Arthur D. Efland

Efland covers the history of visual art education from ancient times up to the mid 1980's, though the modern history is restricted to the U.S. He draws together recurrent themes effectively, allowing the reader to see present trends partly as echos of earlier ones. Efland makes it clear that the visual arts have suffered because advocates have consistently failed to unite in their support of arts education by favoring incompatible educational philosophies. In addition, the visual arts have show more often been seen as a frill rather than as essential in bringing beauty and aesthetic values into people's lives. All advocates of the visual arts should read this to understand current challenges in their historical context. show less