EVENTS & MOVEMENTS

Great Depression
From 1930-1940 the Great Depression rocks the American Economy. Schools lose funding and are forced to close. The unemployment rate is at an all time high, and many children must join the workforce to help support their families. Inflation magnifies the problem, and people begin to look to education for a brighter and more fulfilling future.

FDR’s New Deal
To provide direct relief, economic recovery, and financial reform for America during the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt implements a series of “alphabet reform” agencies. Known as the New Deal, FDR creates projects that give emphasis to preservation and education. The Treasury Relief Art Project, Works Progress Administration, and the Federal Writers Project are among some of the arts-related reform agencies that are implemented between 1933 and 1937.

WWII
The US officially joins the war 1941. WWII causes US citizens to become overtly focused on the retention of democratic government. Fascism threatens the American Dream, and educators respond to this threat by instructing students in the ways of democratic citizenship. Art education’s answer to fascism is Creative Self Expression.

Close of the Bauhaus
The German Bauhaus, a major influence in design, is forced to close by Hitler’s Nazi forces in 1933. The Nazi’s reject contemporary art and design, and subsequently all forms of contemporary art are expelled from Germany. Many of the Bauhaus instructors move to the US and their influence, along with other European artists cause the Western cultural center to shift from Europe to the US.

Reconstructionism
Reform is rampant because the state of the union is so unstable. Therefore, educators begin to deconstruct previous educational methods and look for new methods with which to educate America's youth. The Reconstruction of art education in America is led in part by Melvin E. Haggarty, Edwin Ziegfeld, and Leon Winslow, all of whom were heavily influenced by John Dewey.

Eight-Year Study
Sponsored by the Progressive Education Association (PEA), this study begins in 1932 and includes 30 high schools and 300 colleges. The study looks to positively change the structure of secondary education. The high schools are allowed to create their own progressive curriculum. The study follows students through their high school and college careers. Intensive research and documentation finds that students educated in the most progressive schools perform at a higher level than students in the control group. Progressive curriculum focuses on everyday life and includes the fine arts and industrial arts in the curriculum.

Owatonna Art Project
This project takes place in a small town in Owatonna, Minnesota. Melvin E. Haggerty and Edwin Ziegfield, along with a group of graduate students, conduct a study in which an art curriculum for all ages integrated into a small Midwestern community. The study is the first of its kind. The goal of the program is to integrate the curriculum into the schools and community so that educators and community leaders can continue the program once the study is complete.

The National Art Education Association
In 1947, a national art organization is formed through the merger of the Region Art Associations and the art department of the National Education Association. At the time of its establishment, 3,500 members make up the National Art Education Association (NAEA). In 2006, over 22,000 art educators are a part of the NAEA which convenes annually.