2

Challenge 3: Lack of information about artists or good lesson plans that explore significant social issues, and little time to sufficiently research these topics prior to teaching

0 8.1 10.8 43.2 37.8

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Descriptive Statistics—Means and Standard Deviations

To further answer the third question of this study, I used additional descriptive statistics

based on the responses to the modified questionnaire by Milbrandt (2002, pp. 145-151). Table

4.15 provides descriptive statistics in the form of mean ratings and standard deviations related to

the importance of addressing contemporary social issues within the art curriculum. The mean

rating, on a 4-point scale, for the importance of addressing contemporary social issues within the

art curriculum (i.e. x̄ = 3.59, SD = .725) shows that most art education teachers agreed strongly

with the importance of addressing contemporary social issues as part of their approach to

teaching art after the IBAE workshop.

Table 4.15 Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for the Importance of Addressing Contemporary Social Issues within the Art Curriculum (N = 37)

Items Minimum Maximum Mean SD

Addressing contemporary social issues within the art curriculum 1 4 3.59 .725

As can be seen in Table 4.15, the mean importance ratings across the various possible

reasons/rationales for addressing contemporary social issues with the art curriculum ranged from

3.46 to 3.70, which reflects a fairly consistent viewpoint about these listed reasons/rationales. Art

education teachers, after participating in the IBAE workshop, strongly agreed with Reason 4, “It

raises student awareness of ‘real world’ problems,” with mean = 3.70 and SD = .520. This mean

was higher than that of any other reason/rationale listed. The lowest mean, mean = 3.46 and SD

= .558, was for Reason 2, “It develops art content and provides creative problem-solving

experiences.” The means falling in the middle were for Reason 1 (“It develops personal and

social responsibility”) and Reason 3 (“It develops tolerance and appreciation…”); these means

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were 3.49 and 3.51, respectively. Participants mentioned several other reasons/rationales as

follows. See Table 4.16 for more details.

• It shows art goals run deeper than beauty alone.

• It shows art constitutes a language for dialogue/discussion.

• It shows artists are not isolated.

• It benefits communities and individuals.

• It changes individuals’ perspectives on art.

• It shows the connection of art with issues.

• It expresses freedom.

Table 4.16 Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for Underlying Reasons/Rationales for Addressing Contemporary Social Issues within the Art Curriculum (N = 37)


Reason1: It develops personal and social responsibility 1 4 3.49 .731

Reason 2: It develops art content and provides creative problem-solving experiences 2 4 3.46 .558

Reason 3: It develops tolerance and appreciation for cultural diversity and multiple viewpoints 2 4 3.51 .559

Reason 4: It raises student awareness of "real world" problems 2 4 3.70 .520

Table 4.17 provides descriptive statistics of the means ratings and standard deviations

based on the perceived importance of addressing eight social issues/ topics in the arts curriculum.

As can be seen from the table, mean ratings for these eight issues/topics ranged from 3.51 to

3.89. The highest mean was for Topic 7 (“effects of mass media”), x̄ = 3.89, SD = .315. The

second highest mean was for Topic 3 (violence, abuse, war), x̄ = 3.84, SD = .374. The lowest

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mean was for Topic 6 (gender issues), x̄ = 3.51, SD = .692. The means falling in the middle were

for “racism,” “homelessness, poverty, hunger”, and “censorship.” Other possible topics/social

issues were listed by the teacher participants, as follows. See Table 4.17 for more details.

• Accepting others

• Beneficial technologies

• Bigotry

• Bullying

• Corruption

• Cyberbullying

• Depression and frustration

• Addiction to electronic devices

• Hooliganism

• Ignorance

• Isolation and loneliness

• Public health

• Teacher's Day

• Tree Week

• Racism

• Respect for public regulations

• Appreciating/treating kindly/helping older persons

• Sexual orientation

• Smoking

• Social phobias

• Protecting water resources

• Volunteering and serving the community

• Women's rights

Table 4.17 Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for the Importance of Various Contemporary Social Issues/Topics in the Art Curriculum (N = 37)


Topic 1: Appreciation of cultural diversity 2 4 3.57 .603

Topic 2: Environmental issues 1 4 3.62 .639

Topic 3: Violence, abuse, war 3 4 3.84 .374

Topic 4: Racism 3 4 3.76 .435

(table continues)

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Topic 5: Homelessness, poverty, hunger 3 4 3.65 .484

Topic 6: Gender issues 2 4 3.51 .692

Topic 7: Effects of mass media 3 4 3.89 .315

Topic 8: Censorship 2 4 3.78 .479

With respect to the importance of varying challenges in addressing contemporary social

issues in the art curriculum, the mean importance ratings across the various possible challenges

ranged from 2.54 to 3.11. The mean rating for Challenge 3, “lack of information about artists or

good lesson plans that explore significant social issues,” with mean = 3.11 and SD = .906, was

higher than that of any other listed challenge after respondents had participated in the IBAE

workshop. The lowest mean, mean = 2.54 and SD = 1.070, was for Challenge 2, “fear of negative

parental reaction to discussions of social issues in the art classroom.” The mean falling in the

middle was for Challenge 1, “lack of time for substantial discussion of issues in the art classroom

due to other priorities,” with mean = 3.00 and SD = .913. A number of Other possible challenges

were listed by the teacher participants, as follows. See Table 4.18 for more details.

• Lack of financial resources

• Lack of community awareness

• Current curricula

• Student hesitation because of fear of confrontation

• Lack of appropriate art works by artists in the various fields of art

• Society does not like this idea and considers it unimportant, a waste of time

• No studio is available

• Lack of time to carry out the work

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• Lack of awareness in society of the importance of this art education approach and marginalization of it, especially by teachers of other subjects.

Table 4.18 Mean Ratings and Standard Deviations for the Importance of Various Challenges in Addressing Contemporary Social Issues in the Art Curriculum (N = 37)


Challenge 1: Lack of time for substantial discussion of issues in the art classroom due to other priorities

0 4 3.00 .913

Challenge 2: The fear of negative parental reaction to discussions of social issues in the art classroom

0 4 2.54 1.070

Challenge 3: A lack of information about artists or good lesson plans that explore significant social issues, and little time to sufficiently research these topics prior to teaching

1 4 3.11 .906

Qualitative Analysis and Findings

The current study used four instruments to collect qualitative data in two sections to

investigate in-service Saudi Arabian school art education teachers’ perceptions of the workshop

and lesson plan generation, as well as the perceptions of IBAE lesson implementation within the

context of Saudi Arabian society. To answer the second research question, a reflective essay and

a post-workshop questionnaire (with open-ended questions) were used. To answer the fourth

research question, a personal journal protocol and an art teacher focus group discussion were

employed. To provide more explanation and clarification of the quantitative data results, the

reflective essay, the post-workshop questionnaire, the personal journal protocol, and the art

teacher focus group discussion were used, and the additional resulting data were analyzed.

These qualitative instruments were used to achieve further explanation of the results. In

this research, it was important to use multiple linear event analysis in order to meet the research

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objective from all the methodological sides. Combining multiple methods also introduces several

benefits, such as stronger results, a broader approach to research questions, and a more holistic

phenomenological understanding of a topic (Davis, Golicic, & Boerstler, 2011).

I used the inductive approach by means of a coding process which was applied in several

phases, including in vivo and focused coding, because this procedure is considered highly

inductive as it permits themes to emerge from the data as opposed to themes being

predetermined by the researcher (Boyatzis, 1998). The inductive codes and themes came from 4

types of transcribed data (the reflective essay and post-workshop questionnaire, the personal

journal protocol, and the art teachers focus group discussion).

Coding is fundamentally a system of classification--the procedure of noticing what is of

importance or consequence, identifying different segments of the data, and labeling the data to

organize the information contained in the data. Codes are the names or identifiers that are

attached to chunks or segments of data that a researcher considers relevant to his/her research

(Bloomberg & Volpe, 2018). This qualitative analytic process in this study was cyclical, and first

step coding occurred during the initial coding of the data (Saldaña, 2016; Bloomberg & Volpe,

2018). ATLAS.ti.8 software was used to code the data in several cycles and generate tag clouds

and a visual network. Two main categories emerged from the study’s two qualitative questions.

These categories were "evaluation of IBAE" and "perceptions of IBAE lesson plan generation

and implementation." Identification of these two categories allowed for development of more

precise sub-categories. Table 4.19 shows the phases of the analytic process used in the current

study.

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Table 4.19

Qualitative Data Analysis Procedures

Step Actions

Phase 1: Prepare and explore data, identify big ideas and main categories

• Translation from Arabic to the English language. • Importation of data to ATLAS.ti.8 software. • Organization in two categories:

o Category 1: Evaluation of IBAE by reflective essay and post-workshop questionnaire.

o Category 2: Perception of IBAE lesson plan generation and implementation within the context of Saudi Arabian society by personal journal protocol and art teachers focus group discussion.

Phase 2A: Re-read, examine data, create coded data, place coded data in categories

Improved categories to sub-categories. Re-read and re-coded the data. The first step in the analytic process was to consider the "big ideas;" then the second step was to analyze and classify the data and place sections of material into categories, with increased codes and categories. Read data carefully; re-read and highlighted certain words, ideas, etc.

Phase 2B: Data summary, revise coding scheme

• Revised coding schema, reviewed, and re-reviewed each piece of information building on insights and expectations and ideas gained during data collection.

• Coded data using In Vivo codes and coding scheme. • Created, merged coding, polished, and added codes. • Added additional sub-categories from first cycle. • Reviewed using a second coder and editor.

Phase 3: Focus coding scheme and report findings

• Organization of data in two main categories. • Every category has several sub-categories, which total 12 sub-categories. • Every sub-category has several coding schemes. • Created a structure. • Provided participant quotations. • Summarized key findings by generating word clouds and visual networks.

Phase 4: Interpret findings

Analyzed and synthesized findings, linking to experience, insight, and literature to be discussed in Chapter 5.

Phase 1: Prepare and Explore Data, Identify Big Ideas

This phase’s goal was to prepare and explore data, then identify big ideas. After

translating responses from Arabic to the English language, the researcher arranged and organized

the data by naming and organizing files. In the beginning, I chose a logical and consistent way to

name and organize the files to allow me and another coder to easily locate and use them. Thus, I

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grouped files within folders so all the information on a particular topic was located in one place.

I labeled 2 files, which are Qualitative Part 1: Evaluation IBAE Workshop, and

Qualitative Part 2: Implementation IBAE Within Context of Saudi Society. Then every file had

several documents such as Journal Protocol, Focusgroup Voice, Focusgroup Writing, Reflective

Essay, Most Helpful & Why, Least Helpful & Why, How Improved & Change, Additional

Resources, Rate Quality Lesson, and How Confident & Why. I tried to avoid duplication and

ensure that data could be backed up, which took slightly more time than I expected for planning.

After I collected the data to manage, organize, and make sense of all separate pieces of

accumulated information, I started by carefully reading over all the various data collection

sources. I read until I felt confident about the data and gained an overall sense of the whole

before I broke it into its constituent parts. Then I read through each transcript again and tried to

identify the big ideas as I read. I made notes or highlighted relevant words and phrases that had

some relationship to the research questions. I attempted to make sense of the data as a whole. In

the beginning, I highlighted single words, phrases, sentences, or even whole paragraphs. Codes

were written in the margins alongside the appropriate segments of text in the ATLAS.ti 8.

When I started to read, I tried to keep an open mind and to be ready for the unexpected. I

accepted that the process in its totality would take time and avoided premature judgments and

decisions. I checked each piece of information and, building on insights and feelings expanded

during data collection, attempted to make sense of the data as a whole. According to Merriam

(1998), “qualitative analysis usually results in the identification of recurring patterns and themes

that cut through the data" (p. 11).

Phase 2 A: Re-read, Examine Data, Create Coded Data, Place Coded Data in Sub-Categories

The goal of the second phase was to classify the data and place sections of material into

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several sub-categories. I read the data carefully again, re-read and highlighted certain words and

ideas for examining data, and created coded data. After the data had been read carefully,

ATLAS.ti 8 was used to generate sub-categories. In addition, I aimed to place coded data in sub-

categories and revise the coding scheme. In accordance with Saldaña (2016), I divided the data

into several sub-categories and units. To achieve the goal, I concentrated on examining each

piece of information. I began by carefully reading and re-reading all the data provided by the

various data collections.

I selected any segment of data that captured my interest in answering my research

questions, and I saved these data segments as quotations. I selected as many appropriate

quotations as I could from 9 documents. Table 4.20 presents sub-categories, coding schemes,

quotations, and repetitions/ frequency (the number of times a response was repeated) from art

education teachers’ perception for evaluation of IBAE by means of the reflective essay and post-

workshop questionnaire, as well as lesson plan generation and implementation within the context

of Saudi Arabian society by means of the personal journal protocol and art teachers focus group

discussion. I highlighted each part of the text sections, marking and recording issues that seemed

important and relevant, along with thoughts, reflections, and comments that came to my mind.

I devised/structured several sub-categories by finding/identifying common meanings,

relationships, and concepts within the words and sentences comprising the qualitative data.

Every time I read the transcripts, I tried to grasp and concentrate on the repeated ideas,

statements, semantics, and/or meanings. I created and investigated new themes, topics, terms,

phrases, ideas, concepts, keywords, and chunks of data. I tried to cover as many responses as

possible. In addition, I tried to be generic enough to apply the code to multiple comments, but

specific enough to be useful in my analysis. I captured both positive and negative ideas. I

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identified and noted common patterns in the data.

I reviewed each code to ensure that it was logical and related to the research. I kept in

mind that analysis should involve more than random words that seem to occur with regular

frequency by asking myself: What is this about? What seems to be emerging? I checked these

ideas against the categories and descriptors of the conceptual framework. When I was deeper

into the analytics, I found that some of the responses and codes needed to be merged because

they had the same or similar meaning that held up throughout.

I attempted to connect the phrases and find differences and similarities among sub-

categories. I went back and forth identifying the coding scheme, subcategories, and categories.

Each time, I endeavored to read more deeply, and I found new coding schemes and sub-

categories by using Atlas.ti.8. All the time, I tried to take note of the coded data without trying to

fit them into a pre-existing coding scheme or to make them match my analytical assumptions.

My intention was that my readers would get a full understanding of the important issues

surrounding the changing of participants' opinions.

In the final product resulting from this cycle, the data were organized into fifteen sub-

categories: artists and kinds of artwork, benefits of IBAE, challenges in addressing IBAE, IBAE

within saudi society, implementation challenges, improvement and suggestions, lesson

implementation process, planning and generation of lessons using IBAE, quality of the IBAE

workshop, reasons for using IBAE, social actions, students' views based on teachers' perceptions,

teachers' perceptions of IBAE, teachers’ views of IBAE implementation, and topic generation in

IBAE. Table 4.20 shows the Phase 2A: Re-read, examine data, create code data, and place coded

data in categories.

