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The expectation of educators for more than a decade has been that they would be aware of and attend to gender issues. The British Columbia Visual Arts Curricula states "Gender-equitable education will initially focus on girls in order to redress historical inequities." However, it is important to be informed about the issues that adversely affect the males in art education. This theme issue contains seven articles: (1) "Editor's View" (Sharon McCoubrey); (2) "Gender Socialization: A Brother and Sister Draw about War" (Robert Dalton); (3) "Gender and Teaching Art in the Early Years" (Cynthia Colbert); (4) "Rape--A Gender Issue" (Colleen Kennedy); (5) "Broad Reach: A Group of Women Artists" (Sharon McCoubrey); (6) "Resources Review"; and (7) "The Arts and Academic Improvement: What the Evidence Shows" (Ellen Winner; Lois Hetland). (BT)

Educators are familiar with working together to produce curriculum packages, to team teach a unit, to host a parent event, to put on a school-wide concert, or to plan a conference. Collaboration in art education as presented in this publication is a team effort that is slightly different and beyond ordinary collaboration. Collaborative art-making involves the inclusion of many contributions to the creation of the final image. This theme issue contains seven articles: (1) "Editor's View" (Sharon McCoubrey); (2) "The Collaborative Process of Art Making" (Taylor Gutermute a.k.a. Patty Taylor); (3) "Making Connections: The Integration of Art and Language Arts" (Virginia MacCarthy; Heather A. Pastro); (4) "The Spirit of Nature: The Grandview/?uuqinak'uuh Public Art Project" (Illene Pevec); (5) "Making Mosaic and Ceramic Murals: A Collaborative Challenge" (Lynda Faulks); (6) "A Teaching Jewel: Collaboration in Art" (Evelyn Vipond-Schmidt); and (7) "Resources Reviews" ("Beyond the School: Community and Institutional Partnerships in Art Education" and "Step Outside: Community-Based Art Education"). (BT)

This theme issue reviews and confirms the connection between thinking skills and art education. Articles offer possible teaching approaches and specific lesson plans dealing with thinking skills. The issue includes: (1) "Editor's View" (Sharon McCoubrey); (2) "Critical and Creative Thinking and Making Art" (Carol Fineberg); (3) "Investigations and Personal Developments" (Rick Davidson); (4) "Critical Thinking in the Arts" (Sharon Balin); (5) "Problem Solving and Drawing: A Primary Lesson" (Helen Robertson); (6) "Independent Study Packets for Cognitive Learning in Art" (Cecilia Johnson); (7) "To Think or Not To Think" (Sharon McCoubrey); and (8) "Now Onto Another Topic: The Integration of Feminist Discourse in Built Environment Education" (Hinda Avery). (MM)

This theme issue focuses on topics related to global issues. (1) "Recycling for Art Projects" (Wendy Stephenson) gives an argument for recycling in the art classroom; (2) "Winds of Change: Tradition and Innovation in Circumpolar Art" (Bill Zuk and Robert Dalton) includes profiles of Alaskan Yupik artist, Larry Beck, who creates art from recycled items, and Inuit artist, Alootook Ipellie; (3) "Honouring the Environment through Art" (Sharon McCoubrey) makes connections between art and environmental concerns and offers suggestions for classroom related projects; (4) "The Electronic Environment: A Revolution in Image Production and Consumption" (Don Bergland) describes some specific technologies including the man made environment, virtual reality; and (5) "Diamonds are Forever: The Use of Metaphorical Art to Help Students Develop an Environmental Ethic" (Gloria Snively Corisglia) provides sample lessons of metaphor used to integrate environmental studies and art education. (MM)

This serial issue examines the theme of picture books as resources for art production and art response; gives specific project descriptions; and looks at the relationship between words and pictures, and the creative connection between art and language. Articles are: (1) "Editor's View" (Sharon McCoubrey); (2) "The Creative Connection: Art and Poetry" (Charles Pearson; Gail Workman); (3) "Stories as a Starting Point in Art and Design" (Mariette Smith; Jim Taggart); (4) "Book Links, Picture Books in the Curriculum" (Barbara Sunday); (5) "Author-Illustrator, Students Making Books to Link Art and Writing" (Sharon McCoubrey); (6) "A Natural Connection" (Katherine Reeder); (7) "Picture Books as Portable Art Galleries" (Judith V. Lechner); (8) "Legends: An Integrated Art and Social Studies Unit on First Nations Culture" (Diane Paul; Rob Foster); and (9) "Book Reviews." (MM)

