Author: Hope, Samuel

Publication Year:

Media Type: Periodical (article)

Summary:

Abstract:

Once the REAP findings were made known, ample media attention ensued, much of it promoting an illusion that art would redeem individuals from the necessity to work to develop their abilities in the core subjects. This article steps back from the hype and considers the long-term impact of the REAP study and asks what its broader policy influence on arts education may be.

The author contends that REAP has great potential to have a long-term influence on the way the arts and other disciplines are understood and taught. He believes the findings are likely to have far more an effect on the future of psychological research than they are on the policy climate for arts education. 

Despite the attention, the author believes the findings changed nothing about the importance of art making and teaching in terms of the arts themselves. Science is at the surface of an infinitely complicated issue as it uncovers indicators about the nature of artistic intelligence and its connections with other kinds of intelligence. Scientific research is not needed to justify art, but rather may be able to shed more light on why art justifies itself.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Arts Education