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Table 4.20

Phase 2A: Re-Read, Examine Data, Create Code Data, Place Coded Data in Categories

# Sub-Categories Quotations and Repetitions

1 Artists & Kinds of Artwork

Abdul Wahab, Qatif Artist (1), Ahmed Al-Maghlouth Painting (2), Calligraphy (1), Caricature Art (1), Collage (8), Crafts (2), Design (4), Draw, Collage, And Multiple Combinations (6), Drawing in Pastel Colors (2), Include Social Issues in Digital Art (2), Painting: Scream Artist: Edvar Mont (1), Saknah Hassan Artwork (1), Saudi Artists (2), The Contour Line (1), Tragedy Van Gogh (1), Wall Banksy Panel (1), Watercolors (1).

2 Benefits of IBAE

Apply In Real Life (3), Communication Skills (14) Cooperation Groups (13), Creative Artwork With IBAE (18), Curiosity About The Subject (3), Develop All Aspects Of Life (9), Educational Through Art (10), Enjoy Dialogue With A Group (6), Exciting Experience (10), Express Issues That Affect Community (14), Great Exchange Experience (14), Greatly Beneficial (15) Help To Ease Of Criticism (3), Impact Is Stronger And Deeper (10), Important Issue Of Concern To Society (9), Increase Students Respect (6), Information Organized And Easy (8), Interesting Skills And Content (8), Invite To Reality (26), Lead Society Forward (3), Learn How To Read Artwork (17), Learned To Accept And Respect Opinions (4), Look At Things From Different Points Of View (5), Many Discussions And Views (3), Meaningful Message (7), Modify Youth Behavior (3), More Useful (7), New Ideas To Apply (8), Participation Of All Society (8), Positive Effects (18), Powerful Voice Embodied (5), Shifting Its Path From Negative To Positive (7), Solve Society Issues (47) Think, Research, And Investigated (2), Use Art As The Medium Of Social Expression (8).

3 Challenges in Addressing IBAE

Choose Artwork or Subject First (7), Difficult to Find a Painting (1), Distribute Some Papers (1), Least Helpful Writing in Paper (3), Long Preparation IBAE (2), Long Writing Surveys (1), Need One More Day (1), A Transition Phase in Our Society (1).

4 IBAE within Saudi Society

Addressing Current Issues (2), Adherence To The Values of The Nation (1), Always Use IBAE With Students (3), Criticizing Paintings (1), Defense Of The Nation’s Property (1), Fits With 2030 Vision (2), Fits With The Saudi National Curriculum (2), Freedom To Add 20% Of Curriculum (3), Learned An Inventory Of Saudi Society Issues (1), Preserving The National Identity (3), Pride in The National Values (3), Society Differ From Other Societies (1), Supports Principles (3), The Appropriate Possibilities For Its Implementation (1), Thinking, Awareness And Vision 2020 (2).

5 Implementation Challenges

A Blame for The Length of Preparation (2), Create Plan Challenge (1) Long Implementation Procedures (1), No, A Special Reference for Art (2), Not All Lesson Can Use IBAE (1), Part Of Art Class Or Library (2), School Administration Accepts Challenge (3), The Lack Of Capabilities Challenge (6), Time Challenge (13).

6 Improvement and Suggestions

A Visual Presentation Listing A Goal (3), Classification Of Issues Is Most Important (2), Curriculum Update Annually (4), Doing Workshop For Other Teachers (1), Draw Live (1), Inform The Principal And Colleagues (1), Leaving Teachers To Select Topics (1), Prefers Teacher Choice Of Curriculum (4), Present Individual (1), Provide Devices With Students (1), Reducing Duration (1), Suggest Repeat The Idea (3), Teacher Preparation Programs Adopt IBAE (3), Tell An Introductory Story (1), Theme Coincides With All Events (1), Training For Teacher (1).

7 Lesson Implementation Process

Analyze Artwork (21), Apply For Four Weeks (1), Artistic Social Production (2), Assist To Understand The Topic (1), Avoid Inappropriate Topic (3), Brainstorming Ideas (7), Collect More Than Ideas to Apply (1), Criticism, Analysis And Debate (18), DBAE Questions (2), Demonstration And Presentation (2), Discussion And Dialogue (15), Evaluation (4), Implement Social Action (5), Pictures and Movies Supported Theme (1), Religious Connection (2), Use Environmental Material (8), Using the Internet Through Research (1).

(table continues)

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# Sub-Categories Quotations and Repetitions

8 Planning and Generation of Lessons Using IBAE

Concern About Set Time (3), Difficult to Choose Topic (2), Divide the Artwork (6), Follow IBAE Steps (11), Freedom to Choose Subject (3), High Confidence for Implementing (26), Participate Selecting Appropriate Topics (3), Prepare Lessons Based on IBAE (10), Research Famous Artwork (3) Research for Social Action (4), Search for International Artists' Paintings (2), Set of Artworks and Artist (1), Transferred to My Students (8).

9 Quality of IBAE Workshop

Add A Goal in The Beginning (4), All Respect and Appreciation (19), Comprehensive Content (25), Easy Points and Explained in Detail (15), Effective Knowledge (4), Enjoy in IBAE With Group (21), Flexibility (3) High-Quality Workshop (23), Presenter Method (4), Questionnaires Are Striking (6), So, Helpful (22) Successful Experience (30), Title Caught Attention (7) Wonderful Encourage Smile (7), Wonderful Workshop (28), Workshop Clear (13).

10 Reasons for Using IBAE

Art Goal Deeper Than Beauty (16), Art Language of Dialogue (8), Artists Not Isolated (4), Beneficial for Individual (6), Benefited Community (13), Change Perspective on Art (1) Connect Art with Issues (18), Express Freedom (3)

11 Social Action An Exhibition (2), Folded (4) Heritage Show (2), Morning Line (3), Parent Meeting (1), Phobia in Lecture (1), Present Video Clips (1), School Podcasts (3), Silent Acting Scene (3), Surveys (6), Water Program (1).

12 Students' Views Based on Teachers' Perceptions

Choose Subjects From Community (7), Connect to Community (20), Critical Teenage Feeling (5), Criticism Skills (10), Deal With Issues (4), Discover Talents (2), Encourage Thinking (16), Enthusiasm (35), Express Freely (27), From Repetitive to Fun Lesson (4), Full of Experiences (9), Great Interaction (12), Increase Research And Produce (8), Increase Value and Information (11), Increased Awareness (22), Increases Self-Confidence (15), Influential Role of Students in Society (7), Interactive (4), Look for a Solution (4), Open Dialogue (3), Passion to Know Artists (5), Positive Emotions (10), Sensitivity to Social Responsibility (12), Share Experience (5), Some Student Imitated Other (1), Touched Feelings (11).

13 Teachers’ Perceptions of IBAE

Artist History Is Not Important (3), Asked for Almost 19 Years (1), Attend More IBAE Workshops (8), Become Close to Students (4), Current Curriculum Limited Creativity (8), Current Curriculum Repeated Topics (5), Educate Community (2), Enthusiasm to Apply (16), Find Students' Needs (11), Fun Workshop (4), Helpful Lesson Sample (2), Hope Apply in All Subjects (4), Knowing the Students’ Abilities (2), Learned New and Creative Ideas (6), Marginalization of Art (4), Modern And Nice Topics (12), Need More Practice (2), Needs More Time and Training (1), Negative About Current Curriculum (3), Optimistic to Apply (16), Reach Experience (13), So, Important (26), Suffering With Current Curriculum (22), Sure, Repeat (5).

14 Teachers’ Views of IBAE Implementation

Administration Accepted Positively (2), At The End Of The Semester (1), Directed Them to Develop (2), Explained Several Issues (3), Good and Beneficial Experience (2), Included In The Extra-Curriculum (4), Interesting Conversation With Students (3), Interesting Experience (19), Lesson Was Smooth (1), Meet Every Day (1), Need Repeat Several Times (1), New Modern Experience (10), Next Time Will Choose Students', Contact Topics (4), One Hour Weekly (1), Quality and Appreciation of Artistic Education Depends On the Teacher (2), Questionnaires to Choose Topic (2), Strongly Implemented (23), Two Classes Weekly (2), Will Apply in Every Lesson (4).

15 Topic Generation in IBAE

Accept Other (4), Beneficial Technology (3), Bigotry (1), Bullying (13), Corruption (2), Cultural Diversity (5), Cyberbullying (1), Depression And Frustration (2), Domestic Violence (3), Electronic Addiction (2), Environmental Pollution (3), Family Topic (2), Hearsay (3), Heritage (7), Hooliganism (1), Ignorance (1), Isolation And Loneliness (1), Mass Media (5), Muharram (4), National Day (3), Political Issues (2), Poverty (4), Public Health, Teacher's Day, Tree Week (2), Racism Lesson (7), Respect for Public Regulations (2), Respecting, Appreciating, Kindness, and Helping Older Person (1), Save the Blessings (1), Self-Censorship (1), Sexual Abnormality (3), Smoking (3), Social Phobia (10), Thanks Blessings Water (3), The Nature of Women's Work in the Region (1), Traffic Regulations (1), Volunteering and Serving the Community (1), Wars (1), Woman’s Decency (3), Woman’s Rights (8).

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In this phase, I was careful while reading and re-reading the data set in order to develop

and test the words, phrases, and sentences I used to identify my coding scheme. This procedure

required close and intense concentration to find appropriate sub-categories and gain a full

understanding of the important themes emerging from this data. I thought through certain

specific questions: “What is going on? What are people doing? What is the person saying? What

do these actions and statements take for granted? How do structure and context serve to support,

maintain, impede or change these actions and statements?” (Charmaz, 2003, p. 94-95).

Phase 2B: Data Summary, Revise Coding Scheme

In this analytical phase, it was important to reduce the size of the collected database and

sub-categories by reducing coding-schemes in useful ways. Creswell (1998) said this phase

requires ways to distill the information into smaller sets of notes that characterize total data. The

aims from this phase were to revise the coding scheme; review, re-review each piece of

information, and build upon insights and expectations and ideas gained during data collection.

Saldaña (2016) stated that the primary goal during this phase coding is to develop a “sense of

categorical, thematic, conceptual, and/or theoretical organization” (p. 234). Thus, coding

schemes were reviewed. As a result, the list of coding schemes was polished to find a sense of

categorical, thematic, and conceptual connections from first cycle codes by merging the close

meaning. I chose an in vivo coding scheme because “it uses participants’ exact words, which

results in rich data for studies” (Rogers, 2018, p. 890).

I realized I had multiple coding schemes that were very similar. Thus, to collapse these

together into one coding scheme, I grouped and colored codes, establishing overarching sub-

categories. In the ATLAS.ti 8, I merged codes together into one single code, thus bringing

similar codes together under one code. As I analyzed my data and created codes, it became

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difficult to keep track of all the codes. I decided to group together coding schemes according to

their overarching theme or category. I organized my coding schemes in ATLAS.ti by assigning a

color to each code sub-category for the different coding schemes. According to Dey (1993), the

researcher must continually try to define and redefine categories by specifying and changing the

criteria used.

I identified the coding schemes and the sections of information that were related to every

coding scheme. When I read the transcript for the last time, I found some connections and made

some changes in order to better answer the research questions. I used phrases and keywords from

the data to label the coding schemes. Every time I read, I perceived new statements, ideas, or

connections with other themes, categories of in vivo codes, and ideas. Braun and Clarke (2012)

recommend that the researcher code for as many potentially interesting themes as possible and

that she or he keep a little of the data surrounding the coded text when carrying out the coding

scheme; that way, not too much of the context is lost. At the same time, I reduced the data to

make the analysis as useful as possible to attain a balance between having too many and too few

coding schemes.

Table 4.21 shows examples of how I developed sub-categories from the merging of in

vivo codes to achieve close meaning and concentration of each coding scheme. Also, once the

entire coding scheme was placed under sub-categories, I revised for any overlap between coding

scheme sub-categories. When I had similar characteristics or properties, I interpreted them as

really one and the same thing. Splitting two descriptors is sometimes arbitrary, and they can

sometimes be better collapsed into one. In the first three readings, I perceived around 275 coding

schemes from all 9 transcriptions. At that time, I did not clearly understand the transcript in

terms of the coding scheme, meaning, and results.

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Table 4.21

Example of the Sub-Categories Collapsed into One Coding Scheme

Original Coding Scheme Collapsed into One

Enjoy Dialogue with A Group Cooperation Groups Cooperation Groups

Look at Things from Different Points of View Learned to Accept and Respect Opinions Learned to Accept and Respect Opinions

Positive Emotions Touched Feelings Touched Feelings

Passion to Know Artists Increased Awareness Increased Awareness

Look for A Solution Deal with Issues Deal with Issues

Title Caught Attention Questionnaires Are Striking Caught Attention Caught Attention

Research Famous Artwork Research for Social Action Research Research

Use Environmental Material Artistic Social Production Artistic Social Production

DBAE Questions Analyze Artwork Analyze Artwork

Length of Preparation Long Implementation Procedures Long Procedures Long Procedures

Lack of Capabilities Challenge School Administration Challenges Environmental Challenges Environmental Challenges

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Table 4.22

Tag Cloud from Phase 2B: Revised Coding Schemes of Polished and Non-Repetitive Codes

# Sub-Categories Quotations and Repetition Coding Schemes

1 Artists & Kinds of Artwork

Abdul Wahab Qatif Artist (1), Ahmed Al-Maghlouth Painting (2), Calligraphy (1), Caricature Art (1), Collage (8), Crafts (2), Design (4), Draw, Collage, And Multiple Combinations (6), Drawing in Pastel Colors (2), Include Social Issues in Digital Art (2), Painting: Scream Artist: Edvar Mont (1), Saknah Hassan Artwork (1), Saudi Artists (2), The Contour Line (1), Tragedy Van Gogh (1), Wall Banksy Panel (1), Watercolors (1)

• International Artists • Multiple Type of Art • Saudi Artists

2 Benefits of IBAE

Apply In Real Life (3), Communication Skills (14) Cooperation Groups (13), Creative Artwork With IBAE (18), Curiosity About The Subject (3), Develop All Aspects Of Life (9), Educational Through Art (10), Enjoy Dialogue With A Group (6), Exciting Experience (10), Express Issues That Affect Community (14), Great Exchange Experience (14), Greatly Beneficial (15) Help To Ease Of Criticism (3), Impact Is Stronger And Deeper (10), Important Issue Of Concern To Society (9), Increase Students Respect (6), Information Organized And Easy (8), Interesting Skills And Content (2), Invite To Reality (26), Lead Society Forward (3), Learn How To Read Artwork (17), Learned To Accept And Respect Opinions (4), Look At Things From Different Points Of View (5), Many Discussions And Views (3), Meaningful Message (7), Modify Youth Behavior (3), More Useful (7), New Ideas To Apply (8), Participation Of All Society (8), Positive Effects (18), Powerful Voice Embodied (5), Shifting Its Path From Negative To Positive (7), Solve Society Issues (47) Think, Research, And Investigated (2), Use Art As The Medium Of Social Expression (8)

• Communication Skills • Creative Artwork With IBAE • Develop All Aspects of Life • Educational Through Art • Exciting Experience • Express Issues That Affect Community • Great Exchange Experience • Increase Students Respect • Invite To Reality • Lead Society Forward • Learn How to Read Artwork • Learned to Accept and Respect

Opinions • Modify Youth Behavior • Powerful Voice Embodied • Shifting Its Path from Negative to

