Original research, authored articles, and essays on art in higher education, educational psychology,

contemporary culture, and best teaching practices include:

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Teaching the Whole Student:  Perceived Academic Control in College Art Instruction, Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 2010, 51(3), 198-218.

A research study focused on the importance of the cognitive-affective domain and the value of attribution theory in supporting student success in art/design education.  The study offers specific recommendations for academic control-enhancing teaching methodology in college art settings (Selena T. Nguyen-Rodriguez and Donna Spruijt-Metz, co-authors). 

Read Executive Summary, below, download Executive Summary: Exec summary.pdf, or download pdf: Studies_51(3)_Lavender.pdf



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My Jeans, Myself, and I, Garb:  A Fashion and Culture Reader, Edited by Parme Giuntini and Kathryn Hagen, New Jersey; Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007, 80-92, illus.

An essay on the meaning of jeans—of all garb—in contemporary western culture. 

View publication: www.pearson.ch..., or download pdf: Garb Jeans.pdf  

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Art and Design Education:  Get it Right,  Associated Content; The People's Media, Associated Content, October 2, 2006.   

An article outlining the value of strong fundamentals training in art and design.  

Download article (pdf): Get it Right

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Finding Solid Ground, Global Study Magazine, Issue 3.1, Spring 2005, 12-15. 

An article on the importance of seeking a solid Foundation Program when considering art/design study in higher education.  

Download article (pdf): Finding Solid Ground.pdf

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The Subordination of Aesthetic Fundamentals in College Art Instruction, Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 37, No. 3, Fall 2003, 41-57.   

An article on art/design pedagogy, and how critical theory recycled from the art world is often privileged over aesthetic fundamentals in first-year studio settings.  

View first page, download full text: www.jstor.org, or download pdf: Lavender JAE.pdf

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Teaching and Supporting an Authentic Three-Dimensional Design Curriculum, FATE in Review:  Foundations in Art: Theory and Education, Vol. 23, 2001, 12-19.

An article on the tendency of many artists who teach to confuse three-dimensional design with sculpture, often to the detriment of students.  

Download pdf: R Lavender FATE.pdf   

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Executive summary of research and findings from Teaching the Whole Student:  Perceived Academic Control in College Art Instruction, Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 2010, 51(3), 198-218.

The first study of perceived academic control (PAC) in an art/design college student population was conducted at Otis in 2007-08.  Principle Investigator: Randall Lavender, Co-authored by Selena T. Nguyen-Rodriguez and Donna Spruijt-Metz, University of Southern California.

Key concepts and findings include:

• Students who attribute academic successes and failures to things that they do are oriented "internally."  Students who attribute academic outcomes to forces beyond their control, such as luck, fate, or powerful others, are oriented "externally."  Internal control attributions are linked to academic success, and PAC is a singularly important academic marker in college settings.  When controllable attributions improve, so do students' motivation, task-persistence, affect, and creativity.

• Early in the fall term, 38.9% of Otis' first-year students indicated externality.  Since first-year college student externality is linked to failure-proneness and attrition, classroom interventions were tried and measured.  By mid-year, transient externality had increased slightly.  But by year-end this shift had stabilized, and reversed.

• At mid-year student attrition fell to a record low: 51.9% below its prior five-year trend.

• As control attributions shifted toward internality, students' academic performance also increased.  In fact, the impact of Foundation instructors' classroom interventions compares favorably to shifts toward student internality previously associated with four terms of college.

• Year-end attrition (rising sophomores) fell to a record low: 28.1% below its five-year trend.

• The sample indicated no significant differences in student PAC scores by ethnic group.  Similarly, no significant gender differences were found in mean PAC scores, nor in the proportions of males to females in any category at any measurement point. 

• Qualitative analysis of student focus group responses revealed that internal, external, and "turnaround" students all perceived positive impact on their academic success from classroom interventions.  A review of literature, changes in PAC scores throughout the year, and student focus group findings led to seven recommendations for control-enhancing teaching methodology in college art settings. 

• Results indicate that student internality can serve as a valuable new predictor for college art student success.  Thus this study also has implications for art/design school admissions (some colleges have begun to lace PAC measures into their applications).

• Unfortunately, young Americans' control attributions are trending toward externality.  This is significant for future college retention and graduation rates, and strongly suggests that the time is now for cognitive-affective theory-based teaching.  Follow-up research is underway at Otis College of Art and Design. 

• Aspects of student cognitive makeup impact academic performance in college art/design, and attention to PAC should become a core component of college art/design instruction at all levels.

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To inquire about this study, follow-up research, speaking, and/or consulting on the role of perceived academic control in college art/design instruction and recommended control-enhancing teaching methods, contact Randall Lavender.