Kerry Freedman

Professor and Division Head, Art + Design Education       
Doctoral Program Advisor
Ph.D., Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

Curriculum Studies, Social Justice, Visual Culture, and New Literacies

Professor Freedman’s research focuses on questions concerning the relationship of curriculum to art, culture, and technology.　 Throughout her career, she has investigated social aspects of art education and promoted cultural understanding through her teaching, research, and writing. Recently, she has focused particularly on questions concerning student engagement with visual culture and issues surrounding curriculum change in light of postmodern educational conditions.

Professor Freedman authored the book Teaching Visual Culture and co-authored the book Postmodern Art Education, with Arthur Efland and Patricia Stuhr, and the book Transforming Computer Technology. She edited the book Looking Back: Fifty Years of Studies in Art Education and co-edited the book Curriculum, Culture, and Art Education with Fernando Hernandez. Dr. Freedman is currently working on a new book, with co-author Doug Boughton, on elementary school art education.

In addition, Dr. Freedman has published over 80 articles, book chapters and other publications on art, education, and technology, including articles in the International Encyclopedia of Education, Studies in Art Education, Educational Technology Research and Development, Art Education, Journal of Research on Computing in Education, and the Journal of Curriculum Studies. She has done over 150 national and international presentations and has been a visiting professor and Fulbright scholar at several overseas universities.

Professor Freedman has provided significant leadership through important service roles. She has served on many editorial boards and as the Senior Editor of Studies in Art Education, the research journal of the National Art Education Association.　Currently, Dr. Freedman is a co-Chair of a Research Steering Committee for the NAEA and is an elected member of the national Council for Policy Studies in Art Education.

During her career, Dr. Freedman has received many national and international honors. For example, she won the Leon Jackman Award (the Australian national award for distinguished research in art education). In 2000, she was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the National Art Education Association and in 2006 was the national Art Educator of the Year in Higher Education.

Office: Art Building 208
Office Phone: (815) 753-7879
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