| This dissertation is a narrative inquiry of secondary art teachers in North Carolina, which examines how they address race in lessons they create and how secondary students may be subjected to images provided by public arts agencies that are reflective of social and cultural injustices as theorized by Critical Race Theory. Communicating through images, symbols, and likenesses creates a visual language specific to art classrooms, which becomes a substantial vehicle for racist ideals such as Black men as Sambos (Clarke, 2002), Black women as hyper-sexed objects (Gilman, 2002), and Black artists as primitive, naive, and unskilled folk artists. The following research questions were explored: What are the perspectives of secondary teachers in North Carolina as it relates to addressing race and identity in their classrooms? How do North Carolina secondary art teachers develop lessons when referencing or visiting public art collections?;Qualitative data collected from interviews of ten secondary art teachers in North Carolina allowed for an in depth examination of secondary art teachers' pedagogy and curriculum development. Teachers' narratives revealed their decision-making processes when selecting museum exhibits to view and images to use as reference in their classrooms, and it was discovered that teacher support, class size, teacher and student interests, and connections to other subject areas played considerable roles in lesson plan development and selection of museum and gallery exhibits to visit.;Findings included common themes shared by the participants in this narrative study, which included participants' desire to be effective educators while ensuring student success, using art as a means of communication and expression, the use of technology as a virtual museum and research tool in middle and high school art, and limited resource availability for the purpose of acquiring classroom materials. The study reinforces the importance art holds in education and clarifies the need for more meaningful connections to individual student accounts and in the secondary art classroom through the use of counter-storytelling. |