This theme issue presents art advocacy as a necessary means of bringing art and art education to an elevated status in the elementary secondary curriculum and educational system. Articles include: (1) "Editor's View" (Margaret Scarr); (2) "Art Education: Why Is It Important" (Arts Education Partnership Working Group); (3) "Why Art in Education and Why Art Education?" (Elliot W. Eisner); (4) "Informed Advocacy and Art Education" (Rita L. Irwin); (5) "Seeing through the Eyes of the Arts" (John C. Polanyi); (6) "More Than Pumpkins in October - Visual Literacy in the 21st Century" (National School Boards Association); (7) "Creative Showcasing Student Work Bridging Gaps, Forming Networks" (Myra Eadie); (8) "Art Instruction in the Elementary Classroom" (R. Lloyd Ryan); and (9) "Arts Education as a Catalyst to Reform: Cultural Diversity and Arts Education" (F. Graeme Chalmers). (MM)

These articles focus on art as a component of interdisciplinary integration. (1) "Integrated Curriculum and the Visual Arts" (Anna Kindler) considers various aspects of integration and implications for art education. (2) "Integration: The New Literacy" (Tim Varro) illustrates how the use of technology can facilitate cross-curricular integration. (3) "Secrets in the Garden" (Gail Duthie) presents five lesson plans from a theme unit on food and botany. These link art, language arts, and science through hands-on science activities. (4) "Connecting Commonalities" (Sharon McCoubrey) gives a visual model, example, and explanation of what an integrated unit might look like. (5) "Integration" (Kit Grauer) presents further implications for the arts and integrated disciplines. (6) "Masks, an Integrated Theme Unit" (Pamela Wallis) includes lesson plans that involve art/language arts, music, movement, mime, social studies, and mathematics/science in the integrating theme. The last article (7) "Drawing in the Integrated Curriculum" (Bob Steele) presents drawing as a basic language and form of representation that has application in all subject areas. (MM)

Advocating that Canadian art programs should use and model environmentally safe practices, the articles in this journal focus on issues of safe practices in art education. Articles are: (1) "What is WHMIS?"; (2) "Safety Precautions for Specific Art Processes"; (3) "Toxic Substances"; (4) "Using Clay, Glazes, and Kilns Safely in the Classroom" (Mary Daniels); (5) "Ventilation"; (6) "Safety Tips"; (7) "Liability"; (8) "Monoprinting on Plexiglass" (Wing Chow); (9) "Easy Stained Glass Work"; (10) "Non-Glaze Finishes for Clay" (Arlene Smith); (11) "Safety Symbols"; and (12) "Resources for Art Safety." (MM)

These journal articles examine the issues of evaluation and art education. In (1) "Self Evaluation for Secondary Art Students, Why Bother?" (Margaret Scarr), the article recommends that involving students in assessing their work contributes to learning. (2) "Evaluating for Success" (Arlene Smith) gives practical suggestions for evaluating primary student art. (3) "Evaluation of the Visual Arts and the Year 2000" (Laurie Rae Baxter) offers a reference point for evaluation by listing six components of the visual arts. (4) "Picking up the Gauntlet" (Ronald Smith) challenges teachers to use appropriate assessment tools in order to increase the legitimacy of art as an area of study. (5) "Curating Your Own Exhibit" (Jennifer McIntyre) advocates student exhibition curating as a self evaluation approach. And (6) "A Review of Manitoba's Art Evaluation Guidelines K-12" (Chris McCraig) gives some evaluation approaches to consider. The concluding article, (7) "Teachers Talking about Evaluating Art" (Sharon McCoubrey) presents the results of a dialogue with five teachers. These teachers were presented questions covering assessment, evaluation, and reporting, the three roles of evaluation. Their responses, presented in this article, are varied and practical. (MM)