On the Concept of Youth in Art Education: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

In this article, I analyze how the concept of youth is used in art education scholarship. I review papers from three art education journals that use youth in their titles and/or abstracts. I analyze how the concept of youth frames, produces, and buttresses arguments about the role of art education in society and the need for particular approaches to curriculum and instruction. My literature review is organized around four themes: Youth as (1) transition, (2) culture, (3) difference, and (4) image. In presenting these four themes, my aim is to support art education researchers as they extend, refine, clarify, and deepen their analysis in ways that have positive concrete effects on young people through art education.