Abstract:
In 2015, cross-sector perspectives were sought on how teachers of visual arts in a sample of early childhood centres, primary schools and secondary schools in Auckland were responding to the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of young people in New Zealand. The research was contextualised within national curricula, demographic statistics and literature on multiple approaches to pedagogy that foreground engagement with culture(s). The findings, presented through the voices of teachers and art works by children and students, provide insightful perspectives about the place of visual arts across these three sectors, and how teachers are responding in differing ways to the diversity of the young people they teach. This research provides a starting point for conversations within, and beyond New Zealand, about the role of visual arts education for equity and inclusion.
