Recorder: Martin Rosenberg, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE

The Higher Education Group A identified four major issues for discussion: definitions, goals, context, and implementation.

1. Definitions. The group noted the importance of definitions, as well as the danger of losing the larger issue of multiculturalism in abstractions such as "political correctness." Traditional assumptions about art and art education must be defined and challenged in light of issues of cultural diversity, and the impact of multiculturalism and revisionism on the disciplines of DBAE must be clarified.
2. Goals. To assist in defining goals, DBAE education should decide "where we want to go." Diverse issues and perspectives must be considered when setting these goals, including ways in which cultures must be considered equal in the context of art education, and whether or not social change should be a major goal of multicultural art education. The entire art education community should be included in the discussion of goals relating to cultural diversity so that a consensus can be achieved.
3. Context. Community values, political dimensions, the culture of schools, and the nature of society all shape the contexts in which art education takes place. Some consideration must also be given to the opposition to multiculturalism that exists in the field and to other new paradigms for art education.
4. Implementation. In the translation of new ideas into classroom practice, new questions must be asked about art. How can the existing questions be reframed to suit a more culturally diverse approach to art? Do new questions mean giving up the Western canon or simply shifting priorities? How should artworks be selected, and how should cultures be compared or treated in relation to one another? Preservice and in-service must be adjusted to reflect the priorities of multiculturalism and the increasingly interdisciplinary approaches to the curriculum.

Among the issues left unresolved by the group were the questions of whether art education should be used as a vehicle for social change, how to guarantee that authentic cultural translation, from a position of "deep fluency," is offered to students, and how value and quality issues should be addressed in a culturally diverse curriculum.

The group concluded with the recommendation that further alliances be forged between higher educational institutions and schools and that professionals should be granted credit for such activity. A similar need exists for partnerships among museums, schools, and universities. A network of people at all levels of art education who are interested in furthering the goals of cultural diversity should be established.

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