Visual Arts Teaching in Kindergarten Through 3rd-Grade Classrooms in the UAE: Teacher Profiles, Perceptions, and Practices

This study portrayed a picture of kindergarten through 3rd-grade teachers who teach visual arts, their perceptions of the value of visual arts, their visual arts teaching practices, visual arts experiences provided to young learners in school, and major factors and/or influences that affect their teaching of visual arts. The sample for this study consisted of 25 visual arts teachers in three public and three private schools in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and work product analysis. The analysis of the study data was founded on an inductive approach that is based on a constant comparative method of data analysis. Results revealed two profiles of visual arts teachers: specialist teachers and generalist teachers. Results showed that visual art activities included drawings, paintings, print-making, clay work, construction, and handicrafts. An analysis of teachers' perceptions showed that visual arts were deemed less valued among other subject matter, but also indicated the commitment and determination of visual arts teachers to secure a highly appreciated and valued place of the visual arts in school curricula. Teachers also reported barriers to visual arts teaching, such as short class periods, parental and societal influences, curriculum, workload, lack of a visual arts studio, lack of collegial cooperation, and pressure to attend local competitions. Implications of the study for parents/families, visual art educators, teacher education programs, educational policymakers, and curriculum specialists also are presented.