Young children in the United States are growing up in a world that is sprawling with visual culture (Apkon, 2013) yet an increasing number of them are not exposed to visual arts education in schools. With art education programs on the decline, young students are growing up without the opportunity to experience the academic connections and transformative learning experiences that art education can provide (Kokkos, 2011). This is particularly true in high-need, high-poverty urban areas which creates an equity gap between schools in poor communities and those in wealthier communities (Rabkin & Hedberg, 2011). To combat this gap, Oklahoma City Public schools partnered with Oklahoma Contemporary’s Art for Every Fifth Grader program. A University of Central Oklahoma undergraduate student and faculty member are conducting the external evaluation of the program through a Student Transformative Learning Record grant. This poster reports on the gallery visits component of the program where students received guided gallery tours and created associated artwork. Students were surveyed about their experience. This poster presentation describes those outcomes from over 500 students and makes a connection to the transformative learning potential inherent in interaction with living artists and their work.

Young children in the United States are growing up in a world that is sprawling with visual culture. The visual cascade of pictures, visual messages, and digital media are an important part of everyday life (Apkon, 2013) yet an increasing number of students are not exposed to visual arts education in schools. Budget cuts to the Oklahoma public education system have been rampant and ever increasing over the last decade. This has put an enormous strain on schools, resulting in the elimination of many important art programs. With art education programs on the decline in the state of Oklahoma, young students are growing up without the opportunity to experience the academic connections and transformative learning experiences that art education can provide (Kokkos, 2011). Many art educators have lost their jobs and those who remain are spread thin across multiple schools or are working part-time. This requires them to be more creative and collaborative than ever before in order to help launch the transformative potential of the arts for these students. This is particularly true in high-need, high-poverty urban areas which creates an equity gap between schools in poor communities and those in wealthier communities (Rabkin & Hedberg, 2011). This is certainly true for the Oklahoma City Public schools district. As such, they have decided to partner with community programs to supplement visual arts education for young students. One such partnership is The Art for Every Fifth grader program conducted by Oklahoma Contemporary. This program aims to ensure all students can access quality arts education in order to increase their odds of academic and personal success. The program seeks to reach all 4,000 Oklahoma City fifth graders. In order to reach this goal the program directors connected with the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) to seek assistance with the external evaluation of the program. A UCO undergraduate student and faculty member are working together through a Student Transformative Learning Record grant to carry out this research project. This poster reports on the gallery visits and collaborative artwork component of the program. Students received free visits to Oklahoma Contemporary where guided tours and associated artwork creation took place. Students were surveyed about their experience at the gallery. This poster presentation describes the results from over 500 students and makes a connection to the transformative learning potential inherent in interaction with living artists and their work.

Apkon, S. (2013), The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Rabkin, N, & Hedberg, E.C. (2011). Arts Education in America: What the decline means for for arts participation. Prepared for the National Endowment for the Arts Office of Research and Analysis, research report #52.

Kokkos, A. (2011). Transformative learning through aesthetic experience: Towards a comprehensive method. Journal of Transformative Education, Vol 8(3). pp. 155 - 177

Poster

Launching Transformative Learning