Overview
Pedagogical practices that apply inclusive and creative approaches to art education inform the work of Lori Santos. She treats students as emerging professionals who actively contribute to the growth of the education field. Through community-based art projects, Santos encourages her students to become agents of change with the skills to seek resources and build partnerships that strengthen their communities.
Santos’ research and teaching interests include cultural and community curriculum development, cross-cultural and indigenous arts, diversity in preservice teacher training, and social justice and critical theories in art. Santos has taught in many contexts, including museums, community centers, cultural sites, home-school groups, social service centers, public schools, and universities.
Santos is active in the art education community, presenting regularly at conferences for organizations such as the Kansas Art Education Association, National Art Education Association, United States Society for Education through the Arts, and the National Association of Multicultural Education.
Her recent scholarship includes a collaborative article in the summer 2019 issue of the journal Visual Arts and “Mapping Our Practices,” a chapter in the 2018 NAEA publication Culturally Sensitive Art Education in a Global World: A Handbook for Teachers. Santos is a past recipient of the UAEA Art Education Higher Educator Award for the state of Utah.