Author: Tunks, Jeanne

Publication Year:

Media Type: Periodical (article)

Summary:

Abstract:

Threatened by the back-to-basics movements and high-stakes testing, arts education, particularly at the elementary school level, continues to face the challenge of acceptance into the mainstream curriculum. This further threatens the successful implementation of the National Standards for Arts Education. Retention of arts specialists in the curriculum will require incorporation of available resources in and out of the arts education community. These include site-based management teams, community leaders, researchers, community arts and culture groups, and school administrators. Arts educators will need to view their work as integral in the overall instruction of students, and they must work with other teachers to create connections between arts and other subjects. Above all, quantification will be necessary to convince the decision makers that arts education makes as much of a difference in student development as arts educators intuitively know it does.

Research projects like the Partnership Assessment Project have the side benefit of helping classroom teachers recognize the value of arts education specialists. Participating teachers not only realize the power of using appropriate arts experiences to enhance overall learning but also discover how effective their collaboration with arts specialists can be. (p. 26)

CONTENTS
The NEA's artist-in-residency programs.
Bridging the gap.
Grassroots initiatives.
Recommendations.
Conclusions.
Notes.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Arts Education