Teaching Research: A Survey of Art Therapy Educators

Based on the American Art Therapy Association Research Committee's interest and support for learning how research is taught, a quantitative and qualitative survey of master's-level programs was conducted. Twenty-four of the 44 surveyed programs responded. Twenty-three (95.8%) of the respondents required a course of at least three credits, usually taught by doctoral-level faculty. Most programs indicated they taught several research methods, covered numerous course goals, and introduced multiple topics. Over half the programs indicated their goals were reviewing published research and formulating research questions; the integration of research and practice was selected the least. Qualitative research approaches (87.5%) were the primary orientation of most programs with quantitative approaches a close second (75%). Survey results revealed most educators perceived that students feared learning about research. Respondents commented that research training enhanced development of students as reflective practitioners, increased their marketable professional skills, and contributed to the development of new knowledge.