Examination of art educators who work in II. stage of primary education and secondary education in the context of the concept of artist-teachers

In this study, the concept of artist-teacher was analyzed in detail. The historical process of the concept, its textual content and, as an example of its educational practice, the Artist-Teacher Program (ATS) were evaluated. Biographies of important artists-teachers as well as the practices and profiles of art teachers in Turkey, who can be considered in this professional identity, were surveyed. There is not sufficent information about the artist-teacher concept, which is thought to lead to many positive changes in art education in Turkey, in Turkish literature. In addition to that, this study is considered as a necessity to show that art teachers can contribute to art education by preserving their artist identities. The aim of the study is to reintroduce the concept of artist-teacher to the 21st century Turkish art educators who are not familiar with its rich history, contribute to the examination of art education models which can be adaptable to the conditions of our country, and to provide a basis for future studies. To achieve the aims presented above, of all the qualitative research patterns, every kind of printed and electronic publication was reviewed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with six art teachers, who were eligible to the criteria of artist-teacher. The findings were obtained by subjecting the interviews to content analysis. As a result of the interviews, it was determined that artistic practice improved teaching methods. It was observed that artistic activity enabled teachers to use contemporary methods in their interactions with students by keeping them up to date in the areas of creativity, knowledge of the current art, and technical skills. Considered altogether, our results revealed that the concept of artist-teacher has promising features in every step of art education. Keywords: art education, art educator, artist-teacher, II. grade of primary education, secondary education