Practice Theory: Seeing the Power of Art Teacher Researchers

Practice Theory: Seeing the Power of Art Teacher Researchers Buffington, M.,& Wilson McKay, S. (Eds.). (2013). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association. 310 pp. ISBN 978-1 -890160-57-9In Practice Theory: Seeing the Power of Art Teacher Researchers (2013), editors Melanie Buffington and Sara Wilson McKay both theorize and show practice as theory laden to position teacher-research as an important tool in reworking the narrative of the"powerless teacher/'Powerless teachers, according to Buffington and Wilson McKay, see themselves as unable to make pedagogic decisions outside of narrowly prescribed boundaries determined by outside entities.Teachers who internalize this narrative are often resigned to a perceived inability to make change, resulting in pedagogical cultures of compliance, or practices in which individuals are reluctant to work toward professional growth. The editors draw on educational and critical theory along with their practices as teachers in pK-12, museum, and higher-education settings to present a counter-construct: that of the "powerful teacher," in which teachers resist a limited and limiting definition of themselves, their students, their practices, and their profession. Powerful teachers enact a critical stance toward teaching to promote active engagement in their pedagogy as a means toward positive change in their practices and in the world. They recognize and honor the tacit knowledge they possess, and make a conscious commitment to the struggle to generate new knowledge. Art teachers can accomplish powerful teaching through research in which "the cognitive dissonance between old and new information is the reflective moment when art teachers become alive, when superficial habits of classroom behaviors give way to reflective practice leading to passionate teaching" (p. 6).The primary audience for Practice Theory is beginning art education researchers.The organization, content, and tone of the book all contribute to its appropriateness and value for novices interested in ways research is relevant to and can fit into their practices as artists, thinkers, and teachers. Buffington and Wilson McKay, both faculty members in Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) graduate program in Art Education, have assembled an impressive grouping of contributions from art education researchers and provided a substantive introduction to a range of research approaches in a manner that has great potential for addressing many beginning teacher-researchers' anxieties about what research is and can be (Buchanan, 2012), as well as moving teachers toward embodiment as powerful teachers.The book is organized thematically into five sections that address broad areas in art education research. Section I: Teaching, Research, and Power consists of six chapters written by Buffington and Wilson McKay that address theory, research topics, and research paradigms, and their relevance to issues of power. A particularly valuable feature of this section for beginning researchers and faculty members working with students new to research is the sidebar commentary made by Amy Bergh, a graduate student in Art Education at VCU. Bergh's contributions provide perspective that demonstrates the ways thinking and practice can grow beyond initial anxieties through study, action, reflection, and interaction with peers and mentors. Other contributors to this section offer insights into methodologies and methods, identifying a research topic, and common data-gathering and analysis strategies.The remaining four sections focus on ways art education research addresses big questions regarding practices, people, meaning, and change. While specific methodological approaches are grouped within each section, the editors are careful to point out that the groupings are not intended to be exclusionary or proscriptive-but are a way of illustrating potential "fit" in relationships between purposes, questions, methodological approaches, and methods chosen. …