What is Art Education?

Art Education covers a diverse range of topics. It refers to learning, instruction and programming based upon the visual and tangible arts. Rachelle Doorley, founder of TinkerLab, defines art education as, "An opportunity to nurture children to find truth through imagination, effort, collaboration, and cultural literacy." On her website, Ms. Doorley poses the question, "What does art education mean to you?" Many of the responses truly speak to the goal and execution of art education. One commenter says, "Families and art are the base of any society. To enable people to explore the arts, to develop skills needed to express themselves artistically and to ensure they have the resources needed for artistic practice/expression is vital for the health of individuals and society. Art education to me is about supporting individuals to develop artistically for the benefit of themselves and society."

What does art education mean to you as an educator? This question is vital when considering what material and topics to include in classroom curricula for art classes, as well as the integration of art into other subjects.