Art Education couple nab top appointments

by Mark McGowan

A husband-and-wife team in the NIU School of Art have been chosen for two of the top positions in their field. Doug Boughton is the new president of the International Society for Education through Art (INSEA), the only major international organization of its kind. Kerry Freedman is the new editor of Studies in Art Education, which is the major research journal in art education and is published by the National Art Education Association.

Doug Boughton

Both are professors of art education.

"These two are certainly among our most heavy-duty faculty members," said Harold Kafer, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. "They are all over the world every year. They are kind of like the Vermeer Quartet in their own profession." Boughton will lead INSEA, which was formed in the 1950s, "with a view to assisting people to better understand art education in different world regions and help to improve art education practice."

Kerry Freedman

INSEA World Council members are elected from six world regions to share information and concerns about the state of art education around the globe. A native of Australia, Boughton served several terms as a World Council member from the Asia/Pacific region and is a former vice president of the organization.

He hopes his three-year term as president will help to preserve art's place in education.

"Art education always is under attack whenever there's a shortage of funds," Boughton said. "It's regarded as a frill, but really it's a core subject. There's never been a human culture that hasn't made art. Traditionally, art has been viewed as the stuff in museums. Now forward-thinking people are becoming aware of the fact that art is something that extends to all facets of life and includes things like television, music, movies and advertisements."

Boughton is encouraged by the latest education bill signed by President Bush, which makes art a core subject. "It's long overdue," he said.

Concerns for art education include the pervasiveness of visual culture, as transmitted through television, as well as assessment. Boughton, who taught for 20 years at the University of South Australia, has plenty of experience with assessment issues: He worked part-time as the chief examiner in art for the International Baccalaureate program, a senior school diploma program offered in 100 countries.

"I'm really proud of him," Freedman said of her husband. "Doug has done a huge amount of international work in the field."

Freedman, as editor of Studies in Art Education, will make all major editorial decisions regarding contributions to the journal and write an editorial for each quarterly issue. She also will edit proofs and run annual meetings of the refereed journal's board, which includes the professionals who conduct the peer reviews, the commentary editor and the review editor.

Topics of the empirical research reported and the theory papers printed range from children's artistic development to how best to teach drawing, painting or sculpture. Hot issues now include the use of technology—is it stifling or promoting creativity?—as well as teaching children how to view and analyze art and art's role in an interdisciplinary curriculum.

"Most of the submissions I received last semester dealt with postmodern issues: how to analyze postmodern art, how to teach it," Freedman said. "It breaks down the boundaries between fine arts and popular arts and raises new questions for art education. How much popular imagery do we include? How do we help girls understand how women are represented in the mass media? Do kids learn more now from pictures than they learn from texts?"

Freedman, an Illinois native who started teaching art in the public schools and then taught at the University of Minnesota for 15 years, is well-prepared for her new role. She is the co-author of recently published books on postmodern art education and sole author of a forthcoming book titled Teaching Visual Culture. She also has the support of the School of Art, which has provided her with graduate assistants to help her handle her increased workload.

"I'm really delighted that I'm able to serve the professional community in this way. I've always considered service an important part of my professional life," she said. "Everyone believes and understands how critically important art is to kids but, at the same time, they're not always willing to pay for it. Sometimes the only reason kids are able to have art in school is because of long hours and money spent by teachers. I spent years buying my own supplies."

Boughton is proud of his wife, whom he met in 1993 and married six months ago. "She's admirably suited to the job," he said. "She's one of the leading academics in the country and one of the leaders of the new wave of thinking about art education."

NIU's School of Art, home to one of the largest art education programs in the nation, is a good place for the newlyweds.

NIU School of Art colleagues "Deborah Smith-Shank and Stanley Madeja are people I've respected for a long time," Freedman said. "They have vision. They're moving in the new direction of the field. I just really wanted to work with them."