Visiting the past and eyeing the future : lessons we can learn from a 1995 art education instructional television series

Through the use of a case study methodology, this research presents a qualitative analysis of Eureka! The Creative Arts Series, an instructional art education television series from 1995. In recognition of the reality that no lesson in the field is value-neutral, the study seeks to determine the implicit and explicit messages about art education communicated through the various features of the series. The dominant art educational message is established with the use of an essential tool: a 2008 list of 45 puropses for art education. Using this list, the study distills the eight epsiodes of Eureka! down to their central, most frequently espoused messages. This information is then used to enhance understanding of how an effective art educator presents material, as well as how a successful art education television program may function.