For many children in the United States, arts education, if offered at all, is uninspired and infrequent. What do arts educators and others think are the key attributes of quality in arts learning in K-12? Researchers at Harvard’s Project Zero explore this question through interviews, case studies and a literature review. Excellent arts education, they conclude, is not simply a matter of adopting a research-proven set of “best practices.” Rather, it requires educators and others to reflect deeply about a range of issues, including the many possible purposes of arts education, from helping students develop aesthetic awareness to helping them grow as individuals. The report includes a set of tools that can assist in making decisions about achieving and sustaining quality arts education.
Arts Education/Youth
Reading Improvement Through Music, Movement and Play: A Crossover Study
Four classes of second-graders were randomly divided into two groups. The reading abilities of students in both groups were assessed at the beginning of the study, and after each of the two intervention periods. During the intervention period, one group received music instruction consisting of music, movement, and play designed to enhance reading skills. The second group received corresponding time in which they were given supplemental practice or instruction in reading.
BOOK: The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible — Becoming a Virtuoso Educator
From the Publisher — When the artist moves into the classroom or community to educate and inspire students and audience members, this is Teaching Artistry. It is a proven means for practicing professional musicians to create a successful career in music, providing not only necessary income but deep and lasting satisfaction through engaging people in learning experiences about the arts. Filled with practical advice on the most critical issues facing the music teaching artist today–from economic and time-management issues of being a musician and teacher to communicating effectively with students–The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible uncovers the essentials that every musician needs in order to thrive in this role. Author Eric Booth offers both inspiration and how-to, step-by-step guidance in this truly comprehensive manual that music teaching artists will turn to again and again. The book also includes critical information on becoming a mentor, succeeding in school environments, partnering with other teaching artists, advocating for music and arts education, and teaching private lessons.
The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible helps practicing and aspiring teaching artists gain the skills they need to build new audiences, improve the presence of music in schools, expand the possibilities of traditional and educational performances, and ultimately make their lives as an artists even more satisfying and fulfilling. (Recommended and on sale through Americans for the Arts and other booksellers.)
An Unfinished Canvas: Local Partnerships in Support of Arts Education
In April of 2009 the Center for Education Policy at SRI International, with support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, issued a new report in the An Unfinished Canvas: Arts Education in California series. The new report, An Unfinished Canvas: Local Partnerships in Support of Arts Education explores the role of partnerships between local arts organizations and schools and districts in supporting elementary arts education in California.
Jerome Kagan, brain scientist, on Why the Arts Matter
Jerome Kagan, Ph.D., of Harvard University, spoke about the importance of arts education in elementary schools during the Learning, Arts, and the Brain conference at Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore on May 6, 2009. This link provides his prepared remarks. The report Learning, Arts, and the Brain was announced the same day as the California Arts Council’s 2008 statewide arts conference, and attendees received some of the first copies made available to the public.
The Nation’s Report Card: Arts 2008 Music & Visual Arts
This report presents the results of the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the arts, which was given to a nationally representative sample of 7,900 eighth-grade public and private school students. Approximately one-half of these students were assessed in music, and the other half were assessed in visual arts.
