A Black Feminist Narrative Inquiry of the Outsider-Within Positionality of Black Women K-12 Art Educators
This study investigated the narratives of Black women K–12 art educators’ curricular experiences navigating the white field of art education, and in particular, the predominance of White, Eurocentric male artist-centered teaching resources. The analysis of their narratives focused on racial and gender concerns associated with being Black and being a woman. Black women offer a different perspective on oppression than White women or Black men. Adopting an outsider-within positionality framework, the analysis revealed Black women K–12 art educators are unprivileged insiders within their schools and outsiders to a social system that privileges White people as the dominant group in the field of art education. This study’s use of Black feminist narrative inquiry provided a platform for Black women to reveal why race and gender in K–12 art education curricula and the field of art education matter. This study included 21 Black women art educators working in elementary and secondary schools throughout the United States. The women’s narratives capture the inequality, inequity, isolation, exclusion, marginalization, and racism they have experienced in the field of art education. The data provides evidence of four emergent themes: curricular beliefs and attitudes, the identification of teaching resources, the underrepresentation of Black women artists, and the incorporation of Black women artists into curricula. The findings from the study suggest a need for the field of art education to diversify K–12 teaching resources, implement more inclusive curriculum development processes, and champion equitable treatment of Black women art educators.
Advisers/Committee