Positive • Solve Society Issues • Stronger and Deeper Impact

3 Challenges in Addressing IBAE

Choose Artwork or Subject First (7), Difficult to Find a Painting (1), Distribute Some Papers (1), Least Helpful Writing in Paper (3), Long Preparation IBAE (2), Long Writing Surveys (1), Need One More Day (1), A Transition Phase in Our Society (1)

• Choose Artwork or Subject First • Increase Duration • Long Writing

(table continues)

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4 IBAE within Saudi Society

Addressing Current Issues (2), Adherence To The Values Of The Nation (1), Always Use IBAE With Students (3), Criticizing Paintings (1), Defense Of The Nation’s Property (1), Fits With 2030 Vision (2), Fits With The Saudi National Curriculum (2), Freedom To Add 20% Of Curriculum (3), Learned An Inventory Of Saudi Society Issues (1), Preserving The National Identity (3), Pride In The National Values (3), Society Differ From Other Societies (1), Supports Principles (3), The Appropriate Possibilities For Its Implementation (1), Thinking, Awareness And Vision 2020 (2)

• Fits With 2030 Vision • Fits with The Saudi National

Curriculum • Freedom to Add 20% Of Curriculum • Pride in The National Values • Supports Principles

5 Implementation Challenges

A Blame for The Length of Preparation (2), Create Plan Challenge (1) Long Implementation Procedures (1), No, A Special Reference for Art (2), Not All Lesson Can Use IBAE (1), Part of Art Class or Library (2), School Administration Accepts Challenge (3), The Lack of Capabilities Challenge (6), Time Challenge (13)

• Environmental Challenge • Long Procedures • No, A Special Reference for Art • Not All Lesson Can Use IBAE

6 Improvement and Suggestions

A Visual Presentation Listing A Goal (3), Classification Of Issues Is Most Important (2), Curriculum Update Annually (4), Doing Workshop For Other Teachers (1), Draw Live (1), Inform The Principal And Colleagues (1), Leaving Teachers To Select Topics (1), Prefers Teacher Choice Of Curriculum (4), Present Individual (1), Provide Devices With Students (1), Reducing Duration (1), Suggest Repeat The Idea (3), Teacher Preparation Programs Adopt IBAE (3), Tell An Introductory Story (1), Theme Coincides With All Events (1), Training For Teacher (1)

• Curriculum Update Annually • Increase Duration • Inform the Schools • Prefers Teacher Choice of Curriculum • Suggest Repeat the Idea • Teacher Preparation Programs

7 Lesson Implementation Process

Analyze Artwork (21), Apply For Four Weeks (1), Artistic Social Production (2), Assist To Understand The Topic (1), Avoid Inappropriate Topic (3), Brainstorming Ideas (7), Collect More Than Ideas To Apply (1), Criticism, Analysis And Debate (18), DBAE Questions (2), Demonstration And Presentation (2), Discussion And Dialogue (15), Evaluation (4), Implement Social Action (5), Pictures And Movies Supported Theme (1), Religious Connection (2), Use Environmental Material (8), Using The Internet Through Research (1)

• Analyze Artwork • Artistic Social Production • Brainstorming Ideas • Demonstration and Presentation • Discussion and Dialogue • Evaluation • Implement Social Action

8 Planning and Generation of IBAE Lessons

Concern About Set Time (3), Difficult to Choose Topic (2), Divide the Artwork (6), Follow IBAE Steps (11), Freedom to Choose Subject (3), High Confidence for Implementing (26), Participate Selecting Appropriate Topics (3), Prepare Lessons Based on IBAE (10), Research Famous Artwork (3) Research for Social Action (4), Search for International Artists' Paintings (2), Set of Artworks and Artist (1), Transferred to My Students (8),

• Choose Subject • Follow IBAE Steps • High Confidence for Implementing • Prepare Lessons Based On IBAE • Research

(table continues)

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Add A Goal in The Beginning (4), Effective Knowledge (4), All Respect and Appreciation (19), Comprehensive Content (25), Easy Points and Explained in Detail (15), Enjoy in IBAE With Group (21), Flexibility (3) High-Quality Workshop (23), Presenter Method (4), Questionnaires Are Striking (6), So, Helpful (22) Successful Experience (30), Title Caught Attention (7) Wonderful Encourage Smile (7), Wonderful Workshop (28), Workshop Clear (13)

• All Respect and Appreciation • Caught Attention • Comprehensive Content • Easy Points and Explained in Detail • Effective Knowledge • Enjoy with Group • High-Quality Workshop • So, Helpful • Successful Experience • Wonderful and Clear

10 Reasons for Using IBAE

Art Goal Deeper Than Beauty (16), Art Language of Dialogue (8), Artists Not Isolated (4), Beneficial For Individual (6), Benefited Community (13), Change Perspective on Art (1) Connect Art with Issues (18), Express Freedom (3)

• Art Language of Dialogue • Benefited Community and Individual • Change Perspective on Art • Connect Art with Issues • Deeper Than Beauty

11 Social Action An Exhibition (2), Folded (4) Heritage Show (2), Morning Line (3), Parent Meeting (1), Phobia in Lecture (1), Present Video Clips (1), School Podcasts (3), Silent Acting Scene (3), Surveys (6), Water Program (1)

• Papers and Technology • Schools' Activities/ Performance

12 Students' Views Based on Teachers' Perceptions

Choose Subjects From Community (7), Connect To Community (20), Critical Teenage Feeling (5), Criticism Skills (10), Deal With Issues (4), Discover Talents (2), Encourage Thinking (16), Enthusiasm (35), Express Freely (27), From Repetitive To Fun Lesson (4), Full Of Experiences (9), Great Interaction (12), Increase Research And Produce (8), Increase Value And Information (11), Increased Awareness (22), Increases Self-Confidence (15), Influential Role Of Students In Society (7), Interactive (4), Look For A Solution (4), Open Dialogue (3), Passion To Know Artists (5), Positive Emotions (10), Sensitivity To Social Responsibility (12), Share Experience (5), Some Student Imitated Other (1), Touched Feelings (11)

• Connect to Community • Criticism Skills • Deal with Issues • Enthusiasm • Express Freely • From Repetitive to Fun Lesson • Great Interaction • Increased Awareness • Increases Self-Confidence • Interactive • Open Dialogue • Positive Emotions • Sensitivity to Social Responsibility

(table continues)

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13 Teachers’ Perceptions of IBAE Workshop

Artist History Is Not Important (3), Asked For Almost 19 Years (1), Attend More IBAE Workshops (8), Become Close To Students (4), Current Curriculum Limited Creativity (8), Current Curriculum Repeated Topics (5), Educate Community (2), Enthusiasm To Apply (16), Find Students' Needs (11), Fun Workshop (4), Helpful Lesson Sample (2), Hope Apply In All Subjects (4), Knowing The Students’ Abilities (2), Learned New And Creative Ideas (6), Marginalization Of Art (4), Modern And Nice Topics (12), Need More Practice (2), Needs More Time And Training (1), Negative About Current Curriculum (3), Optimistic To Apply (16), Reach Experience (13), So, Important (26), Suffering With Current Curriculum (22), Sure, Repeat (5)

• Attend More IBAE Workshops • Become Close to Students • Current Curriculum Negativity • Enthusiasm to Apply • Helpful and Important • Needs • Reach Experience

14 Teachers’ Views of IBAE Implementation

Administration Accepted Positively (2), At The End Of The Semester (1), Directed Them To Develop (2), Explained Several Issues (3), Good And Beneficial Experience (2), Included In The Extra-Curriculum (4), Interesting Conversation With Students (3), Interesting Experience (19), Lesson Was Smooth (1), Meet Every Day (1), Need Repeat Several Times (1), New Modern Experience (10), Next Time Will Choose Students', Contact Topics (4), One Hour Weekly (1), Quality And Appreciation Of Artistic Education Depends On The Teacher (2), Questionnaires To Choose Topic (2), Strongly Implemented (23), Two Classes Weekly (2), Will Apply In Every Lesson (4)

• Interesting Experience • Meeting Time • Strongly Implemented • Will Apply in Every Lesson

15 Topics Generation in IBAE

Accept Other (4), Beneficial Technology (3), Bigotry (1), Bullying (13), Corruption (2), Cultural Diversity (5), Cyberbullying (1), Depression And Frustration (2), Domestic Violence (3), Electronic Addiction (2), Environmental Pollution (3), Family Topic (2), Hearsay (3), Heritage (7), Hooliganism (1), Ignorance (1), Isolation And Loneliness (1), Mass Media (5), Muharram (4), National Day (3), Political Issues (2), Porno Snap (1), Poverty (4), Public Health, Teacher's Day, Tree Week (2), Racism Lesson (7), Respect For Public Regulations (2), Respecting, Appreciating, Kindness, And Helping Older Person (1), Save The Blessings (1), Self-Censorship (1), Sexual Abnormality (3), Smoking (3), Social Phobia (10), Thanks Blessings Water (3), The Nature Of Women's Work In The Region (1), Traffic Regulations (1), Volunteering And Serving The Community (1), Wars (1), Woman’s Decency (3), Woman’s Rights (8)

• Cultural Diversity • Electronic Addiction • Environmental Pollution • Family Topics • Isolation and Loneliness • Morality Issues • Violence • Women's Topics

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Thus, I read and re-read until I had 1346 quotations and 583 coding schemes. Then, in Phase 2B,

15 coding categories were revised--polished and freed of repetitiveness in coding schemes. Table

4.22 shows the coding schemes from Phase 2 (B) and provides more details about the revisions

made in polishing coding schemes and collapsing repetitive coding schemes.

Also, Figure 4.9 shows the tag cloud coding schemes from Phase 2B of coding, including

the revised, polished, and collapsed coding scheme column.

Figure 4.9. Tag cloud from Phase 2 (B): Revised coding schemes of polished and non-repetitive codes.

I was the main coder, and another coder reviewed the in vivo and subcategory codes to

test for reliability. The other coder was my classmate, a doctoral candidate from the curriculum

and instruction department, the College of Education, University of North Texas. Besides being a

doctoral candidate, he is a person with knowledge of and experience with qualitative research. I

chose someone with art education knowledge because he could better assist me in understanding

the quotations and codes. Also, he was someone with knowledge of ATLAS.ti.8. Before we

began coding, I provided coding scheme instructions in ATLAS.ti.8 for Windows software for

the second coder; however, I used the Mac version.

In addition, I provided the coder with detailed coding scheme procedures for ATLAS.ti 8.

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We attended a Webinar meeting (Overview of ATLAS.ti 8) provided by Ivana Radivojevic on

Wednesday 1-15-2020 at 4:00 am. I submitted all documents and software that required analysis.

After the coding scheme process was complete, I reviewed all codes in the 15 categories and

compared my codes and the other coder’s codes to find out if there were any differences for each

part, the categories, or the sub-categories. To avoid unfairness, I compared my coding schemes

and that of the second coder to discover whether or not there was consensus.

Concerning the reliability of the classification process, inter-rater reliability was used to

see the consistency of different individuals/raters. The two sets of codes achieved an acceptable

IRR coder reliability rate of 0.89, which should be considered highly reliable because .90 or

greater is considered highly reliable, and .80 or greater is acceptable in most studies ((McHugh,

2012). My process phases agreed with those of Bloomberg and Volpe (2018) in relation to their

observation that "each phase in this multi stage process leads logically to the next, yet the

process is essentially an iterative and somewhat messy one" (p. 99). I cycled through the

sequence of phases more than once and went back and revisited earlier steps in an ongoing effort

to narrow and produce sense us of what was in the data. The steps that I took overlapped with

each other as I continued to read and re-read data.

Phase 3: Focus Coding Scheme and Report Findings

In this phase, I aimed to develop the 15 sub-categories on Phase 2 to 12 sub-categories on

Phase 3 for focus coding schemes in two main categories by using my research questions and my

data collection points to concentrate on the important focus coding scheme. I used the focus

coding scheme with in vivo code to find the relationships between sub-categories. I found that

certain sub-categories were subsumable under others, while some needed to be sub-divided even

further. At this point, the refinements became more focused. I found that some of the data did not

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fit any sub-category's criteria for inclusion; thus, I reviewed and modified the coding schemes

once again for the final listing of sub-categories. Lastly, I carefully examined every piece of data

to determine its fit with the sub-category's criteria for inclusion.

To answer Research Questions 2 and 4, I implemented 51 coding schemes, under 12 sub-

categories, under 2 main categories; they are the following:

• Category 1: Evaluation of IBAE by reflective essay and post-workshop questionnaire included the following 5 sub-categories (for answering Research Question 2):

o Benefits of IBAE and the IBAE workshop

o Quality of IBAE workshop

o Reasons for using IBAE

o Teachers’ perceptions of IBAE workshop

o Challenges in IBAE and the IBAE workshop

• Category 2: Perception of IBAE lesson plan generation and implementation within the context of Saudi Arabian society by personal journal protocol and art teachers focus group discussion questionnaire included the following 7 sub-categories (for answering Research Question 4):

o IBAE within Saudi society

o IBAE lesson implementation process

o Teachers’ views of IBAE implementation

o Students' behaviors based on teachers' observations

o IBAE topics and lessons

o Challenges in implementation of IBAE lessons

o Improvement and suggestions

Finally, in this phase, I created a structure, provided examples of supporting participant

quotations, and visually summarized key findings by generating word clouds and visual

networks.

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Category 1: Evaluation of IBAE by Reflective Essay and Post-Workshop Questionnaire

The following (for answering Research Question 2) was answered after teachers

participated in a professional development workshop on social IBAE: What is the status of in-

service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan

generation and activity? Figure 4.10 shows the category 1 Words Cloud for coding scheme.

Figure 4.10. Category 1 word cloud for coding schemes.

Evaluation of the IBAE workshop, by means of a reflective essay and post-workshop

questionnaire, yielded five categories after the final phase. Table 4.23 shows Category 1 results.

1- Benefits of IBAE and the IBAE workshop

2- Quality of IBAE workshop

3- Reasons for using IBAE

4- Teachers’ perceptions of IBAE workshop

5- Challenges in IBAE and the IBAE workshop

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Table 4.23

Phase 3: Category 1

# Sub-Categories In Vivo Refined Codes Focused Coding Scheme and Number of Frequencies

1

Benefits of IBAE and the IBAE Workshop

• Communication Skills • Creative Artwork with IBAE • Develop All Aspects of Life • Educational Through Art • Exciting Experience • Express Issues That Affect

Community • Great Exchange Experience • Increase Students Respect • Invite to Reality • Lead Society Forward • Learn How to Read Artwork • Learned to Accept and Respect

Opinions • Modify Youth Behavior • Powerful Voice Embodied • Shifting Its Path from Negative

to Positive • Solve Society Issues • Stronger and Deeper Impact

• Communication Skills, 22. • Exciting Experience, 39. • Express Issues that Affect

Community, 52. • Great Exchange Experience, 35. • Invite to Reality, 26. • Read Artwork, 33. • Solve Society Issues, 47. • Stronger and Deeper Impact, 40. • Powerful Voice Embodied, 24.


