Sulentic Dowell Co-edits Special Issue of International Journal on Arts Integration Research
5/30/18
Baton Rouge, LA - Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, professor of Literacy and Urban Education, recently co-edited a special issue of Pedagogies: An International Journal, with Chris Goering, professor of English education at the University of Arkansas. The issue contains seven research studies on arts integration from around the globe, encompassing studies that vary from spoken word poetry to dance to program evaluation. "Arts integration — briefly, the educational approach of accessing curricular and art goals by having students create through an art form — positions students differently in their learning, moving from variations of passivity in school to being active, in charge of connecting content and skills in meaningful, evocative, and profound ways," Sulentic Dowell and Goering wrote in the editors' introduction to the issue. While both editors are working in a variety of capacities with arts integration today, especially in facilitating and guiding arts integration research with doctoral candidates, neither co-editor had access to the approach as part of their teacher preparation programs or early in their experience as classroom teachers, a fact still true for many teachers.
An official research publication of the National Institute of Education in Singapore, Pedagogies: An International Journal, states on its website that the international journal, "brings together emergent and groundbreaking work on all aspects of pedagogy in response to transforming communities and student bodies, new knowledge and forms of communication. Most importantly, the journal provides a space for discussions on how educators might address these issues and improve teaching and learning in formal and informal settings."
Sulentic Dowell, recently named Cecil "Pete" Taylor Endowed Professor, has consistently pursued the efficacy of arts integration as a pedagogical tool as part of her research. She was awarded both a sabbatical and an SEC grant to study the A+ Arts Integration network in Arkansas and North Carolina in the fall of 2014. She currently serves on the Louisiana A+ Schools Board of Directors.
In Arkansas, Goering helped found the ARTful Teaching Conference that occurs each spring and brings together teacher educators, university administrators, and pre-service teachers in an effort to make arts integration accessible to every pre-service and in service educator in the state of Arkansas. Despite the SEC rivalry, Sulentic Dowell was a Key Note Speaker at the 2018 ARTful Teaching Conference this past spring at Goering’s invitation, and she is actively seeking funding to emulate such a conference for Louisiana educators. She and Goering plan an edited volume on arts integration in the near future. Both scholars serve their respective universities as Writing Project Directors. Jackie Bach, Associate Dean in the College of Human Sciences and Education who knows both Sulentic Dowell’s and Goering’s work well, commented, "Sulentic Dowell and Goering's groundbreaking work in the area of arts integration brings attention to the research being conducted both regionally and internationally. Arts Integration is truly interdisciplinary and holds much promise for educators wanting to enrich their students' learning experiences. I look forward to seeing what comes next from their partnership."
Articles from the journal are available in print and digital formats and can be accessed at the journal's website.
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