Date of Award
Summer 8-7-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.Ed. Art Education
Department
Art Education & Crafts
First Advisor
Dr. Carrie Nordlund
Abstract
The research sought to better understand and advocate for underserved and underrepresented art students in public education through the utilization of counternarratives. How can we effectively resolve social justice issues in art education if we do not listen to the voices and perspectives of the students these issues directly impact? Foundational theory for this research has been the works by Paulo Freire (1970/2017), Antonia Darder (2012), and bell hooks (1994). Through the lens of critical theory, the research provided an overview of academic socio-political issues and oppressive systems in place perpetuating the stigma around underserved and underrepresented students. The research shared five (5) counternarratives from former students who graduated a decade ago from the same underserved school. A series of semi-structured interviews (Seidman, 2019) were conducted, and stories were collected from participants who self-identified as being marginalized in high school. Participants spoke of their identities, communities, and academic experiences. The findings amplified the voices of students’ who provided dynamic and nuanced counternarratives to their education in a Title I public school. Grounded theory from Glaser & Strauss (2017) was employed to analyze the interview data within each interview. Common themes emerged and are discussed. Art educators who teach and support underserved students are provided with tools to advocate for their students, including pedagogies centering student agency and community empowerment.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Elrayes, Marianna, "Counternarratives in Art Education: Portraitures of Underrepresented Students a Decade after Graduation" (2025). Art Education Masters Theses. 1.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/arteducationtheses/1