• Effective Knowledge • All Respect and Appreciation • Caught Attention • Comprehensive Content • Easy Points and Explained in

Detail • Enjoy with Group • High-Quality Workshop • So Helpful • Successful Experience • Wonderful and Clear

• Effective Knowledge, 7. • Caught Attention, 66. • Comprehensive Content, 48. • High-Quality Workshop, 42. • Successful Experience, 52. • Wonderful and Clear, 41.

3 Reasons for Using IBAE Approach

• Art Language of Dialogue • Benefited Community and

Individual • Change Perspective on Art • Connect Art with Issues • Deeper Than Beauty

• Deeper than Beauty, 34. • Change Perspective on Art, 33.

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4

Teachers’ Perceptions of IBAE Workshop

• Attend More IBAE Workshops • Become Close to Students • Current Curriculum Negativity • Enthusiasm to Apply • Helpful and Important • Needs • Reach Experience

• Current Curriculum Negativity, 39.

• Enthusiasm to Apply, 53. • Helpful and Important Approach,

28. • Rich Experience, 55.

5

The Challenges in IBAE and the IBAE Workshop

• Choose Artwork or Subject First • Increase Duration • Long Writing

• Choose Artwork or Subject First, 7.

• Long-Writing, 38.

Sub-Category 1: Benefits of IBAE and the IBAE Workshop

Data in sub-category 1: “Benefits of IBAE and the IBAE Workshop” had 9 coding

schemes under this sub-category, which are communication skills (frequency 22); exciting

experience (frequency 39); express issues that affect community (frequency 52); great exchange

experience (frequency 35); invite to reality (frequency 26); read artwork (frequency 33); solve

society issues (frequency 47); stronger and deeper impact (frequency 40); and powerful voice

embodied (frequency 24). For example, a variety of responses, indicated a coding scheme about

the importance of “expressing issues that affect the community” (frequency 52). One example of

this was when one of the participants responded,

I learned that art is a very sophisticated science that cares about the community, material, and emotional needs of humankind, and that through art, I changed my view of art more broadly; and broadly, we need to educate the community about the importance of art and its role in solving many social issues and expressing issues that affect the community. For the “Invite-to-Reality” coding scheme (frequency 26), another participant responded,

“we must link art to our reality through drawing and other artworks,” and yet another participant

emphasized that art could permit “contact with student’s reality and her life need.” In the “great-

exchange-experiences” coding scheme (frequency 35), one teacher noted, “we exchanged

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opinions and experiences, benefited from the impact of social issues on society, and criticized

paintings in an amazing way, individually and in groups.”

In terms of experiences with interpretation and “reading-of-artwork” coding scheme

(frequency 35), another teacher said, “I learned quickly to read the paintings in an organized

manner,” and two other teachers said, “We read artworks critically, through technical analysis

that we learned in the IBAE workshop by using DBAE and IBAE approaches.”

Sub-Category 2: Quality of IBAE Workshop

In the “quality-of-IBAE-workshop” sub-category, there were 6 coding schemes, effective

knowledge (frequency 7); caught attention (frequency 66); comprehensive content (frequency

48); high-quality workshop (frequency 42); successful experience (frequency 52); and wonderful

and clear (frequency 41). For the in vivo phrase “caught-attention” coding scheme (frequency

66), participants presented responses such as the following: “The title of the workshop caught

my attention and how to use the questionnaire and activate the technology that suits the role.”

Moreover, the phrase “successful-experience” coding scheme had a frequency of 52, and the

“wonderful-and-clear” coding scheme had a frequency of 41. For example, 21 participants said,

“It is so successful experience, and so wonderful workshop, I appreciate her work and

motivation.” Another coding scheme “high-quality-workshop” had a frequency of 41 in

answering the question of how participants rated the quality of the IBAE workshop. Another

said,

I was impressed by the smoothness of the presenter and the flow of dialogue. I enjoyed the IBAE workshop through discussion that addressed how to use IBAE approach. It was a very high quality workshop.

Sub-Category 3: Reasons for Using IBAE Approach

The “reasons-for-using IBAE” sub-category included two coding schemes, “deeper than

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beauty” (frequency 34) and “change perspective on art” (frequency 33). The art is “deeper-than-

beauty” coding scheme was included, with some respondents saying phrases such as “Art is not

just beauty, and the purpose is not to install the paintings on the walls only, but to benefit from

them and display them to society in a different way.” Also, in the “change-perspective-on-art”

coding scheme, some teachers responded with comments similar to “art has in important social

relationship that we neglect.” Also, other participants said things similar to this: “My perspective

changed about the useful link between issues and art educating students, which is an important

goal that art can pursue.”

Sub-Category 4: Teachers’ Perceptions of IBAE Workshop

The sub-category 4 had 4 coding schemes, which were current curriculum negativity

(frequency 39), enthusiasm to apply (frequency 53), helpful and important approach (frequency

28), and rich experience (frequency 55). For example, in the “rich-experiences” coding scheme,

art teacher participants responded with comments like the following: “It adds to my experiences

a sense of criticism, expression, a sense of painting and social issues, and it is rich on practical,

intellectual, practical and creative experiences as well.”

Under the “enthusiasm-to-apply” coding scheme, one teacher said, “I have been asking in

using this method for almost 19 years.” Also, another said, “I will make my students an

important party to solving and developing appropriate solutions and their ability to express the

issues that affect their community.” Several art education teacher participants stated that they

were greatly enthused to “apply the IBAE approach to their art education classrooms.”

In the “helpful and important” coding scheme, which had a frequency level of 28, several

teachers stated that “IBAE workshop and approach were helpful and important workshop to

show us how to use this kind of approach to our art education classroom.”

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Sub-Category 5: The Challenges in IBAE and the IBAE Workshop

Data in sub-category 5: “challenges in IBAE and the IBAE workshop” had 2 coding

schemes under this sub-category, which are choose-artwork-or-subject-first (frequency 7), and

long-writing (frequency 38). With respect to the “choose-artwork-or-subject-first” coding

scheme, three participants said something similar to this: “I do not know whether to choose the

artwork or subject/topic/issue first.” In “long-writing” coding scheme in this sub-category,

several participants made comments similar to this one: “This kind of lesson requires a long

time for writing and preparing its activities before implementation. In addition, there were many

services and instruments that we did.” Finally, three of the participants asserted that they needed

more than 5 days for the IBAE workshop.

Category 2: Perception of IBAE Lesson Plan Generation and Implementation by Using Journal Protocol and Focus Group Discussion

The following question (for answering Research Question 4) was answered after teachers

participated in a professional development workshop on social IBAE and after implementing an

original IBAE lesson plan: What is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’

perceptions of the IBAE lesson implementation activity and of social IBAE, especially within the

context of Saudi Arabian society? Figure 4.11 shows the Category 2 words cloud for coding

scheme. Table 4.24 shows phase three, category 2, and results for the entire 29 coding schemes

under 7 sub-categories. Perception of IBAE lesson plan generation and implementation within

the context of Saudi Arabian society by personal journal protocol and art teachers focus group

discussion included the following 7 sub-categories (for answering Research Question 4):

6. IBAE within Saudi society

7. IBAE lesson implementation process

8. Teachers’ views of IBAE implementation

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9. Students' behaviors based on teachers' observations

10. IBAE topics and lessons

11. Challenges in implementation of IBAE lessons

12. Improvement and suggestions

Figure 4.11. Category 2 word cloud for coding schemes.

Table 4.24

Phase 3: Category 2


6 IBAE within Saudi society

• Fits With 2030 Vision • Fits with The Saudi National

Curriculum • Freedom to Add 20% Of

Curriculum • Pride in The National Values • Supports Principles

• Fits with 2030 Vision, 9. • Fits with The Saudi National • Curriculum, 18.

(table continues)

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7 IBAE lesson implementation process

• Analyze Artwork • Artistic Social Production • Brainstorming Ideas • Demonstration and Presentation • Discussion and Dialogue • Evaluation • Implement Social Action • Follow IBAE Steps

• Analyze Artwork, 44. • Brainstorming Ideas, 22. • Discussion and Dialogue, 21. • Implement Social Action, 35. • Follow IBAE Steps, 38.

8 Teachers’ views of IBAE implementation

• Interesting Experience • Meeting Time • High Confidence for

Implementing • Strongly Wish to Implement Will

Apply in Every Lesson

• Interesting Experience, 44. • Strongly Wish to Implement, 43. • High-Confidence for

Implementing, 44.

9

Students' behaviors based on teachers' observations

• Connect to Community • Criticism Skills • Deal with Issues • Enthusiasm • Express Freely • From Repetitive to A Fun Lesson • Great Interaction • Increased Awareness • Increased Self-Confidence • Interactive • Open Dialogue • Positive Emotions • Sensitivity to Social

Responsibility

• Connect to Community, 27. • Criticism Skills, 10. • Enthusiasm, 49. • Express Freely, 34. • Great Interaction, 22. • Increased Awareness, 59. • Increased Self-Confidence, 15. • Open Dialogue, 8. • Positive Emotions, 26. • Sensitivity to Social

Responsibility, 12.

10 IBAE topics and lessons

• Electronic Addiction • Environmental Pollution • Family Topics • Isolation and Loneliness • Morality Issues • Violence • Women's Topics

• Cultural Diversity, 43. • Morality Issues, 51. • Woman’s Topics, 22.

11 Challenges in implementation of IBAE lessons

• Environmental Challenge • Long Procedures • Limited Arabic IBAE References • Not All Lesson Can Use IBAE • Negativity about Saudi

Curriculum

• Long Procedures, 11. • Limited Arabic IBAE

References, 4. • Environmental Challenge, 6. • Current Curriculum Negativity,

8.

(table continues)

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12 Improvements and suggestions

• Curriculum Update Annually • Increase Duration • Inform the Schools • Prefers Teacher Choice of

Curriculum • Suggestion to Repeat the Idea • Teacher Preparation Programs

• Prefers Teacher Choice of Curriculum, 15.

• Suggestion to Repeat the Idea, 11.

Perceptions of IBAE lesson plan generation and implementation within the context of

Saudi Arabian society, revealed by a personal journal protocol and by an art teacher focus group

discussion, produced seven categories after the third cycle in Category 2.

Sub-Category 6: IBAE within Saudi Society

“IBAE within Saudi society” was a sub-category that had two coding schemes, the “fit-

with-the-Saudi-2030-Vision” coding scheme (frequency 9), and the “fit-with-the-Saudi-national-

curriculum” coding scheme (frequency 18). Many participants confirmed that “I believed IBAE

was in line with the new vision for Saudi Arabia and with the national curriculum.” Three

participants presented that “only in the range of 20% time devoted to it in any given semester,

which means I could not apply it in every lesson.” The responses varied from teachers who

could not apply it to those who could apply it in a limited way. Thus, participants mostly

indicated that a free time within the curriculum would be required in which they could

comfortably use a new method such as the IBAE approach.

Sub-Category 7: IBAE Lesson Implementation Process

Data in sub-category 7: “IBAE-lesson-implementation-process” had 5 coding schemes:

analyzing artwork (frequency 44); brainstorming ideas (frequency 22); discussion and dialogue

(frequency 21); implementing social action, (frequency 35); and following IBAE steps

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(frequency 38). For example, “analyze artwork” (frequency 44) is one strong coding scheme in

this sub-category. The art education teachers confirmed that “technical analysis skills and results

allowed for extrapolation as well as rich discussion by using DBAE questions and IBAE steps to

analyze art.” Also, some teacher participants stated that they “learned how to critique the

paintings in a wonderful, artistic way and to discuss social issues and how to deal with social

issues.” Others focused on the “importance of the presentation of a socially relevant work of art

by the teacher-trainer, who guides students in criticizing it [established methods], explaining it,

expressing thoughts/feelings, finding solutions, and learning how to connect it to the

community.”

In the “brainstorming-ideas” coding scheme (frequency 22), several participants

mentioned cooperation and brainstorming as means of collecting the largest number of social-

issue connections when viewing a work of art. With respect to the “brainstorming-ideas” coding

scheme, one comment was as follows: “This kind of method encourages students’ critical

thinking (through) brainstorming and searching for issues and (responding to) artwork using

social action.”

In the “implement-social-action” coding scheme (frequency 35), art education teacher

participants had different ideas on how to implement/promote social actions --such as through

the use of exhibitions, the school’s morning line (the arrangement of students according to class

for morning announcements before the school day starts), the school’s morning podcast, parent

meetings, programs, and shows. Follow IBAE steps is one coding scheme in this Sub-Category

7. Several teacher participants said, “I follow the DBAE and IBAE steps that we had at IBAE

workshop, I follow the seven steps from beginning to end to apply social action and evaluation

the lesson.” In this sub-category 7, the “discussion-and-dialogue” coding scheme appeared, with

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an art education teacher participant responding,

I was impressed how the students enjoy and participate in the dialogue. I enjoyed the IBAE lesson implementation through discussion that addressed the important issues for Saudi society through various discussions.

Sub-Category 8: Teachers’ Views of IBAE Implementation

This sub-category 8 included three coding schemes, which were interesting experience

(frequency 44); strongly wish to implement (frequency 43); and high-confidence for

implementing (frequency 44). In “interesting-experience” coding scheme (frequency 44), several

art teacher participants mentioned, “It was new, modern, interesting, personal experience with

my students.” And one said,

I am surprised how students are so enthusiastic, even the students who are lazy and were not interested in doing their artwork as usual, they participated and did a wonderful job and artwork.

Other participants said, “students thought IBAE lessons were attractive, beautiful, joyful,

interesting, important, helpful, wonderful, fun, and positive reification.”

Regarding the “strongly-implementing” coding scheme, most of the participants agreed

about the benefits of including the IBAE approach in their teaching experiences at every chance

that they could, except for one teacher, who said, “I have my own method.”

The “high-confidence” coding scheme (frequency 44) shows that the art teacher

participants expressed high confidence in their own ability to implement this kind of approach in

their own art classes. Several participants said such as, “I am so confident and will strongly apply

it to my class because it will be helpful for me, my students, and our society.”

Sub-Category 9: Students' Behaviors Based on Teachers' Observations

In the “students' behaviors based on teachers' observations” sub-category, there were 10

coding schemes identified, which included the following: connect to community (frequency 27);

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criticism skills (frequency 10); enthusiasm (frequency 49); express freely (frequency 34); great

interaction (frequency 22); increased awareness (frequency 59); increased self-confidence

(frequency 15); open dialogue (frequency 8); positive emotions (frequency 26); and sensitivity to

social responsibility (frequency 12).

The most frequent code in this category was “increased awareness” coding scheme

(frequency 59). For example, some of the art teacher participants’ ideas about student views (not

the actual students’ views) was, “Using IBAE raised students’ social awareness about societal

problems and the need to solve them.” The second strong code was “enthusiasm” coding scheme

(frequency 49). Participants mentioned “the influence on the students’ enthusiasm.” One

participant said, “I was passionate to apply the project (with) my students; really, they love the

idea so much, and they were enthusiastic while they did their artworks.” The “express-freely”

coding scheme (frequency 34) also appeared in this category. One participant said, “students like

to have the freedom that exists in an IBAE instructional unit/project.” Another art teacher

participant said,

Sure, I will apply the method in every lesson for my class to move from repetitious and boring to fun and creative lessons because my students love to express themselves freely. In relation to the finding on “social-responsibility” coding scheme, some participants

said,

This approach will assist to build the relationships between citizenship and responsibility through the examination of artistic participation and its importance in association with responsibility extended to community need. Also, it helps to build fundamental beliefs that help citizens center themselves around responsibility.

