Challenging the Canon: LGBT Content in Arts Education Journals

The purpose of this study was to examine LGBT-related content across arts education journals in order to identify prevalence, themes, and trends. This study consisted of a content analysis of peer-reviewed articles appearing in the major journals affiliated with professional arts education associations in the United States. A total of 4,193 articles were published from 2000 to 2012 in the 11 journals, of which 70 (1.67%) included LGBT-related content. The percentage of LGBT-related content was steady over time. The most frequent LGBT themes in discipline-specific journal content related to pedagogy, the contributions of LGBT persons to art forms, gender, social justice, and homophobia. A more focused analysis included two pairs of long-running journals purposed for similar audiences and considered all article content since the journals\u27 inception: Music Educators Journal (1914) and Art Education (1948); and the Journal of Research in Music Education (1953) and Studies in Art Education (1959). The emergence of LGBTrelated content, including letters to the editor, followed similar paths in the two practitioner oriented journals. Music education articles referencing LGBT topics appeared later and are less numerous than in other arts disciplines. Analysis suggests methodological issues to be addressed in future research studies and points toward strategies for introducing LGBT-related content where none has yet been published