Abstract

This article presents three case studies of elementary art education curriculum in districts across the United States. The study uses content analysis, which is grounded in Critical Whiteness Studies in order to examine the ways district art curricula address issues of race and whiteness in elementary art education. Findings suggest that district curricula reinforces racial inequities by omitting artists of color, reaffirming racial hierarchies through the master narrative of white progress, and decontextualizing the socio-cultural concerns of non-white artists. The article ends by suggesting reforms in order to create anti-oppressive multicultural art curricula.

Keywords: Art education, Critical Whiteness, Curriculum Analysis, Multicultural Education, Anti-oppressive Education

How to Cite:

Link, B., (2019) “White Lies: Unraveling Whiteness in the Elementary Art Curriculum”, Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education 36(3), 11-28. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jcrae.4808