The Reconstructivist lens is an approach used by art educators to connect art education to society and culture. It views schools as able to either reproduce or help reinvent societal beliefs and norms through their environment, curriculum, and goals. The ultimate goal for art educators using this lens is social change. When examining an artist's work, reconstructivists seek to understand the social commentary and ideas of transformation being expressed, and how the message of social change is being communicated.

1. What is the Reconstructivist lens in Art Education?

2. The Reconstructivist lens is one way in which art educators look at what they teach.

3. From a Reconstructivist’s standpoint art education is all about a school’s connection to society and culture. As such, a school’s environment, curriculum, and aims can reproduce existing beliefs and norms in society or it can help to reinvent and reconstruct society. Social change then, is a goal for the art educator who is working from a Reconstructivist standpoint.

4. Art educators examining an artist’s work from a Reconstructivist lens are seeking to understand an artist’s message of social commentary or social transformation. When examining an artist’s work—seek to understand the context in which he or she is creating and then look for the Big Ideas that are being expresses and how the artists is communicating a message of social change.

6. Work Cited Siegesmund, R. (1998). Why do we teach art today? Conceptions of art education and their justification. Studies in Art Education, 39 (1), 197-214.