Examination of environmental art practices in the frame of art educators' views

This research focuses on the place of environmental art practices in visual arts education by centering on the human–nature relationship and integrating concepts such as ecological awareness, sustainability, and environmental consciousness into the artistic production process. It is noteworthy that there is an insufficient number of studies in the literature addressing art educators' perspectives and experiences on this subject. In this context, the study aims to examine how environmental art can be integrated into art education processes, to what extent it is represented in curricula, and whether art educators' approaches, experiences, and opinions play a decisive role in imparting this artistic understanding to students. For this purpose, the study comprehensively investigates art educators' awareness and level of knowledge about environmental art practices, the issue of environmental art remaining at a theoretical level in education, and their predictions regarding its future. Structured within the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, this study was conducted with art educators working at middle and high school levels in Bartın, Türkiye. Criterion sampling and convenience sampling methods were used in selecting the participants. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form, and the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. The findings reveal that art educators display varying levels of knowledge regarding environmental art practices. Among the primary reasons for this difference are the limited representation of environmental art in curricula and the diversity of individual interest levels. Nevertheless, the majority of art educators believe that environmental art will become more widespread in the future and that it should occupy a larger place in visual arts education. On the other hand, participants also highlighted several challenges that might arise when integrating environmental art into lessons, including transportation and space limitations, restricted lesson time, and differences in student interest levels. In light of these findings, it is concluded that, provided the necessary infrastructure is established, the inclusion of environmental art practices in visual arts education would encourage students to connect with nature, foster sustainability awareness, support creativity, develop interdisciplinary thinking skills, and offer hands-on learning opportunities through direct observation. In this respect, environmental art is considered to contribute meaningful diversity to visual arts education. Keywords: Art education, environmental art practices, ecological art, land art, visual arts, sustainability.