Same Standards, Different Classes: A Comparative Case Study of Two Art Classes Within Communities of Contrasting Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

In this comparative case study, we critically examined the implementation of art education in two art classes situated within communities of higher and lower socioeconomic status. The findings indicated that art budgets under state regulations were equitable; however, families’ and communities’ external educational resources were starkly different. In addition, school art styles were reinforced in both classes as the itinerant art teacher differentiated her instructions only subtly to produce presentable student works instead of creating content related to students’ interests and concerns. Furthermore, the art teacher’s curricular design and pedagogy, closely aligned with the state visual arts standards, emphasized middle-class ideology, modernist values, and formalist aesthetics.