Art Curriculum Influences: A National Survey

This article is the result of an empirical study1 that attempts to discern the extent to which certain factors might influence current curriculum content taught by K-12 art teachers in the United States with 0 to 7 years of teaching experience. Data were collected from a sample of 437 art teachers’ completion of a survey instrument with quantitative and limited open-ended response questions. A principal components analysis with a varimax rotation yielded five general art content categories. The use of t-tests measured the relationships between these content categories with demographics, undergraduate coursework, and grade levels taught. Factors that might have influenced curriculum content include: undergraduate coursework, personal interests, national and state curriculum standards, and student issues. The relationship between those factors and the influences of current curriculum content being taught is discussed.