Sub-Category 10: Topics Generation in IBAE

“Topics-generation-in-IBAE” sub-category had three concentration coding schemes.

With respect to topics that had high frequencies, a number of art education teachers chose to

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mention cultural diversity (frequency 43), morality issues (frequency 51), and women's topics

(frequency 22) as appropriate for their respective classrooms.

Sub-category 10 agrees with or helps confirm the quantitative data that shows the same

suggested IBAE topics. Art education teacher participants presented various potential social

issue topics to be used in conjunction with IBAE, including cultural diversity, addiction to

electronics, environmental pollution, family topics, isolation and loneliness, morality issues,

violence, and women's topics.

Sub-Category 11: Challenges in Implementation of IBAE Lessons

In sub-category 11: “challenges-in-implementation-of-IBAE-lessons,” four concentration

coding schemes, which are long procedures (frequency 11); limited arabic ibae references

(frequency 4), environmental challenge (frequency 6), and negative current curriculum

(frequency 8). Most participants felt high-confidence in their ability to implement IBAE in their

classroom. For example, many art teachers’ participants said, “after the IBAE workshop, I am

very confident about applying this kind of approach in my respective classes.”

Regarding the “negative-current-curriculum” coding scheme (frequency 8), art teacher

participants felt they could not apply the new approach easily because they had a specific

curriculum which they could not change: only about 20% of the curriculum allows them the

freedom to apply any topic in a way/manner of their own choosing.

Many of the art teachers’ participants said, “the current art education curriculum was

limited and full of repetitive subject lessons, with every different grade level presenting the same

material, style, and methods each year.” Other examples related to the delivery of art education

curriculum also mentioned that “I need more freedom to control my lesson,” “I am constrained

and restricted,” and “this curriculum reduced creativity and critical thinking.”

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Overall, several of the participants had “Negative-Current-Curriculum.” They said that

the IBAE curriculum was not compatible with the current curriculum of art education in Saudi

Arabia because the current Saudi Arabian curriculum concentrates on technical learning skills

more than thinking, valuing, expressing oneself, freedom, and making connections to one’s own

life. The current curriculum is concentrated on art production and lacks a connection to students

as human beings who have value, ambition, and issues that they need help/guidance in solving.

Sub-Category 12: Improvements and Suggestions

The final sub-category 12, “improvements-and-suggestions,” led to two further coding

schemes, prefers teacher choice of curriculum (frequency 15) and suggest repeating the idea

(frequency 11). The first coding scheme included teachers’ comments such as “preferring to

choose curriculum from ourselves or to have a voice/say in curriculum choices.” The second

coding scheme related to repeated exposure to IBAE ideas. The respondents stressed the value of

attending other IBAE workshop. One participant noted “the value of attending other IBAE

workshops and/or other kinds of similar workshops because of the benefits of this experience.”

Another participant said,

Adding this kind of curriculum to art teacher preparation programs will impact their awareness to using this kind of approach and improve their experience. I hope I can attend more like this workshop in IBAE.

Summary

I created a structure that I followed and documented the findings in this chapter through

an extensive coding scheme protocol and by providing examples of participant quotations like

those above. In addition, I further summarized findings by generating the various word cloud

figures shown above and the visual networks figure, Figure 4.12. Stated more specifically, I used

a focus coding scheme to find the relationships between sub-categories.

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Figure 4.12. Final focus coding schemes showing the final relationships between sub-categories.

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This final phase reported the finding to answer the research questions by using two main

categories in twelve sub-categories in 51 coding schemes. After review, the data and the focused

coded data had a reduced number of coding schemes, from 538 down to 51. In Figure 4.12, the

Visual Network for categories, sub-categories, and coding schemes’ data shows in-service art

education teachers’ perceptions with respect to the IBAE workshop and its implementation in

Saudi society context in greater detail.

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CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

Introduction

Art can be used as a means of exploring the basic values related to social issues affecting

the community. Some scholars (Albers, 1999; Bethel & Foels, 2016; Chang, Lim, & Kim, 2012;

Carvalho, 2014) have pointed to the potential of art to strengthen education through the lessons it

provides on social issues. Art has a unique ability to bring us onto a path to social change; it can

thus play a significant role in the community by causing students and teachers to reflect on or

consider their cultural values or understandings in a new way. Furthermore, art influences

society by changing opinions, inspiring values, and translating experiences across physical

places and time periods. Early researchers such as Dewey (1934), Albers (1999), and Chang,

Lim, & Kim (2012) have shown that art affects the fundamental understanding of individuals and

communities, especially when using art with social issues. Education is not solely the gain of

knowledge to make students more intelligent academically. Education should also aim to make

students better people, therefore leading to a better society.

Nevertheless, in “The Position of Art Education in the General Education in Saudi

Arabia”, Alshehri (2001) asserted that “there is no doubt that art education has not taken its

position in the general education in Saudi Arabia despite (the fact) that art education is in the

same level with other Modules in the Curriculum and (has) uniqueness in its purposes and

messages” (p. 3). He found that the art education curriculum in Saudi Arabia was out-of-date. In

addition, he indicated that there was no specific development of how to teach art and that the

aims of art education and directions in general education were not clear.

In addition, Alshehri (2005) gave insights on the role played by art education in

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explaining and disciplining the moral and social behavior of general education pupils and the

importance of using art in this way. However, despite these assertions, there is still a lack of

concentration on using social issues in the art education curriculum in Saudi Arabia.

In a review of the literature, I noted that art teachers tend to concentrate on training

students in art skills more than on educating them about the intersection between ideas and art

and (b) on personal satisfaction rather than on dilemmas and issues faced by students in their

everyday lives (Bowman & Frega, 2012). Thus, I sought to address the situation, at least within

the Saudi Arabian art education teaching context, by providing an IBAE workshop to in-service

Saudi art teachers, focusing on IBAE techniques they can apply in their classrooms.

Therefore, the professional development workshop IBAE was created by Dr. Laney and

me. The IBAE workshop was a process wherein a coach/researcher increased art teachers'

capabilities and improved their skills in preparing and teaching social issues in their art education

lessons by following several steps, which are: 1. Recognize the need for social action in the art

education curriculum, 2. Search for resources, 3. Brainstorm and plan together and sharing

resources, 4. The presentation of “what if” idea possibilities, 5. develop and organize a timeline,

6. Follow the planned art learning experience, and 7. Student and teacher self-reflection and

critique of accomplishments (Guay, 2002).

Based on the current state of Saudi Arabian art education as described above, the current

research investigated and described the impact of an IBAE workshop and associated lesson plan

implementation on art teacher participants in Saudi Arabia. The data analyses were intended to

answer questions regarding the following:

1. Teachers’ philosophy of teaching before and after a professional development workshop on teaching about social issues with and through art

2. Teachers’ perceptions of the workshop and lesson plan generation and activity

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3. Teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of the IBAE approach, possible rationales, possible topics, and possible challenges

4. Teachers’ perceptions of the IBAE lesson implementation activity, especially within the context of Saudi Arabian society

I prepared and conducted an IBAE workshop and reported on the pretest and posttest

results demonstrating the effects of the IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art

education teachers’ philosophy of teaching. Furthermore, I made note of art education teachers’

perceptions of the workshop and lesson-plan-generation activities, and perceptions about the

relative importance of IBAE, as well as the general approach, reasons, topics, and challenges in

addressing social issues using IBAE. Finally, I investigated the art education teachers’

perceptions regarding implementing IBAE lesson plans, especially within the context of Saudi

Arabian society

The participants were all female art education teachers from intermediate schools in

general education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The arrangements for teacher participation were

made with help from the supervisor in the North Riyadh office. She was so helpful and

welcoming.

In the methodology chapter, it was noted that this current mixed-method research study

utilized a sequential research design. The quantitative research portion of the study incorporated

an experimental one-group, pretest-posttest design to discover the effects of an IBAE workshop

on in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching. With the qualitative

portion of the study, the positive impacts of IBAE on art teacher participants’ perceptions of art

education regarding the use of social issues in at education, the generation and implementation of

IBAE lessons, and use of IBAE lessons within the context of Saudi art education classrooms

were studied.

The quantitative part of the study consisted of a pretest and posttest using Kauchak and

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Eggen’s (2014) questionnaire and modified questionnaires from Milbrandt (2002); these were

completed by all teacher participants. The qualitative part of the study utilized a post-workshop

questionnaire, reflective essay, journal protocol, and a focus group discussion session. Data from

40 cases were screened, and 3 participants had missing docements. There were 37 participants

for post-workshop questionnaire and reflective essay, and18 participants for journal protocol and

a focus group discussion for 2 sessions.

The findings of the current study included the fact that there was an increase in art

education teachers’ adherence to the philosophical ideas of Progressivism and Social

Reconstructionism. Furthermore, there were positive impacts from the IBAE workshop on art

education teachers’ perceptions related to using social issues, generating IBAE lessons, and

implementing IBAE lessons in the art education classroom. The positive teacher-participant

perceptions evident in this study match those observed in earlier research studies and theoretical

works (i.e. Hunkins and Orstein, 2016 and Dewey, 1934) that indicated positive effects from

IBAE. In addition, Oreck (2006) stressed that successful classrooms require teachers to

incorporate other subjects with arts in their teaching.

As stated above, the goal of this research was to investigate and describe the impact of an

IBAE workshop on Saudi art education teachers. Overall, he findings of the current study

indicate that there was an increase in art teacher participants’ adherence to ideas within

Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism, two teaching philosophies which align well with

IBAE content and approaches. Moreover, there were positive impacts from the IBAE workshop

on art teacher participants’ perceptions with respect to addressing social issues within art

education, generating IBAE lessons, and implementing IBAE lessons in Saudi art education

classrooms. A detailed discussion of research questions, conclusions/answers to each research

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question, implications for classroom practice, and recommendations for future research follow

below.

Discussion

Conclusions Related to Quantitative Results, Research Question 1

Regarding the experimental/quantitative types of effects of the IBAE workshop on in-

service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching, the first research question

was answered by administering at pretest and posttest, Kauchak and Eggen’s (2014)

questionnaire that tested the effects of the IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art

education teachers’ philosophy of teaching. The overall analysis of the quantitative data sets

confirmed that the perspectives of art teachers became more positive regarding the teaching

philosophies of reconstructionism and progressivism philosophy after participants completed a

professional development IBAE workshop. As mentioned above, attitudes regarding the

progressivist philosophy appeared to become more positive, but to a lesser extent than what

occurred with the social reconstructionist philosophy. The other two philosophies, perrenialism

and essentialism, did not show significant effects. The two philosophies showing significant

effects reflect the views of Dewy (1934), in which he attempts to shift the focus from the

physical manifestations of an artwork to the process, which is a fundamental element in the

development of an experience that can personally affect one's life in a way crucial to an

individual’s social and educational life.

I conducted a two-tailed paired-sample t-test to determine whether there was a

statistically significant mean difference between the pretest and posttest means for the Kauchak

and Eggen (2014) questionnaire. The following null hypothesis was tested using inferential

statistics:

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H0∶ There is no significant difference between pretest and posttest measures of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching.

H0: 𝜇𝜇 Perennialis = 𝜇𝜇 Perennialism 𝜇𝜇 Essentialism 𝜇𝜇 Essentialism 𝜇𝜇 Progressivism 𝜇𝜇 Progressivism 𝜇𝜇 Reconstructionism pretest 𝜇𝜇 Reconstructionism posttest

As mentioned above, Research Question 1 was answered through the conducting of a

two-tailed paired t-test to determine if there was a statistically significant mean difference in

participants’ teaching philosophies before and after they participated in the IBAE workshop. The

researcher ran a dependent sample t-test (a paired sample t-test) on SPSS to test the null

hypothesis. The analysis produced statistically significant results related to the teaching

philosophy of Social Reconstructionism. The paired-sample t-test revealed a statistically

significant difference in mean Social Reconstructionism scores between the pretest and posttest

reports (p < 0.05).

More specifically, results indicated that there was a statistically significant positive mean

difference between the pretest and posttest Social Reconstructionism philosophy scores, with

t(36) = 8.952, p < .05, and d = 0.70, constituting a statistically significant and strongly

meaningful result. The null hypothesis (H03) for Research Question 1 was rejected with respect

to social reconstructionism. In contrast, the changes in attitudes were toward progressivism were

statistically significant but weakly meaningful, and the difference was relatively trivial.

In summary, the quantitative data results showed significant gains in both social

reconstructionist and progressivist ideas/thoughts among in-service art education teachers’ after

participating in the IBAE workshop, with the effect size being much larger/stronger for social

reconstructionism than for progressivism.

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Conclusions Related to Qualitative Results, Research Question 2

By means of descriptive/qualitative research, the second question was answered through

using a reflective essay and a post-workshop questionnaire to discover what the current status

was of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ post-workshop perceptions of the IBAE

workshop and IBAE lesson plan generation activity. With respect to conclusions associated with

the second question, six categories of results appeared.

Benefits of IBAE and the IBAE Workshop

Among the benefits-of-IBAE sub-categories, nine coding schemes showed that art

teachers’ views confirmed the benefits of IBAE and the IBAE workshop. The first coding

scheme, “great exchange experiences” for help, refers to art teacher participants

exchanging/sharing their experiences with other art education teachers in the workshop. The

second coding scheme, “exciting experiences,” indicates that participants felt joy, enthusiasm,

and energy about attending the workshop. The third coding scheme, “stronger and deeper

impact,” shows that the IBAE approach and the IBAE workshop benefited individuals by sharing

experiences and increase awareness. The fourth coding scheme, “powerful voice approach,”

refers to the fact that IBAE assists and supports individuals and the community in expressing

their opinions. The fifth coding scheme, “solving societal issues,” refers to how IBAE helps in

defining the problem, coming up with different solutions, deciding which solution to use, and

implementing that solution.

The sixth coding scheme was “communication skills,” which participants perceived were

increased through IBAE. This finding that IBAE increased communication skills agrees with

Milbrandt (2010), who asserts that IBAE is a more powerful way to increase communication

skills. This approach depends on engaging the audience in discussion through making

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suggestions, being yourself, thinking, and listening. Romero (1996), Milbrandt (2010), and Reed

(2005) support this assertion as well.

The seventh coding scheme was “read(ing) artwork.” Based on participant perceptions,

IBAE demonstrated its capacity for increasing one’s ability to read artwork and understand

artworks by employing IBAE and DBAE techniques and approaches for viewing and analyzing a

work of art. This benefit was achieved by helping educators talk about the connections between

what is seen in various artworks, the associated meanings, and the real-world experiences from

art viewers’ own lives. Cowan (1999) contends that drawings can be linked to cultural identities,

and that power derives not just from the imagery that these artworks include but from how we

read and use art to shape and support social interaction.

