Strengthening and Supporting Photography Education Using an Online Multi-Faceted Approach

The purpose of this study is to fill the void in arts education specifically photography to high school students who cannot take electives during the regular school day. There is a need for free creative online support and education within public high school curriculum. By identifying curriculum gaps in the arts, this study may support high school students with the needed twenty first century skills, such as the 4 C’s to be competitive in the job market after graduation. These critical skills are known as the 4 C’s, and focus on Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking (Stauffer, 2020).Participants will be solicited through convenient sampling, and social media sites known to art professionals and art educators. An email (Appendix A) will be sent by the researchers to working art professionals and art educators to evaluate the online photography platform. In addition, a flyer (Appendix B) will be posted on social media sites geared toward art education. The survey (Appendix D) will be hosted by secure Google Forms and be distributed by a secure email list obtained through convenient sampling and social media sites known to art professionals and art educators. Participants will first read the informed consent (Appendix C). They must understand and agree to the informed consent in order to continue with the study. By clicking “I agree”, the participants are waiving the signature as consent documentation, and confirm that they are over the age of 18. By clicking “I disagree”, the participants will have access to the free online photography educational website (Appendix E), but confirm that they will not participate in the survey. In addition, a forced field will be in place. Therefore, if a participant does not agree to the informed consent, then the survey will close and the participant thanked. When the participant agrees, they will then be given access to the free online photography educational website (Appendix E). They can then peruse it for as long as they like. After closing the website, they will be directed to the survey questions about the website to answer. Data will then be collected and evaluated after asking the participants to evaluate the free photography online platform. Once the data is evaluated, the researchers will enhance the photography platform based on the data collected.This investigation will utilize a qualitative case study method design. Data gathered from the anonymous online survey will be analyzed through descriptive statistics of art professional and art educator perception. Likert Scale questions and open ended semi-structured questions answers will be organized into codes and then generated into themes. Inferential statistics will include sample t-tests. The quantitative and qualitative results will then be triangulated to make meaning and inform the study.