National Art Education Association

Why Secondary Is PrimaryAuthor(s): Pat VilleneuveSource: Art Education, Vol. 54, No. 1, Focus on Secondary (Jan., 2001), p. 5Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193886 .

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Why Seeondaiy is Prmaiy O ver a year ago I flew to

Washington, DC, to attend a strategic planning meeting of the NAEA Research

Commission and Task Force. I was a newcomer to this group that was work- ing to stimulate research in our field. After listening to committee reports and dealing with procedural issues, we needed to identify areas for intensive research. Association past president Michael Day made a compelling case for focusing on student learning in secondary art education, and we designated it as the NAEA research agenda for 2 years.

Why does practice at the secondary level merit our collective attention? There are many answers, but I would say simply that this art education opportunity comes at a critical time in students' lives. Many arrive with good foundations from their elementary art teachers; they are keenly interested, and they are ready for more intensive engagements with art. For some of these students, art classes will result in careers or lifetime involvement in the arts. For others, it is the last opportunity for significant exposure to art before they leave the school environment and enter the work force. With such an

important educational opportunity exist- ing at this level, it is worth examining current practice-and considering what we would like it to be.

I remember my own Art II class. I had heard about the teacher before I transferred in to the high school, and I was excited about taking an art class from a real artist. However, the class did not match my 1970s expectations of a creative free-for-all. Yes, we did studio activities, but we had to learn about art as well. There were lessons about tech- nique and performance requirements for the projects. Mr. Gustafson even showed us art history slides. I wondered what had happened to my art class: It just wasn't as cool as I expected. As it turns out, I learned a lot, although I didn't get an "A" John Gustafson has retired from teaching, but he's still mak- ing art. I'd like to thank him for being a good teacher; for insisting on teaching about art, even though his students wanted to play; for being ahead of his time. Because of the strong foundation he provided for me, I am in art educa- tion today.

This issue of Art Education focuses on secondary art education, although much of the material will be of interest to readers who are not secondary teachers.

The articles are diverse in content and tone; they underscore the range of prac- tice in our field. But it is only the begin- ning. Many questions remain unanswered, many topics untouched. The scope of the investigation can be broad, indeed. Secondary art education has obvious connections to other areas, such as museum education and higher education, and is influenced by elemen- tary art education and public policy issues. Thanks to the NAEA research agenda, secondary is now primary, and that is good for our field.

PatVilleneuve Editor

Pat Villeneuve is curator of education at the Spencer Museum of Art and associate professor of visual art education and art museum education at the University of Kansas. This year she is visiting professor of art education atArizona State University. Direct comments about the editorial or journal to the address in the masthead or send e-mail to patv@falcon. cc. ukans. edu

lIt can be a humbling experience to consider what our classes mean to our students. Does what we teach make a difference? How will students remember it-or us-in the future? What does that tell us about what we do?

AC KN OW E DG ME NTS

Being editor is a collaborative venture. I saw that firsthand when I served on the editorial board and later became coordinator of Instructional Resources and then associate editor of this journal. As I embark on my editorship, I want to acknowledge many of those who help with the process. Review panel and editorial board members read manuscripts, offering helpful suggestions to authors and making publication recommendations. It is a time-consuming responsibility, and your colleagues, whose names appear in the masthead, do it with great care and attention. Lori Eklund has taken on the challenge of recruiting and coordinating Instructional Resources, Rebecca Schroeder has the daunting task of tracking all the manuscripts, and Lynn Ezell, with assistance from copy editor Clare Grosgebauer, directs the production of the journal from the national office in Reston. I would also like to thank all the art educa- tors who have submitted manuscripts for possible publication; the journal would not exist without them. Finally, I wish to acknowledge

the editors who have served before me. Their cumulative efforts have produced a journal that I am proud to edit.

Short of buying larger shoes, how do I plan to follow in the footsteps of recent editors Mary Ann Stankiewicz and Paul Bolin? I intend to do much the same, and I am committed to their goals of representing the diversity of the field and encouraging new authors. Some of my changes will be small, such as designating first-time authors and including e-mail addresses to encourage reader response to articles. Future issues will probably include articles on multiple topics rather than focusing on one theme. I hope to provide provocative pairings that will encourage us all to consider how we conceive and practice art education. And, of course, there will be more articles on secondary in support of the Association's research agenda. I promise to do my best by the journal, and I ask that you read, reflect, and respond.

JANUARY 2001 / ART EDUCATION

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