The eighth coding scheme was “invite to reality,” which refers to the IBAE’s provision of

vicarious and real-life experiences when studying works of art. This coding scheme agrees with

Laney’s (1996) study on “Developing Integrated Art-Social Studies Lessons Using the

Discipline-based Art Education Model: A Procedural Guide for Classroom Teachers,” in which

he said, “have the students 'live' the concept(s) in the classroom by providing them with real-life

experiences with the concept(s)” (p. 90-91). The “invite-to-reality” coding scheme found in the

current study also matches with observations from earlier studies such as Hunkins and Ornstein

(2016), who said controversial issues relate to reality and serve learners and teachers in their

efforts to promote culture and life issues. Also, in Art as Experience, Dewey (1934) believed that

reality must be experienced in art education.

The ninth coding scheme was “express issues that affect community.” This finding agrees

with the idea that art education, in the form of IBAE, can be used as a means of exploring the

basic values related to social issues affecting the community, thus strengthening art education

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through the lessons it provides on social issues (Albers, 1999; Bethel & Foels, 2016; Berman,

2009; Beauregard, Gunter, & Paquette, 2017; Chang, Lim, & Kim, 2012; Carvalho, 2014).

Figure 5.1 graphically illustrates the last cycle’s nine coding schemes for the benefits of IBAE

and the IBAE workshop.

Figure 5.1. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for benefits of IBAE and the IBAE workshop

Quality of IBAE Workshop

In the “Quality-of-IBAE-workshop” sub-category, participants indicated that this

workshop “caught-their-attention;” that was first coding scheme. Next, “a successful

experience,” “wonderful and clear,” and “high-quality workshop” were also coding schemes in

this sub-category, along with “comprehensive content” and “effective knowledge.” Figure 5.2

graphically illustrates the last phase of coding for the “Quality of (the) IBAE Workshop.”

Figure 5.2. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for quality of IBAE workshop

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Reasons for Using IBAE Approach

Among the “reasons for using IBAE approach” sub- category, the “deeper-than-beauty”

and the “change-perspectives-on-art” coding schemes reflect the predominant perceptions that

participants reported. With respect to the “deeper-than-beauty” coding scheme, using IBAE in art

education supports Freedman’s (1994) assertion that education is meant “not only to promote

knowledge for students' personal gains, but to engage students in thinking about knowledge as a

part of social life" (p.158). Likewise, the “change-perspectives-on-art” coding scheme aligns

with Gablik’s (1991) assertion that using social issues with art creates a positive interaction and

changes community thinking about art and increases a belief in the meaningfulness of art within

society. Figure 5.3 graphically illustrates the last phase of reasons for using the IBAE approach.

Figure 5.3. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for reasons for using IBAE approach

Teachers’ Perceptions of IBAE Workshop

In the “teachers’-perceptions-of-IBAE workshop” sub-category, four coding schemes

emerged, which included “rich experience,” “helpful and important,” “enthusiasm to apply,” and

“current-curriculum-negative” coding schemes. In this sub-category of findings, participants

indicated they had valued and rich experiences and felt enthusiasm about applying this kind of

lesson. Participants were excited to implement this kind of the lesson in their classrooms. They

felt they had had meaningful experiences and felt prepared to implement IBAE lessons in their

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respective classrooms. These findings seem to be consistent with Milbrandt's (2010) opinions

about how IBAE serves to “inform larger society about social issues; inform externally as a more

effective way to communicate movement ideals to people outside the movement; critique

movement ideology; and provide elements of pleasure and aesthetic joy” (p. 7). This quote really

goes with my findings on the “rich-experience” coding scheme and “helpful-and-important-

approach” coding scheme associated with Saudi Arabian art teachers’ perceptions of the IBAE

workshop. This statement also goes with the “enthusiasm-to-apply-in-the-classroom” coding

scheme because the IBAE workshop resulted in feelings of anticipated pleasure and aesthetic joy

when the teachers thought about using IBAE in their own art classrooms. Furthermore, the

findings above show improvements in art teacher participants’ valuing of IBAE and the IBAE

workshop. The teachers felt it was beneficial for the curriculum to communicate the value of

discussing social issues, and they felt that more encouragement and information about social

issues was a positive aspect of IBAE.

In relation to the “current-curriculum-negative” coding scheme, art education teacher

participants reacted negatively to the current art education curriculum in Saudi Arabia because

they perceived it as being repetitive, boring, and lacking in awareness of art’s effect on people’s

lives. Not surprisingly, students were perceived as having a negative view of art education, too.

The “current-curriculum-negative” coding scheme agrees with Al-Amri’s (2019), Al-Namlah’s

(1994), Alshehri’s (2001), Alheezan’s (2009), and Aboalkaur’s (1998) conclusions, which

indicate that art education in Saudi Arabia needs development. Milbrandt's (2002) findings agree

with participants’ opinions in the current study because her participants were in general

agreement on the need to construct programs along IBAE lines. Figure 5.4 graphically illustrates

the last phase of coding for teachers' perceptions of the IBAE workshop.

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Figure 5.4. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for teachers' perceptions of IBAE workshop

The Challenges in IBAE and the IBAE Workshop

The few potential challenges within IBAE and the IBAE workshop included the

following: whether to choose the artwork or subject first; increasing the number of days of

commitment required; and the long time required for writing and preparing lessons. Teachers

were confused about whether to choose the artwork or the topic/issue first. In addition, the

findings indicated that it would be good to have more available time for the IBAE workshop

itself and for implementing IBAE lessons in the curriculum. Time was very challenging for some

participants. They confirmed that they needed more than 5 days of workshop preparation.

Participants also said that the current curriculum is limited and full of repetitive subject lessons,

with every different grade level presenting the same material, style, and methods each year.

Figure 5.5 graphically illustrates the last phase coding for the challenges in IBAE and the IBAE

workshop.

Figure 5.5. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for the challenges in IBAE and the IBAE workshop

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Conclusions Related to Quantitative Results, Research Question 3

For the investigation of the third research question using quantitative descriptive

statistics, after the workshop I administered the Modified Milbrandt (2002) questionnaire to

reveal art education teachers’ perceptions of the relative importance of IBAE, the approach itself,

the reasons, the topics, and the challenges in addressing social issues.

The data analysis was accomplished using tallies/percentages, means, and standard

deviations for each item, thus allowing for an examination of the status of in-service Saudi

Arabian school art education teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of (a) the IBAE

approach, (b) reasons for using IBAE, (c) various potential social issue topics in IBAE, and (d)

various potential challenges encountered in addressing social issues by using IBAE after they

had participated in an IBAE professional development workshop on social IBAE.

Teacher participants’ overall perception of addressing social issues in the art curriculum

was that it is important to use social issues within the art curriculum, with 91.9% of respondents

agreeing. That means most art education teachers agreed strongly with the importance of

addressing contemporary social issues as part of their approach to teaching art after the IBAE

workshop. This finding is consistent with those of other researchers (David & McCaughan,

2006; Feehan, 2010; Freedman, 2000; Lindström, 2014; Roman, 1968; Turner, 2007) who also

suggested the importance of addressing contemporary social issues as part of their approach to

teaching art.

The top reason/rationale for pairing art education with social issues was reason 4, “It

raises student awareness of “real world” problems.” This was consistent with the findings of

Alheezan (2009) and Lesy (1982) that this kind of research increases awareness and improves

students’ skills in relation to social issues in order to solve these issues positively and effectively.

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Additionally, the findings of the current study agreed with the findings of Gaudelius and Speirs

(2002) in supporting the power of art to increase social awareness about other cultures through

art education classes in which learners can discover how art is a reflection of cultural ideas,

beliefs, and social conditions as they negotiate life experience with art and make comparisons

and contrasts.

The social issues topic, “effects of mass media,” was the one ranked the highest. See

Appendix C for some examples from teachers’ results when they applyied IBAE in their

classrooms. Next came the topics of “environmental issues,” “appreciation of cultural diversity,”

“racism,” “homelessness,” “poverty,” “hunger,” and “censorship”—in that order. This result is

similar to Milbrandt’s (2002) research, which was originally designed to measure the status of

contemporary social issues in an art education class in Georgia, U.S.A. “Cultural diversity” and

“environmental issues” were most often mentioned by participants in this initial U.S. study.

As stated above, the participants in the current research study focused their

implementation of several topics, one of which was “environmental issues.” With respect to

these social issues topic, the current study’s finding agrees with McFee and Degge (1980) and

Larson (1993, Sept.-Oct.) when they said art education combined with other subjects and issues

raises the awareness of students and teachers about the needs of our fragile planet. Larson (1993,

Sept.-Oct.). Their findings suggest that by incorporating environmental aspects into arts

curriculum, teachers can merge such approaches as the following: (1) looking at the problem, (2)

engaging in creative drama and use of one’s imagination, (3) engaging in brainstorming and

thinking time, and (4) participating in creative productions and activities. These activities match

up well with the IBAE approach and with what participants in the current study implemented in

their own classrooms. See Appendix C for some examples of environmental-issues-related

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activities experienced by students of teachers participating in the current study.

Also, some of the teacher participants in the current study used the “cultural diversity”

topic in their development and implementation of IBAE lessons, which aligns with Chalmers

(1996), who stressed that art teachers in schools still need to educate all students for multicultural

purposes and use this topic in their art education classrooms. In addition, Chalmers (1996) and

Duncum (2001) worked with others to move art education into diverse areas and use the arts to

address issues of social justice. I think one reason for teacher participants creating and

implementing cultural diversity lessons in the current study was likely due to my sample lesson

being on a cultural diversity topic. In addition, Saudi Arabia is made up of many diverse

cultures; thus, art teacher participants likely felt the importance of this topic for their students.

See Appendix C for some examples of cultural diversity and social justice/racism activities

developed and implemented in art education classes by IBAE-trained teachers in the current

study.

In the “other” possible topics/issues category, the highest ranked topics were “bullying,”

“social phobia,” and “women’s rights.” With respect to the “bullying” topic, in Visual Arts

Education: Teaching a Peaceful Response to Bullying, Bickley-Green (2007) stated that art

teachers can help reduce violence in schools by discussing bullying, fighting, violence, and

anxiety in their art education classrooms.

Also, in relation to “social phobia,” in Art and Social Anxiety, Cousineau (July 2, 2016)

argued that the best way out of anxiety is often to face the things you are afraid of. She

confirmed that teachers need to participate in making students feel safe in their communities.

Several artsteacher participants in the current study created and implemented lessons on these

topics. See Appendix C for some examples of social-anxiety-related activities developed and

https://www.sinthiacousineau.com/

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implemented in art education classes by IBAE-trained teachers in the current study.

In terms of “women’s rights” issues, the current study’s finding agrees with Garber

(2003) and Sadker (2000), who claimed that actively connecting students to feminist issues is an

effective way to present feminist issues in classrooms. In Garber (2003), four themes on feminist

pedagogy were applied to analyze class discussions: mastery, authority, voice, and positionality

(Garber, 2003). In the current study, several teacher participants developed and then

implemented in their own classrooms IBAE lesson plans on the women’s rights topic. For

examples of these development and implementation efforts dealing with women’s rights, see

Appendix C.

The top challenge to implementing IBAE was Challenge 3, i.e. lack of information about

artists or good lesson plans that explore significant social issues, and little time to sufficiently

research these topics prior to teaching. This finding agrees with the findings of Milbrandt (2002)

regarding the lack of time for the development of appropriate teaching materials and adequate

pre-teacher training, especially in dealing with sensitive topics during classroom discussions.

Conclusions Related to Qualitative Research Data, Research Question 4

By means of qualitative research data, the fourth research question of the current study

was answered by using the teacher participants’ personal journal protocols and discussions from

an art teacher focus group that revealed details about teacher participants’ perceptions of IBAE

lesson plan generation and IBAE lesson implementation within the context of Saudi Arabian

society. The following conclusion-related sub-categories reflect a continuation of the prior

conclusion-related sub-categories in the above section entitled “Conclusions Related to

Qualitative Research Data, Research Question 2.

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IBAE within Saudi Society

Based on the perceptions of teacher participants in the current study, IBAE is a good

match to the current Saudi societal context because it fits neatly into the 2030 Vision and the

new Saudi national curriculum. This approach meets national vision curriculum targets. All this

might impact the place/importance of art education in the schools and the inclusion/non-

inclusion of art education in the schools. Clearly, Vision 2030 planners are concerned with

addressing social issues; thus, using an IBAE approach in the Saudi Arabia curriculum would

seem to be beneficial for achieving that goal (Saudi 2030 Vision, 2016). However, art teacher

participants in the current study also said that they required free space/time to effectively make

use of a new method such as the IBAE approach. Figure 5.6 graphically illustrates the last cycle

coding for IBAE within Saudi society.

Figure 5.6. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for IBAE within Saudi society

IBAE Lesson Implementation Process

“Analyze artwork” and “follow IBAE steps” were two strong coding schemes in this sub-

category of “IBAE lesson implementation process.” The art education teacher participants in the

current study perceived that the use of DBAE questions and IBAE steps to analyze art promoted

technical analysis skills that allowed for better extrapolation of meaning as well as rich

discussion. Also, some teachers stated they learned how to critique the paintings in a wonderful,

artistic way and to discuss social issues and how to deal with social issues. Furthermore, the art

teacher participants confirmed that analyzing artwork through technical analysis of art elements

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and skills using DBAE questions and IBAE steps led to rich experiences. They stressed the

importance of the presentation of a socially relevant work of art by the teacher-trainer, who

guides students in criticizing it (using established methods), explaining it, expressing

thoughts/feelings, finding solutions, and learning how to connect it to the community. These

findings agree with Laney’s (1996) recommendations on “Developing Integrated Art-Social

Studies Lessons Using the Discipline-based Art Education Model: A Procedural Guide for

Classroom Teachers.” In this article, Laney presents a seven-step procedural guide for

developing integrated art-social studies lessons using the DBAE model. A related empirical

study by Laney, Moseley, and Pak (1996) indicated that lesson plans of this kind increased

students’ understanding of art and social studies concepts and students’ ability to make

inferential interpretations of works of art.

Within the “brainstorming-of-ideas” coding scheme, participants stressed the important

role of cooperation and brainstorming in identifying the largest number of relevant topics/issues.

These positive findings match those observed/derived in earlier studies that indicated positive

effects for IBAE and supported the planning and implementation of issues-based art lessons. For

example, Oreck (2006) stated that the teacher’s primary goals for students were the promotion of

"higher-order thinking skills and personal connections to the subject matter, social development,

behavioral modification, and self-regulation;” these goals were achieved while also promoting

“fun in learning” and “an enjoyable class atmosphere" (p. 14).

With respect to the “implementation-of-social-action” coding scheme found in the current

study, the teacher participants’ IBAE lessons, which included social action plans, were

implemented in their own real world classrooms after the IBAE workshop. The art teacher

participants were so excited about the resulting student products and ideas. They kept sending

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me examples and documentation of the things their classes had done. This finding matches

Laney’s (1996a) expressed viewpoint that teachers should generate at least one follow-up

activity in the form of a social action plan, for example, to make connections between the new

learning and students' own background knowledge and life experiences using the IBAE

approach. Within the implementation-of-social-action scheme coding; they suggested ideas

including exhibitions, the morning line, the morning podcast, parent meetings, programs, and

shows.

