Including Difference: A Communitarian Approach to Art Education in the Least Restrictive Environment

Michelle Kraft is Professor of Art Education at Lubbock Christian University (LCU) in Lubbock, Texas. Prior to that, she taught art at Dunbar High School and Dunbar Junior High School in the Lubbock Independent School District, working extensively with students experiencing a range of (dis)abilities. Kraft has authored and coauthored several journal articles and book chapters, including in Matter Matters: Art Education and Material Culture Studies, edited by Paul Bolin and Doug Blandy (National Art Education Association, 2012), Visual Arts Research, The Journal for Social Theory in Art Education, The Journal for Cultural Theory in Art Education, Visual Culture & Gender, and Art Education. She is the recipient of several grants and teaching awards. She is active in the National Art Education Association and in the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA), and has presented at numerous conferences at state and national levels. She has served as chair of the Higher Education Division of TAEA and as editor of TAEA's peer-refereed journal, Trends in Art Education. Kraft has been a reviewer for a number of journals, including The Journal for Social Theory in Art Education, Visual Arts Research, and Visual Culture & Gender. In addition to teaching, she has served as department chair and is currently the Assistant Dean for the Hancock College of Liberal Arts and Education at LCU.

Karen Keifer-Boyd, Professor of Art Education and Women's Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, has coauthored InCITE, InSIGHT, InSITE (NAEA, 2008), Engaging Visual Culture (Davis, 2007); coedited Real-World Readings in Art Education: Things Your Professors Never Told You (Falmer, 2000); and served as editor of the Journal of Social Theory in Art Education and guest editor for Visual Arts Research. In 2005, she cofounded the journal Visual Culture & Gender. Her research is translated into several languages and focuses on feminist methodologies for teaching critical and creative inquiry with dynamic/interactive technologies. Keifer-Boyd has been invited to present her research in Austria, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and Uganda. She has been honored with leadership and teaching awards including USSEA Ziegfeld Award for 2013: 2012 Fulbright Award as Distinguished Chair of Gender Studies at Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt in Austria, 2006 Fulbright Award for research in Finland, the National Art Education Association (NAEA) Women's Caucus Connors Teaching Award in 2005, the Texas Outstanding Art Educator in Higher Education Award in 2001, the Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Delta (Honor Society for International Scholars) in 2001, and the Arts Administrator of the Year NAEA Award for the Pacific Region in 1994. Keifer-Boyd is an NAEA Distinguished Fellow Class of 2013, and served as president of the NAEA Women's Caucus from 2010--2012, coordinator of the NAEA Caucus on Social Theory and Art Education from 1999-2001, and is the Coordinator of the Judy Chicago Art Education Collection at Penn State.