شبكة المعلومات العربية التربوية

The purpose of this study was to describe in-service Saudi Arabian art education teachers': 1) philosophies of education before and after an issues-based art education (IBAE) workshop, 2) perceptions of the IBAE workshop and its products, 3) perception of the importance of IBAE approach, reasons, topics, and challenges after the workshop, and 4) 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. (Author’s abstract)