Student access to arts education and the quality of such instruction in the nation’s public schools continue to be of concern to policymakers, educators, and families. Specifically, research has focused on questions such as: To what extent do students receive instruction in the arts? Under what conditions is this instruction provided? What is the profile of arts education instructors? This study is the third of its kind to be conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, to provide national data that inform these issues. SEE PRESS RELEASE/BLOG
Arts Education/Youth
Active music classes in infancy enhance musical, communicative and social development
We found that random assignment to 6 months of active participatory musical experience beginning at 6 months of age accelerates acquisition of culture-specific knowledge of Western tonality in comparison to a similar amount of passive exposure to music. Furthermore, infants assigned to the active musical experience showed superior development of pre-linguistic communicative gestures and social behavior compared to infants assigned to the passive musical experience. These results indicate that (1) infants can engage in meaningful musical training when appropriate pedagogical approaches are used, (2) active musical participation in infancy enhances culture-specific musical acquisition, and (3) active musical participation in infancy impacts social and communication development.
ON DEMAND WEBINAR: Building Parent Involvement in Schools through the Arts
If schools are to succeed in reaching every child academically, they need the support of a parent or primary caregiver to achieve this goal. This session will discuss the body of research that demonstrates how the arts can engage families in schools and discuss key strategies that are currently working in both public and charter schools.
Speakers include:
- Michael Sikes, Senior Associate for Research and Policy, the Arts Education Partnership, Washington D.C. and author of “Building Parent Involvement through the Arts” (2007)
- Sarah Ogeto , Program Coordinator, Illinois Parent Information Resource Center at Columbia College Chicago
- Joanne Vena, Director of School Partnerships, Center for Community Arts Partnerships, Columbia College Chicago
- Angela Fowler, PIRC Program Manager, Harris Center for Early Childhood Education, Columbia College Chicago
Changing relations: Class, education and cultural capital
–Analysis of survey data on Norwegian students social recruitment and cultural habits in 1998 and 2008.
–Particular emphasis on the attitudes and knowledge in regard to music, literature and television shows.
–A major decline in interest in and knowledge of most forms of traditional legitimate culture is found.
–Legitimate culture is thus marginalized in one sense, but also increasingly linked to privileged social backgrounds.
Transforming City Schools Through Art
Art and art education can make a significant different in urban environments, and a new book co-authored by University of Cincinnati art educator Flavia Bastos provides a blueprint for catalyzing the power of art.
In the book Transforming City Schools Through Art Bastos and her co-authors suggest ways that artists and art educators can work in urban environments and in urban schools in order to benefit students, schools and cities.
The DREAM Project: Developing Reading Education with Arts Methods
Early analysis of our first year of student data reveals that DREAM students scored significantly higher on the CST ELA test and on the reading comprehension subscale than did control group students. Both of these differences were found to be statistically significant. The integration of theatre into the language arts curriculum proved to be a particularly effective strategy. Multiple regression analysis revealed that DREAM third graders scored significantly higher than the control group on the state language arts test when their teachers integrate the arts to teach reading standards.
