This paper reports on a study that examines the knowledge, attitudes and skills of art education teachers and students studying fine arts in relation to disability issues and the extent to which they employ disability art in teaching. The study was conducted in the Republic of Cyprus (hereafter Cyprus) and falls within the theoretical framework of Inclusive Education, and draws ideas from Disability Studies, Disability Studies in Visual Art, and the Disability Arts Movement. 

Scholars in Inclusive Education have long argued that for inclusive education to be achieved, it needs to be understood as the provision of quality education, participation and collaboration between students, teachers and the staff involved (Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2011). Although inclusive education respects all children’s right in education, this paper focuses on the idea that disability art can be a means to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities, since it can contribute to the removal of attitudinal barriers and stereotypes about disability. For this to be achieved, the national curriculum needs to consider disability art and require that it is part of teaching throughout compulsory schooling. However, according to the literature, national curricula across countries rarely include the work of people with disability in the curriculum (Erevelles, 2005; Symeonidou, 2018). Thus, art education teachers may not be aware of such work. They may also be ignorant of the literature developed in Disability Studies, pointing out that people with disabilities are traditionally seen as having a problem (medical model of disability), but in reality, it’s the society that marginalizes and excludes them with the attitudinal and other barriers it poses to their participation (social model of disability) (Barnes, Oliver & Barton, 2014; Goodley, 2017, 2019).

Cypriot society often operates based on stereotypes in disability issues and ignores the personal identities and experiences of people with disabilities, which are also expressed through arts. Disability Studies and Art are now two scientific disciplines that can be combined and develop positive approaches of disability in the Greek-Cypriot society that still poses stereotypical barriers. Disability Studies, as well as Disability Studies and Art Education, promote social and cultural attitudes of positive disability identity, and question the existing disability stereotypes.

Art Education has longstanding ties to disability research and pedagogy, and recent advancements in Art Education as well as Disability Studies closely align the two fields (Roultstone, Thomas & Watson, 2012). Disability Studies and Art Education, focus on understanding disability in different domains such as society, politics, culture, history and especially personal experience (Connor, Gabel, Gallagher & Morton, 2008). They emphasize the priorities and views of people with disabilities and promote social justice and equality. In addition, Disability Studies and Art Education reject the medical model of disability by understanding disability as a social construction and focus on inclusion in every aspect and especially in education (Connor, Gabel, Gallagher & Morton, 2008). However, Art Education provides a safe environment in which students with and without disabilities can discuss and think about social issues and think of how they can promote inclusive culture and positive identity (Vasey, 1992).

Within this theoretical framework, the issue of including the history and work of people with disabilities in the curriculum becomes central (Erevelles, 2005; Symeonidou, 2018). Research in different countries, including Cyprus, indicates that the national curriculum ignores people with disabilities (Symeonidou and Mavrou, 2020), and the subject of Art Education is no exception. Within this context, the research question of the study was: To what extent can art education teachers and students studying fine arts can understand disability as a complex state of being and as a social construct through disability art?

This research is a case study of art education teachers and students studying fine arts, living in Cyprus. The sample consisted of participants with and without disabilities. The participants’ consent was obtained prior to the study, and information about the storage and handling of the data was shared with them. The researchers recognized the intersectionality between human identities and considered the different identities the participants combined. The main source of data collection were audio taped discussions held in focus groups, in which the participants discussed vignettes around different artists (e.g., artwork, biographies of artists with disabilities, interviews, or videos presenting the personal experiences/opinions of artists with disabilities). The topics raised encouraged a discussion about personal experiences of disability and teaching, identity, social barriers, and existing stereotypes/stigmatization experienced in the Cypriot society. Data collection also entailed audio-taped semi-structured interviews before and after the focus groups, the researcher’s diary, and artefacts developed by the participants during the focus groups. Content analysis was undertaken with preliminary open coding procedure. Initially, an overall view of the content of the data was obtained, and significant points were listed (Αdu, 2019). Correspondingly, the data was read and re-read to contribute to finalising the coding scheme, which included a number of issues related to the Didactics of Art, initial teacher education, teaching approaches, understandings of disability, opinions about the approaches proposed by the national curriculum in relation to disability, etc. The data was coded, ensuring that 10% of the data was read by two researchers. Analysis was conducted with ATLAS.ti software.

The findings verify the argument that inclusive education can be understood and implemented through the understanding of personal experiences of disability recorded in disability arts (Wexler, 2009). Contemporary art practices can be employed in education and contribute in the shaping of positive identities which reject social stereotypical barriers. In our study, the participants approached disability from a social model perspective and understood the importance of the personal experience of disability. For example, Kusama’s artwork ‘Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life’ (2011/2017) encouraged the participants to explore mental disability art (Kusama, 2011). Kusama’s artwork was presented in a form of ‘stepping into her mind’ and encouraged a discussion that led art teachers and fine art students to better understand the experience of disability through art. The findings of the study are important for teacher education and curriculum development across countries. In relation to teacher education, it is important to enrich the Didactics of Art Education with disability art. This kind of work can be discussed not only from the lens of Art, but also from the lens of the personal experience of disability (Allan, 2014; Ware, 2008). This approach will contribute in understanding people with disabilities as human beings with rich experiences, multiple voices and different life trajectories, and not merely as people with an impairment. In relation to the national curriculum, it is important to include disability art alongside other pieces of art. More importantly, it is important that disability related content is not fragmented in the curriculum, but is presented in the Didactics of different subjects (including Art Education), with the purpose to engage children in disability related issues and experiences, and not to invite them to admire people with disabilities for achieving something, which is often the case (Beckett, 2015; Symeonidou, 2018).

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