Multi-roled and skilled teachers of art

The aim of this article is to evoke discussion of the changing roles of generalist and specialist art educators in Finland. It explores ways in which art educators can integrate the roles of cultural worker, teacher, artist, and researcher as suggested by three case studies. First, it describes pre-service classroom teachers’ memories of their art lessons in school and expectations of teaching art in the future. This data comes from a web discussion that took place at the University of Turku. Second, it reports how student teachers of art articulated their professional identity during a course in qualitative research methods at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. Finally, key issues arising from a debate about art educators’ professional identity that took place on the web pages of the Finnish Association of Art Teachers are summarized. In each case, the challenge of multiple roles is explored and suggestions are offered for solving a particular dilemma.