A CASE STUDY OF THE GEORGIA ART EDUCATION ASSOCIATION FALL CONFERENCE: PRE-SERVICE AND EARLY CAREER ART TEACHER EXPERIENCES AND SUPPORTS

Using a case study approach, I investigated the experience of and supports available for preservice and early career art teachers at the fall 2023 Georgia Art Education Association (GAEA) conference. I was interested in how the organization plays a part in supporting art teachers as they transition from preservice to early career teachers. I collected data through direct observation, interviews, and surveys. My participant group consisted of 17 GAEA members, ranging from board members to preservice conference volunteers. In addition to qualitative data, I researched the history of organizational supports for preservice teachers by studying archival GAEA materials. Through data analysis, I discovered four themes: benefits of attending the conference, disconnect between preservice teachers and GAEA, barriers to conference attendance, and intention versus impact of including preservice teachers in GAEA. These findings suggest that while there are benefits for teachers attending the conference, there are not many preservice teachers accessing the resources GAEA provides due to a lack of knowledge and connection to the organization. As a GAEA board member, I presented my findings and will 2 use the information found in this study to make impactful changes in how the organization interacts and recruits preservice teachers to be involved in GAEA and its Fall Conferences.