Also, art education teacher participants stressed the richness of their experiences through

open “discussion and dialogue” with students that addressed the important issues for them and

society in general. Lastly, improvements in the valuing of free expression was evident within this

“discussion and dialogue” coding scheme. This is consistent with the ideas of Alharbi (2017)

regarding the importance of “freedom, equality, fairness, freedom of expression, and

participation in the decision-making process” (p. 82). Also, Jones (1993) asked schools to

endorse a specific procedure for supporting free expression. Figure 5.7 graphically illustrates the

last phase coding for IBAE lesson implementation process.

Figure 5.7. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for IBAE lesson implementation process

Teachers’ Views of IBAE Implementation

The three coding schemes related to “Teachers’ views of IBAE implementation” included

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“interesting experience,” “strongly wish to implement,” and “high confidence for

implementing.” Teacher participants in the current study described the implementation of their

IBAE lessons as interesting and fun. Overall, they found it to be an “interesting experience.” The

teachers’ views also confirmed that they had “strong” wishes to “implement” what they learned.

All teachers strongly agreed with the notion of implementing IBAE in their own teaching

experiences—now and in the future. Finally, the “high-confidence-for-implementing “coding

scheme indicates that the art teacher participants expressed high confidence in their own ability

to implement the IBAE approach in their respective art classrooms. Figure 5.8 graphically

illustrates the last cycle coding for teachers’ views of IBAE implementation sub-category.

Figure 5.8. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for teachers’ views of IBAE implementation

Students' Behaviors Based on Teachers' Observations

Among the “students' behaviors based on teachers' observations” sub-categories, ten

coding schemes showed a select group of art teachers' perceptions of students' behaviors on

journals and teachers' comments during the focus group discussion. The first coding scheme is

“connected to community” coding scheme. In this coding scheme, participants indicated that

their students felt strongly “connected to their community” through the IBAE lessons. This

finding is consistent with theory and prior studies showing that art can foster connections to

community (Albers, 1999; Bethel & Foels, 2016; Berman, 2009; Beauregard, Gunter, &

Paquette, 2017; Chang, Lim, & Kim, 2012; Carvalho, 2014). Specifically, these studies point to

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the potential of art to strengthen education through the lessons it provides on social issues. In this

way, art can clearly play a significant role in the community. For the second, third, and fourth

coding schemes, “positive-emotions,” “express freely,” and “great interaction,” participants

indicated that these lessons gave students opportunities for positive emotions, enjoyment, free

expression, and rich experiences.

Regarding the fifth coding scheme, “criticism skills,” Gaudelius and Speirs (2002) argued

that art reflects humankind’s praxis—sharing, expression, and critical perspective, and it reflects

a critical perspective on the artist’s community, time, and place. Furthermore, Firdaus and

Mariyat (2017) stressed that the teachers’ function is to promote learners’ thinking critically and

acting according to the values of humanity. This is in agreement with the aim of Saudi Vision

2030 to create experiences for students that promote social values and support improvement and

create positive changes in line with the vision. According to Kinninmont (2016), “Vision 2030

envisages a Saudi Arabia made up of citizens who are more active and independent: better

educated, more capable of critical thinking, more entrepreneurial, many working in the private

sector” (p. 41). All of the proposed social contract austerity measures, transformations, and

changes require engagement from the Saudi community in order to achieve these goals and

overcome obstacles.

I need to make one more comment with respect to the “critical thinking” finding. The

promotion of critical thinking is one of the frequent influences used to confirm the power of art

education. By practicing IBAE, art teachers can develop and encourage skills connected to

critical thinking. Using this method has potentially positive effects on art students, but also on art

teachers and schools as well. This method encourages teachers to think critically and maintain a

sense of independence and creativity in teaching (Oreck, 2006; Deasy, 2002). IBAE assists

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teachers to think more critically. Improving critical decision-making and creative problem-

solving abilities, combined with the context of meaningful experiences, can assist building art

education into a more essential part of the curriculum.

The sixth coding scheme, “sensitivity to social responsibility,” refers to the fact that a

number of teacher participant comments in the current study stressed that IBAE methods and

procedures encourage “social responsibility.” This finding agrees with that of Milbrandt (2002),

when she said, “the development of student responsibility in the classroom was viewed as a life

skill that students would later transfer to their lives beyond school” (p. 151). In relation to this

same “social responsibility” coding scheme, it should be noted that Dewey (1934) claimed that

art has an ethical responsibility to the community and that art arises from and is connected with

students’ practices during their lives. Also, if people want to make art separate from life, the

value of this art will be reduced to its aesthetic benefits.

Bowman (2016) explained the relationships between citizenship and responsibility

through the examination of artistic participation and its importance in association with

responsibility extended to community need. The “social responsibility” coding scheme from the

current study is consistent with the ideas of Bowman (2016) that art should aim (a) to build

fundamental beliefs that help citizens center themselves around responsibility and (b) to enhance

the strengths and ideas that include the individual’s aesthetics and the advancement of

citizenship goals.

The seventh and eighth coding schemes, “increased self-confidence,” and “enthusiasm,”

the findings of the current study support the description by Fathal (1990) of the goals of art

education in Saudi schools as seeking to help students progress in the following areas:

“emotional growth, intellectual development, physical development, perception, social

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development, aesthetics, creativity, the use of the senses, respect for and love of work, self-

expression and the relieving of frustrations, self-confidence, knowledge of tools and equipment”

(p. 5).

In the and ninth and ten coding schemes, “open dialogue” and “increased awareness” as

features/benefits of IBAE that students exhibited or viewed as positive, Milbrandt (2010)

proposed an understanding of art as a means for helping students participate in open dialogue on

morality and social critical issues of the present and possibilities for the future. In the art

education field, one goal of the IBAE approach is to prepare students to discover, examine, and

participate in the power of art to increase social awareness about their own culture and other

cultures through art education classes. Therefore, IBAE has the potential to raise students’ social

awareness to help them solve their problems. Gaudelius and Speirs (2002) stressed that using

IBAE could assist students in learning about different cultures and in improving their

understanding of themselves and others. Under this curriculum, learners can discover how art

reflects cultural ideas, beliefs, and social conditions as they negotiate their life experiences with

art and make comparisons and contrasts. Figure 5.9 graphically illustrates the last cycle coding

for students' behaviors based on teachers' observations.

Figure 5.9. Network of responses resulting from the last phase of coding for students' behaviors based on teachers' observations

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Topics Generation in IBAE

In the current study, the most repeated topics that teacher participants mentioned were

“cultural diversity,” “morality issues,” and “women’s topics” coding schemes. All of these topics

are mentioned in Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s authoritative document entitled

“Vision 2030,” released in 2016. The findings of this study, in connection with the new vision

statement, support the idea that there is a new interpretation of women’s issues in Saudi society

in support of equal rights rooted in the truth and the correct interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Through the 2030 Vision, women are taking their place in military leadership and senior

government positions, working to support gender equality and women’s rights under the law,

seeing greater participation in the civil service sector, benefitting from mechanisms to improve

women’s employability, and being encouraged to take up a number of job opportunities at work.

For the “morality-issues” coding scheme and social responsibility, Milbrandt (2002) and

Lanier (1991) have argued for the inclusion of moral or social issues in art education. In addition,

Lanier (1976) confirm that the lack of moral concern in education is itself a reflection of much

the same condition in our society in general; thus, we need to consider morality issues and social

responsibility in our curriculum and teaching practices in the classroom.

Figure 5.10. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for topics generation

For the “cultural-diversity” coding scheme, Milbrandt (2002) indicated that over half of

her participants (63%) had taught lessons that addressed appreciation for cultural diversity. This

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percentage Agreed with this study’s findings, which had an even higher frequency for “cultural-

diversity.” Figure 5.10 graphically illustrates the last cycle of coding for topics generation in

IBAE.

Challenges in Implementation of IBAE Lessons

The IBAE lesson implementation challenge sub-categories included “environmental

challenges” (such as non-supportive school administration and lack of available time and

materials), “current curriculum negativity” (such as the perception that not all lessons can make

use of IBAE). Several participants commented that the writing of IBAE lessons was very time

consuming because there were very “long procedures.” The final challenge named had to do with

the limitations imposed by the lack of IBAE references written in the Arabic language (i.e.

“limited Arabic IBAE references”).

Figure 5.11. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for challenges in implementation of IBAE lessons

Notwithstanding, the possible risks and difficulties connected with addressing social

issues in the art curriculum, it is necessary that all teachers, principals, and scholars understand

the inherent dangers are connected to not involving students in this kind of dialogue. Purpel

(1989) and Milbrandt (2002) believed that the risks of avoiding discussing issues in the

classroom were that students (a) would not connect to their community and realty, (b) would lack

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any responsibility toward society, and (c) would lack ability and experience in solving real

problems. In contrast, IBAE brings the real world into the classroom and features students

taking social action on real-world problems. Figure 5.11 graphically illustrates the last cycle of

coding for challenges of implementation of IBAE lessons.

Improvements and Suggestions

Some art teacher participants in the current study noted the need for more time to prepare

and use effective strategies for addressing social issues in the art curriculum. This result agrees

with participants’ opinions in Milbrandt's (2002) study that they “thought social issues were

either extremely important or very important to teach, the top-ranked reason for not addressing

social issues was the lack of time; not a priority in teaching." (p. 152). Additionally, Giroux

(1988) stated that socially-referenced art education programs are not created without struggles.

Art teachers must take risks, sometimes under oppressive conditions, to construct a vision of

education that does not diminish existing forms of educational theory and practices in the field,

but reworks, revises, and constructs a vital critical pedagogy.

Teacher participants in the current study suggested the need for “suggest repeating the

idea” through increased training in the IBAE approach during teacher preparation programs.

Some participants suggested that the workshop be repeated. All participants were adamant about

the importance of teaching life skills and addressing social issues in their curriculum, but they

said they needed to have the program, curriculum, and training to better guide them in the

context of teaching art. This finding of the current research study emphasizes Milbrandt’s (2002)

ideas about training and engagement with teachers and the community to raise their awareness of

social issues, to help teachers communicate with parents, and to equip teachers with effective

methods.

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Finally, some teacher participants suggested that teachers be given more opportunities to

make choices in their curriculum. A few art teachers who participated in this research were not in

total agreement about how they would use IBAE in their art curriculum because of the

selected/required curriculum from the Ministry of Education. However, they were in general

agreement on the need to create a curriculum that connects students to moral and social issues

and that allows students to reflect on ideas and issues/practices at the individual and community

levels. Based on my own research/investigation and the answers/responses from participants in

this study, I found there is some availability of time (about 20%) within the existing Saudi art

curriculum. However, teacher participants in my study complained that this would probably still

not be enough. Figure 5.12 graphically illustrates the last phase of coding for improvements and

suggestions.

Figure 5.12. Network of responses resulting from the last cycle of coding for improvements and suggestions

To summarize, the current research used a sequential, mixed method design which was

made up of two quantitative and two qualitative analyses to address the perspectives of art

education teachers on teaching philosophies, the IBAE workshop, generation of IBAE lesson

plans, and implantation of IBAE lesson plans in the context of Saudi society. The findings

showed that the IBAE workshop had positive impacts on art education teachers’ perceptions of

the IBAE workshop and of teaching philosophies that align with the IBAE approach.

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Merging the Quantitative and Qualitative Data

In order to present a comprehensive view of the effect of the IBAE workshop on Saudi

Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions of IBAE, especially within the context of Saudi

Arabian society, a sequential research design was used. This consisted of two periods in which

the researcher first collected quantitative data and then collected qualitative data using multiple

methods (as suggested by Creswell, 2007) to answer four research questions. Answers to these

questions emerged from a synthesis of both the quantitative and the qualitative data that was

collected. The qualitative data both supported and extended findings from the quantitative data.

The Qualitative Confirmed Quantitative Analyses/Findings for Question 1

Q1: What is the effect of an IBAE workshop on in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ philosophy of teaching?

The overall analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data sets confirmed that art

teachers’ perspectives towards IBAE positively increased after they attended the IBAE

workshop. Specifically, in the quantitative findings, participants indicated their positive attitudes

toward the teaching philosophy of social reconstruction were increased after the IBAE

workshop. These results show that the tenets of social reconstruction align with the IBAE

approach.

At the same time, the qualitative findings suggest that participants also had a more

positive perspective regarding the value of art when used with social issues after the workshop.

They were interested, enthusiastic, and ready to apply this approach in their classroom. They

believed IBAE to be wonderful, to be clear, to be capable of increasing their and their students’

awareness, and to be capable of enriching their and their students’ experiences.

The second finding that matches the quantitative and qualitative data results was

teachers’ philosophies after the IBAE workshop. The quantitative results showed there had been

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a significant increase in only the social reconstructionism and progressivism philosophies among

art teachers after participating in a professional development workshop on IBAE.

The qualitative data reinforced and/or extended that finding that art teacher participants

concentrated on reality, connected to the community, and had improved communication. In the

IBAE workshop and lesson, participants tested their ideas through active experimentation and

improved their students’ awareness through experiencing the world. Moreover, the participants

confirmed that thinking critically, analysis, and problem solving related to personal and social

issues to make meaning through their experience. Art teacher participants emphasized that the

sharing of decision making, the planning of teachers with students, and the use of student-

selected topics are all important aspects of an art education curriculum and that the art education

curriculum should be a tool for understanding the world better, rather than an authoritative

source of knowledge.

Art teacher participants increased positive perceptions of social reconstructionism as a

teaching philosophy in art education is likely due to IBAE’s emphasis on addressing social issues

and its quest to create a better society. Art teachers with this orientation believe in learning as a

process of inquiry in which the students must invent and/or reinvent the world for themselves to

understand it. Thus, for these teachers, the art education curriculum must focus on student

experiences, on teachers bringing the real world into the classroom, and on students taking social

action on real-world problems.

Viewpoints in line with the teaching philosophy of progressivism also increased after the

IBAE workshop. The progressivist philosophies emphasized combining various concerns and

discoveries from real-world experiences and bringing the real world into the classroom, thus

providing students with the opportunity to become aware of the society that they live in, learn in

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a social context, and preparing them to be responsible citizens/human beings. these ideas were

evidenced in coding schemes such as “connecting to the community,” “expressing issues that

affect the community,” and “communication skills,” which appeared in the last coding scheme

phase. Both quantitative and qualitative findings for Research Question 1 confirmed (a) having

more positive perceptions regarding the inclusion of social issues in art education and (b) having

a more progressivist-reconstructionist philosophical orientation in their art teaching philosophy

after the workshop.

The Qualitative Confirmed Quantitative Analyses/Findings for Question 2

Q3: After participating in a social IBAE professional development workshop, what is the status of in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers’ perceptions about the relative importance of (a) the IBAE approach, (b) reasons for using IBAE, (c) various potential social issues topics in IBAE, and (d) various potential challenges in addressing social issues by using IBAE?

The overall analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data sets confirmed that art

teachers had positive perspectives toward incorporating social issues in the classroom. The

quantitative data suggests that teacher participants’ overall perception of the importance of

addressing social issues in the art curriculum was positive, with 91.9% of respondents agreeing.

