Arts Education/Youth

Accountability in Arts Education: Building a Statewide System of Reciprocity, takes up the challenge of designing a municipal system whereby voters, elected officials, education leaders, and local schools are regularly and routinely held accountable for what they are or are not teaching students. The paper was published by the California Alliance for Arts Education, one of the nation’s leaders in state arts education advocacy.

Kathy Danko-McGhee and Ruslan Slutsky present a compelling look at the link between children’s artwork and literacy development in this easy-to-read, indispensable primer for parents and educators alike. By providing a range of art experiences and alternative ways to teach children critical thinking and visual perception skills, Danko-McGhee and Slutsky paint a vivid picture of the role that the visual arts play in early childhood development. The two examine the need for new thinking and a departure from traditional literacy exercises: “It is clear that a pedagogical shift must take place in our homes and schools if we are to meet the literacy needs of today’s young learners. This requires thinking ‘out of the box’ and coming up with new ways to deal with an old problem.” The Impact of Early Art Experiences on Literacy Development lays the foundation for rethinking the way that we engage young children in early literacy learning.

(BOOK, fee involved)

Innovation is crucial to competition, and creativity is integral to innovation. In November 2007, The Conference Board and Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the American Association of School Administrators, surveyed public school superintendents and American business executives (employers) to identify and compare their views surrounding creativity. Overwhelmingly, both the superintendents who educate future workers and the employers who hire them agree that creativity is increasingly important in U.S. workplaces, yet there is a gap between understanding this truth and putting it into meaningful practice. Among the key findings of this research:

–85 percent of employers concerned with hiring creative people say they can’t find the applicants they seek.

–Employers concerned with hiring creative people rarely use profile tests to assess the creative skills of potential employees. Instead, they rely on face-to-face interviews.

–While 97 percent of employers say creativity is of increasing importance, only 72 percent say that hiring creative people is a primary concern.

(NOTE: This report does require a payment unless you are a member of the sponsoring organization.)

This user-friendly brochure summarizes important and compelling rationales for integrating the arts in K-12 education. The brochure is an effective advocacy tool for anyone who needs to prove that the arts are critical to education and learning. Developed for use by and with parents, teachers, administrators, school boards and other decision-makers, Eloquent Evidence summarizes research and offers compelling and inspirational testimony to the strong positive relationship that exists between arts education, student performance, workplace skills and preparation for college. 1995, reprinted in 1996 and 1998.