Abstract:
This article reports on a study, 'East meets West: Asian students' perspectives on art education in New Zealand', which sought the views of twenty pre-service art teachers of Asian ethnicity who trained to be secondary school teachers between 2001 and 2010. The findings highlight a disparity between the increasingly multicultural student population in secondary schools, including those of Asian ethnicity, and the current emphasis on a bicultural approach to art education. The study was framed within the context of student and art teacher demographics, national curriculum, and issues of cultural inclusiveness. It raises questions about the visibility of Asian art and culture as a dimension of art education. Reported in this article are insights that are important for art teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and policy makers in New Zealand's oncreasingly multicultural society.
