Advancing Media Arts Education in Visual Arts Classrooms: Addressing Policy Ambiguities and Gaps in Art Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, arts policymakers in Minnesota have positioned media arts—defined as the “study and practice of examining human communication through photography, film or video, audio, computer or digital arts, and interactive media“—within the realm of aesthetic education and considered it one of six arts areas. This article explores the historic policy decisions that led to the nation’s first academic standards in media arts education. We argue that implementation of these benchmarks in state public schools has been hampered by inservice and preservice art teachers’ lack of familiarity with the theory and practice of media arts education. To that end, we propose initiatives that 1) develop an “add-on” certificate program in media arts for licensed arts teachers; and 2) require media arts coursework for preservice teachers seeking admission to art education licensure programs.