Co-Creation Curricula: Integrating Local Art Practices into K-12 Pedagogy

Thesis Abstract

This study addresses the gap between standardized K-12 art curricula and the culturally diverse local art practices that students bring to the classroom, examining how co-creation of curricula with local artists and community members can enhance student engagement, creativity, and cultural competence. The aim is to design, implement, and evaluate a co-created art curriculum model that integrates local artisanal practices into core visual arts instruction and assess its impact on student learning outcomes, pedagogy, and teacher professional practice. Specific objectives are (1) to document local art practices and teacher and community perceptions of curricular relevance; (2) to develop a co-creation curriculum framework grounded in the communities’ cultural assets and aligned with state visual arts standards; (3) to implement a 12-week pilot in five urban and five rural primary schools with a total of 600 students and 20 teachers; (4) to evaluate student creativity, critical thinking, and intercultural understanding using a mixed-methods approach; and (5) to generate actionable guidelines for scalable adoption in diverse educational settings. The methodological approach combines design-based research (DBR) with a pragmatic mixed-methods design. The population comprises upper primary art teachers, local artists, and students in grades 5–6 across ten purposively selected public schools with diverse socio-economic settings. A sample of 40 teachers (4 per school), 60 local artists, and 600 students participates in the study. Data collection instruments include structured classroom observation rubrics, semi-structured interviews with teachers and artists, focus group discussions with students, a student creativity assessment adapted from Torrance’s Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) framework, intercultural competence scales, and a document review of curricular artifacts. Instrument validity is established through expert panel review and pilot testing, with Cronbach’s alpha targets of at least 0.80 for quantitative measures. Reliability is reinforced through inter-rater reliability checks (Cohen’s kappa > 0.75) for observational data. Data analysis employs a multi-tiered strategy thematic analysis of interview and focus group transcripts guided by Braun and Clarke’s approach; descriptive and inferential statistics for student outcomes using regression analysis to examine predictors of creativity and intercultural understanding; multilevel modeling to account for clustering at classroom and school levels; and content analysis of curricular artifacts to assess alignment with local practices. A conceptual model drawn from Social Constructivism and Funds of Knowledge theory will frame interpretation, with Padilla?González’s culturally sustaining pedagogy as a lens to evaluate sustained inclusion of local art traditions. The study also triangulates qualitative and quantitative findings to illuminate processes of co-creation, adoption, and scalability. Expected findings indicate that co-created curricula will significantly enhance student creativity (p < .05), improve intercultural understanding (p < .05), and increase teacher confidence in integrating community knowledge into instruction. It is anticipated that collaborative planning with local artists will yield richer, contextually relevant learning encounters, higher student engagement, and more authentic assessment practices. The research is likely to reveal challenges related to scheduling, resource variability, and alignment with high-stakes testing, along with strategies that mitigate these barriers, such as modular units, teacher professional learning communities, and formal partnerships with cultural institutions. The study contributes to knowledge by providing a rigorously evaluated, scalable model of co-creation that embeds local art practices within standard curricula, offering empirical evidence on educational benefits, implementation processes, and policy implications for inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogy. It advances design-based research in art education by detailing iterative cycles of design, enactment, and refinement and by articulating a clear theory-to-practice pathway for integrating community cultural assets into K-12 pedagogy. Practical recommendations include a stepwise framework for establishing community partnerships, guidance for co-design workshops, templates for assessment that honor local knowledge, and a policy brief outlining resource and professional development needs to sustain scaling beyond the pilot sites. The main conclusion is that co-creation of curricula with local artists fosters meaningful learning that aligns with both student identities and broader educational aims, provided institutional support, ongoing collaboration, and careful alignment with curricular standards are in place.