Abstract:
Visual arts education provides a unique vehicle through which teachers, via their students, can indicate their pedagogical position/s on multiculturalism. In this paper I use images of students' art works to illustrate aspects of a case study conducted in a sample of secondary schools in New Zealand, a country which has an historical commitment to biculturalism. The research sought answers to how art teachers' understandings of the increasing ethnic diversity and cultural differences of their students were reflected in visual arts programmes. The art works provide evidence of a range of pedagogical practices and attitudes towards cultural inclusion in visual arts education.