ARTS EDUCATION
Creating Student Success
In School, Work, and Life
March 2013
A child’s education is not complete unless it includes the arts. In fact, the current iteration of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) lists the arts among the core academic subjects, requiring schools to enable all students to achieve in the arts and to reap the full benefits of a comprehensive arts education.
In spite of this federal direction, equitable access to arts education in our schools is eroding. A 2011 national survey by Common Core and the Farkas Duffett Research Group of 1,001 3rd to 12th grade public school teachers found that, according to most teachers, schools are narrowing the curriculum, shifting instructional time and resources toward math and language arts and away from subjects such as visual art, music, foreign language, and social studies. Two-thirds (66 percent) say that other subjects “get crowded out by extra attention being paid to math or language arts.”
This is happening at a time when parents, employers, and civic leaders are demanding improvements to learning environments to make our schools places where all students will have access to a complete education that will prepare them to be college and career-ready. Our nation needs schools to prepare students to meet the demands of the 21st Century both for the students’ sake and for the sake of our economy and our society. These demands cannot be met without comprehensive arts education in our nation’s schools.
The Arts Prepare Students for School, Work, and Life
As this country works to strengthen our foothold in the 21st Century global economy, the arts equip students with a creative, competitive edge. The arts provide the skills and knowledge students need to develop the creativity and determination necessary for success. Indeed, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills argues that “the arts are among society’s most compelling and effective paths for developing 21st Century Skills in our students.”1 A comprehensive arts education – fully implemented as a core subject of learning – fosters the creativity and innovation needed for a more competitive workforce. Secretary of Education Duncan has said, “To succeed today and in the future, America’s children will need to be inventive, resourceful, and imaginative. The best way to foster that creativity is through arts education.”2
The Arts Strengthen the Learning Environment
Where schools and communities are delivering high-quality learning opportunities in, through, and about the arts for children, extraordinary results occur. A study by the Arts Education Partnership, Third Space: When Learning Matters, finds that schools with large populations of students in economic poverty – too often places of frustration and failure for both students and teachers – can be transformed into vibrant hubs of learning when the arts are infused into their culture and curriculum.3 Additionally, studies have found that 8th graders from under-resourced environments who are highly involved in the arts have better grades, are less likely to drop out by grade 10, have more positive attitudes about school, and are more likely to go on to college.4
The Arts Can Attract and Retain Teachers Who Love to Teach
Attracting and retaining our best teachers is a daunting challenge. It can be met, however, by ensuring schools embrace the arts. Having the arts in schools has been found to improve teacher morale, satisfaction, and attendance by fostering havens for creativity and innovation; places where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.5 As we aim to improve the teaching environment, the arts can help us retain outstanding future and current educators in our nation's schools.
1 Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2010). The 21st Century Skills Map in the Arts. (p. 2)
2 Duncan, A. (2011). Foreword in PCAH Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools. (p. 1).
3 Stevenson, L. M. & Deasy, R. J. (2005). Third Space: When Learning Matters. Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership. (pp. 10-11).
4 Catterall, J. (2009). Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art. I-Group Books.
5 Barry, N.H. (2010). Oklahoma A+ Schools: What the research tells us 2002-2007. Volume 3, quantitative measures.
A comprehensive strategy for a complete education includes rigorous, sequential arts instruction in the classroom, as well as participation and learning in available community-based arts programs. Public schools have the responsibility for providing a complete education for all children, meeting the commitment put forth in federal law. The federal commitment to arts education must be strengthened so that the arts are implemented as a part of the core curriculum of our nation's schools and are an integral part of every child's development.
Creating Student Success
In School, Work, and Life
March 2013
A child’s education is not complete unless it includes the arts. In fact, the current iteration of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) lists the arts among the core academic subjects, requiring schools to enable all students to achieve in the arts and to reap the full benefits of a comprehensive arts education.
In spite of this federal direction, equitable access to arts education in our schools is eroding. A 2011 national survey by Common Core and the Farkas Duffett Research Group of 1,001 3rd to 12th grade public school teachers found that, according to most teachers, schools are narrowing the curriculum, shifting instructional time and resources toward math and language arts and away from subjects such as visual art, music, foreign language, and social studies. Two-thirds (66 percent) say that other subjects “get crowded out by extra attention being paid to math or language arts.”
This is happening at a time when parents, employers, and civic leaders are demanding improvements to learning environments to make our schools places where all students will have access to a complete education that will prepare them to be college and career-ready. Our nation needs schools to prepare students to meet the demands of the 21st Century both for the students’ sake and for the sake of our economy and our society. These demands cannot be met without comprehensive arts education in our nation’s schools.
The Arts Prepare Students for School, Work, and Life
As this country works to strengthen our foothold in the 21st Century global economy, the arts equip students with a creative, competitive edge. The arts provide the skills and knowledge students need to develop the creativity and determination necessary for success. Indeed, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills argues that “the arts are among society’s most compelling and effective paths for developing 21st Century Skills in our students.”1 A comprehensive arts education – fully implemented as a core subject of learning – fosters the creativity and innovation needed for a more competitive workforce. Secretary of Education Duncan has said, “To succeed today and in the future, America’s children will need to be inventive, resourceful, and imaginative. The best way to foster that creativity is through arts education.”2
The Arts Strengthen the Learning Environment
Where schools and communities are delivering high-quality learning opportunities in, through, and about the arts for children, extraordinary results occur. A study by the Arts Education Partnership, Third Space: When Learning Matters, finds that schools with large populations of students in economic poverty – too often places of frustration and failure for both students and teachers – can be transformed into vibrant hubs of learning when the arts are infused into their culture and curriculum.3 Additionally, studies have found that 8th graders from under-resourced environments who are highly involved in the arts have better grades, are less likely to drop out by grade 10, have more positive attitudes about school, and are more likely to go on to college.4
The Arts Can Attract and Retain Teachers Who Love to Teach
Attracting and retaining our best teachers is a daunting challenge. It can be met, however, by ensuring schools embrace the arts. Having the arts in schools has been found to improve teacher morale, satisfaction, and attendance by fostering havens for creativity and innovation; places where students want to learn and teachers want to teach.5 As we aim to improve the teaching environment, the arts can help us retain outstanding future and current educators in our nation's schools.
1 Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2010). The 21st Century Skills Map in the Arts. (p. 2)
2 Duncan, A. (2011). Foreword in PCAH Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools. (p. 1).
3 Stevenson, L. M. & Deasy, R. J. (2005). Third Space: When Learning Matters. Washington, DC: Arts Education Partnership. (pp. 10-11).
4 Catterall, J. (2009). Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art. I-Group Books.
5 Barry, N.H. (2010). Oklahoma A+ Schools: What the research tells us 2002-2007. Volume 3, quantitative measures.
A comprehensive strategy for a complete education includes rigorous, sequential arts instruction in the classroom, as well as participation and learning in available community-based arts programs. Public schools have the responsibility for providing a complete education for all children, meeting the commitment put forth in federal law. The federal commitment to arts education must be strengthened so that the arts are implemented as a part of the core curriculum of our nation's schools and are an integral part of every child's development.