These results are in alignment with the qualitative data.

In the quantitative data, the top reason/rationale for pairing art education with social

issues was Reason 4, “It raises student awareness of “real world” problems.” Then, the

qualitative data reinforced and/or extended that finding, where participants believed that IBAE

improves communication skills, emphasizes issues that affect the community, provides great

exchange experiences, and increases awareness of the real world. Art education teacher

participants appear to be using IBAE because they believe in the power of language and dialogue

through art, which has the potential to benefit communities and individuals, change perspectives

on art, connect art with social issues, and demonstrate that art is deeper than beauty. Also, they

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appear to be confirming that art invites students to reality and leads society forward, teaches

students to accept and respect opinions, modifies youth behavior, is a powerful embodied voice,

shifts society’s path from negative to positive, and aids in solving social problems. Also, both the

qualitative and quantitative Findings show that participants wanted more time to implement an

IBAE focused curriculum and that they indicated it would involve a long process.

Relationship of the Conclusions to the Teaching Philosophies of Social Reconstructionism and Progressivism

The research findings in the current study connect to and show the importance of the

social reconstructionist teaching philosophy within IBAE. Social reconstructionism centers on

achieving social change through the reconstruction of society and social values (Brameld, 1977;

Martin, 1994; Stuhr, 1994).

As described previously, Saudi art teacher participants in the current study increased in

their adherence to social reconstructionist ideas/thoughts after participating in the IBAE

workshop. Based on these results, it appears that these teacher participants are now committed

to equipping their students with the knowledge and skills they need to promote human rights,

peace, morality, and action on social issues. The social agenda of art education can provide the

foundation for community involvement and social change through promoting what Anderson

(2003) refers to as “personal, group-centered, and cross-cultural understandings approached

through art” (p. 58).

Regarding Vision 2030’s emphasis on three themes, i.e. a vibrant society, a thriving

economy, and an ambitious nation, this study’s findings show how schools can contribute to a

vibrant society with strong foundations that aim (a) to promote and reinvigorate social

development in order to build a strong and productive society and (b) to strengthen consideration

for families and the development of children’s character. This study also suggests the potential

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importance of Saudi student engagement in social life adjustment and the strong imperative of

family and community because of the strong national requirement to emphasize thiese concepts

in working for positive change in the community.

With respect to the connections established between IBAE training/participation and

adherence to social reconstructionist thoughts/ideas, this study supports previous assertions by

educators such as Brameld (1977), who believed that “students and teachers must not only take

positions; they must also become change agents to improve society” (p. 70). After the workshop,

the teacher participants in the current study strongly acknowledged their responsibility to include

discussion of social issues in their lessons; however, they expressed a need for a curriculum that

helps them fulfill this responsibility. For the social reconstructionist educator/instructor,

curriculum should highlight social improvement and positive changes as the purpose of

education. McNeil (2009) described it as a desire for learners to “improve the real world” (p.

31).

Regarding Saudi Vision 2030, which the country is currently working to achieve, Social

Reconstructionist concepts could be helpful in achieving the stated social aims. This study is a

line with Saudi 2030 Vision’s (2016) aim of embedding positive values and moral beliefs in

children’s characters from an early age by reshaping our academic and educational systems. This

matches Gaudelius and Speirs’ (2002) views, which placed emphasis on the fundamental values

of initiative, persistence, and leadership, as well as social skills, cultural knowledge, and self-

awareness.

Finally, this IBAE study’s connections to the progressivist teaching philosophy should

also be noted. As described previously, Saudi art teacher participants in this study increased in

their adherence to progressivist ideas/thoughts as well as social reconstructionist ideas/thoughts.

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Dewey’s (1915) work characterizes or describes students as humane and individual.

Progressivism claims that education should focus on helping learners develop into enlightened

and intelligent citizens; students should learn by doing (Dewey, 1915). Progressivists believe

that students should test ideas through active experimentation and grow while experiencing the

world to make meaning through practice in the physical and cultural context. Teacher

participants in the current study expressed similar viewpoints regarding the use and benefits of

IBAE.

Humanism is a conception of curriculum that relates to the teaching philosophy of

progressivism; it stresses the good in human behavior and the desirability of promoting the

development of an individual’s self-actualization (DeCarvalho, 1991; Firdaus & Mariyat, 2017;

Valett, 1977; Weinstein & Fantini, 1970). These ideas are consistent with the Saudi 2030 Vision

(2016) and its focus on “the fundamental values of initiative, persistence, and leadership, as well

as social skills, cultural knowledge, and self-awareness” (p. 28).

Educators should focus on the development of the whole child, rather than merely on art

content and art production. According to Dewey (1915), schools make possible a shared way of

life and a sense of community, and they are a medium for developing children's minds. Likewise,

schools shape the experiences that learners are likely to have and, in the process, impact who

children will become. Therefore, according to Fischer and Immordino-Yang (2007)

education, in turn, is the process of learning to create ourselves, and it is what the arts, both as a process and as the fruits of that process, promote. Work in the arts is not only a way of creating performances and products; it is a way of creating our lives by expanding our consciousness, shaping our dispositions, satisfying our quest for meaning, establishing contact with others, and sharing a culture. (p. 361)

Likewise, Dewey (1934) and Eisner (2002) believed the role of art is not only to see beauty, but

to make aesthetic forms of experience possible and to help ourselves and others learn to notice

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the world. Finally, Eisner (2002) questioned,

how can such a form of public education go forward? One way is to help the community understand the forms of thinking reflected in students’ work in the arts. For most, a clay sculpture made by a child is nothing more than a clay sculpture, but for an art teacher a clay sculpture must be much more than an opportunity for the child to play with clay. (p. 177) The current study also supports prior assertions in the research literature that promote the

humanistic curriculum as a means for helping students to attain self-actualization, self-

understanding, and self-realization so that students can learn optimally. According to Albakri

(2010), the current art curriculum in Saudi Arabia is failing to help all students achieve self-

actualization, self-understanding, self-confidence, self-governance, self-realization, and status as

contributing members of society. The responses provided by the teacher participants in the

current study confirm the importance of these concepts and the need for instructors to make

learning more significant and meaningful for students. Additionally, Carpenter (2019) added that

we need "care and empathy of the sort artists and art educators might be able to provide or at

least find an agency to foster and promote” (p. 167).

Implications and Challenges for Classroom Practice

The findings of the current study disagree with Milbrandt’s (2002) claim that few

teachers connected IBAE with an increase in student creativity. For the current study, the

majority of art teacher participants believed that IBAE increases student creativity. Nevertheless,

these same teachers believed that their current curriculum was limited and was full of repetition,

in which every year they saw the same teaching content and materials and the same teaching

styles and methods used across the different grade levels. This finding suggests that Saudi

Arabian art education has faced and may continue to face serious challenges associated with

resources. but another major challenge may be a lack of awareness of its importance.

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Al Zahrani, 1988; Fathal, 1990; Al-Namlah, 1994; Alshehri, 2001 believed art education

curriculum, in general, is limited and weak in the areas of helping students be self-directed,

emphasizing self-evaluation, encouraging expression of feelings, and avoiding a threatening

teaching-learning environment. The students study for scores/grades only (Albakri, 2010;

Alheezan, 2009; Almuraie, 2019). Based on the findings of the current study, IBAE does not

appear to suffer from these flaws. School/teacher use of the IBAE framework, within the current

Saudi Arabian context of social and educational change, has potential for assessing and

establishing the importance of Saudi student engagement, social life adjustment, and the strong

imperative on family and community. Emphasis on these concepts holds importance in working

for positive changes in Saudi society.

The relationship of the arts to education is fundamental. A wide range of art educators,

including Dewey (1934), Eisner (2004), and Greene (2000), have noted the individual and social

transformative power of the arts. As a society, we, in Saudi Arabia, need this kind of art for

instilling individuals

with the will and passion to purposefully critique the actions and assumptions of society in works of art. Looking and thinking critically about contemporary visual art prepares students to become more thoughtful of the messages communicated and the power of those images to shape a socially just and equitable society. As students understand the relationship of the arts to contemporary social movements, they may better understand how imagery can signal the need for social change or justice and motivate personal and collective transformation in ways that maintain social stability by defusing conflict and diffusing multiple perspectives. (Milbrandt, 2010, p. 17-18)

Most Saudis, whether for or against the new governmental policies, agree that the Crown Prince

has upended the country’s longstanding social contract. Everyone agrees that this was a surprise

due to the nature of Saudi society, tradition, and context. What the government is doing is simply

unacceptable to those individuals with a very traditional Saudi mindset, but it has also been met

with enthusiasm by other sectors of society. This deeply controversial process of social and

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economic change is not only empowering women, but also opening new opportunities for all

young Saudis to join the workforce.

The new changes in Saudi Arabia include permission for women to drive, the return of

public cinema, stadium access for women, live music festivals and concerts, tourism visas, and

access to the World Boxing Supreme Series. Using the IBAE approach offers female students

and all young Saudi students with diverse ways to grow logically and expressively. Thus, this

approach is very important for students’ growth as citizens--to assist them to express themselves,

to think critically about everything happening around them today, and to communicate

effectively with others.

Recommendations for School Leaders, Teachers and Teacher Educators, National Curriculum

Leaders, and Future Researchers

Based on the findings from this research, the current study affords a basis for

recommendations to four different audiences—school leaders, teachers and teacher educators

national curriculum leaders, and future researchers.

School Leaders

First, based on the research findings of the current study, it is recommended that school

leaders encourage teachers to use IBAE. Also, they are urged to make collaboration a priority

amongst art education teachers in order to achieve the goal of using IBAE. Each school leader

can manage and share data with other school leaders and thus make the positive experience of

using IBAE more widespread. School leaders could present their experiments to other schools to

benefit from their experiences.

Moreover, I think the means of application likely depends on support from the school

administration and on the teacher’s own passion for the new method; thus, school leaders should

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offer funding and the appropriate environment that teachers need to implement this kind of

curriculum. School leaders should also encourage art teachers and school social workers to work

together to contribute to the furtherance of the mission of the schools, which is to provide a

setting for teaching, learning, and the attainment of competence and confidence. This alliance is

important because it would help to combine efforts between disciplines and increase results.

School leaders could get art teachers and school social workers to work together in many ways

by helping teachers to plan lessons together and exchange experiences and resources. Also, they

could require art education and social teachers to devise projects that have art and social aspects

that they could provide for school or community.

Teachers and Teacher Educators

Second, based on the research findings of the current study, it is recommended that more

IBAE workshops for public school intermediate/middle art education teachers be developed,

lasting for one week or more. Moreover, this researcher recommends introducing a new course

on IBAE in Saudi teacher preparation programs in order for art teachers and non-art teachers (i.e.

the art teachers’ co-workers who teach in other subject areas) to have a better understanding of

IBAE and how to apply it in schools in the future. I suggest training some teachers to be experts

in IBAE so that they can give workshops to other teachers. Moreover, I recommend creating a

support group for teachers who use IBAE approach and social issues in their teaching through

group e-mails or another social media approach.

The teachers and teacher educators need to become better able to understand the context

and the development and enactment of lessons by using IBAE. Clearly, it is essential that

teachers and teacher educators study their learning environments very well. They should also

attempt to further their knowledge and carry out research to meet the needs of their students.

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They should attempt to motivate students to present different ideas related to their lives and

reality. They should support parental engagement as needed because doing so may help these

teachers and teacher educators understand and identify particular needs for the implementation of

IBAE.

Also, I suggest that an essential way to ensure the success of IBAE is through promoting

better understanding of some of the affective and social needs and issues experienced by students

in our classrooms. Teacher education programs should provide training for preservice teachers in

using IBAE that highlights affective and social issues present in society that are of most

relevance to young Saudi learners.

Furthermore, teachers and teacher educators must develop lessons that connect and relate

to the social issues that students face (or will face) and begin to develop basic understandings of

students’ prior knowledge of and experience with these issues. Teachers may use these

understandings (a) to better connect and relate to their student's backgrounds and (b) to develop

lessons that link students’ prior knowledge and experiences to the new learnings as a means of

developing students’ critical thinking and decision making as they address and attempt to resolve

social issues/problems. Finally, teachers and teacher educators must let students participate in the

selection of the issues to be included and listen to students' opinions.

National Curriculum Leaders

Another recommendation is to provide teachers’ guides on IBAE that include multiple

sample lesson plans, instructions, activities, assessments, and social action plan ideas to support

teachers who are applying IBAE. Finally, due to the need for appropriate settings to do research

relevant to the use of social issues in art education, especially in the Saudi context, I recommend

creating comprehensive programs for applying IBAE within selected Saudi schools, with school

201

administrators, teachers, and parents included as active participants.

After I did the revision of the current curriculum, and examined what teachers mentioned

in the workshop, journal, and focus group session, I found the art education curriculum still has a

“traditional” curriculum even though there are new “Vision” statements for the country. I think

the art curriculum did not change to match the new vision. Thus, I suggested renewing the art

education curriculum to match the vision statements. The curriculum that is out there does not

seem to match well with the new “Vision” statements for the country. For example, one idea was

to add topics that mentioned and add social issues in the “2030 Vision” statements. Also, the art

education curriculum must include skills that the vision mentioned.

Future Researchers

For future studies, I recommend the use of additional examples of IBAE lessons, as

participants recommended. Also, the teacher participants in this study expressed a desire for

more IBAE references in the Arabic language. Thus, Arabic translators, Arabic publishers, and

Arabic researchers could participate in translating and exporting Arabic versions of such

references. Also, for researchers, I recommend increasing the number of studies carried out in

this area.

The questions that are left unanswered by this study are how will the findings change If

the study is replicated in different areas or cities such as a small city. How will be the findings

differ across different grade levels from college to elementary schools? ? I would still like to

have more findings from a large number of samples for more than 100 participants because that

would give me access to more information and reduce our uncertainty, even though the sample

used for this study was enough to see the official finding. I support using the professional

development IBAE workshop and IBAE lesson that is powerful, and others could learn and use

202

the workshop model and lesson plan that we actually created in this research. Other researchers

can use the workshop and other teachers could use the lessons’ model to incorporate social issues

into art education. Using IBAE workshop will help art teachers to include criticism of the issues

and artwork, new ways of thinking, make friends, new skills, motivation to make more artwork,

solve problems, and having fun.

Finally, due to the lack of relevant research on art education in Saudi Arabia, especially

with respect to IBAE, I recommend including not only in-service teachers but also pre-service

teachers, E-12 students, curriculum creators, and school administrators as subjects to better

portray the whole picture and the interaction within schools where IBAE is being applied.

I am hopeful this future research in IBAE will be supported by private and/or government

funding to provide teachers and students with effective, purposeful, and engrossing ways of

teaching and learning in art education and social issues.

203

APPENDIX A

STUDY ITEMS

204

Appendix A.1

205

Appendix A.2

207

Appendix A.3

210

Appendix A.4

211

Appendix A.5

212

Appendix A.6

213

Appendix A.7

214

APPENDIX B

IBAE WORKSHOP PICTURES

216

APPENDIX C

LIST OF IBAE ARTWORKS’ PICTURES

228

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