Reinvesting in arts education : winning America's future through creative schools

2011·5.3 MB·English

by  Dwyer, M. Christine

PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
Reinvesting
Arts Education
in
WinningAmerica’sFutureThroughCreativeSchools
C
reatedin1982underPresidentReagan,thePresident’s
CommitteeontheArtsandtheHumanities(PCAH)is
anadvisorycommitteetotheWhiteHouseonculturalissues.
ThePCAHworksdirectlywiththeAdministrationandthe
—
threeprimaryculturalagencies NationalEndowmentfor
theArts(NEA),NationalEndowmentfortheHumanities
(NEH)andtheInstituteofMuseumandLibraryServices
—
(IMLS) aswellasotherfederalpartnersandtheprivate
sector,toaddresspolicyquestionsintheartsandhumanities,
toinitiateandsupportkeyprogramsinthosedisciplines
andtorecognizeexcellenceinthefield.Itscoreareasof
focusareartsandhumanitieseducation,culturalexchange,
andcommunityrevitalization.TheFirstLadyservesasthe
HonoraryChairmanoftheCommittee,whichiscomposedof
bothprivateandpublicmembers.
Throughtheeffortsofitsfederalandprivatemembers,the
PCAHhascompiledanimpressivelegacyoveritsalmost
30-yeartenure,conductingmajorresearchandpolicy
analysis,andcatalyzingimportantfederalculturalprograms,
bothdomesticandinternational.Theseachievementsrely
onthePCAH’suniqueroleinbringingtogethertheWhite
House,federalagencies,civicorganizations,corporations,
foundationsandindividualstostrengthentheUnitedStates’
nationalinvestmentinitsculturallife.CentraltothePCAH’s
missionisusingthepoweroftheartsandhumanitiesto
contributetothevibrancyofoursociety,theeducationofour
children,thecreativityofourcitizensandthestrengthof
ourdemocracy.
Michelle Obama, Honorary Chair
CO-CHAIR
George Stevens, Jr.
CO-CHAIR
Margo Lion
VICE CHAIR
Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Rachel Goslins
PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
Reinvesting
Arts Education
in
WinningAmerica’sFuture ThroughCreative Schools
WithmajorsupportfromtheJohnS.andJamesL.KnightFoundation
Knight Foundation
InformedandEngagedCommunities.
Additionalsupportprovidedby:
MembersofthePresident’sCommitteeontheArtsandtheHumanities;and
theStephenandMyrnaGreenbergPhilanthropicFundoftheJewishCommunalFund
May 2011
President’sCommitteeontheArtsandtheHumanities
1100PennsylvaniaAve.,NW,Suite526
Washington,DC20506
Telephone: [phone]
PreparedbyM.ChristineDwyer,RMCResearchCorporation,
NH
Portsmouth,
ProducedbythePresident’sCommitteeontheArts
andtheHumanities
DesignedbyFletcherDesign,Inc./Washington,DC
FrontCoverPhoto:MicheleKraus
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thispublicationisavailablefreeofchargeatwww.pcah.gov,the
websiteofthePresident’sCommitteeontheArtsandtheHumanities.
Individualsareencouragedtocitethisreportanditscontents. In
doingso,pleaseincludethefollowingattribution:
President’sCommitteeontheArtsandtheHumanities,Reinvesting
inArtsEducation: WinningAmerica’sFutureThroughCreative
Schools,Washington,DC,May2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ExecutiveSummary v
ForewordbyArneDuncan,U.S.SecretaryofEducation 1
Introduction 7
TheCase: ArtsEducationOutcomes 15
TheNeed: EducationSysteminCrisis 27
TheOpportunity: PointofInflection 37
ConclusionandRecommendations: AVisionofArts-RichSchools 47
Appendices 57
Acknowledgements 74
MembersofthePresident’sCommitteeontheArtsandtheHumanities 76
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2015
in
https://archive.org/details/reinvestinginartOOdwye
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
IN OCTOBER OF 2008, THEN-SENATOR OBAMA released a powerful Plat-
formin SupportoftheArts. Inithe arguedforreinvestinginAmerican arts
education,andreinvigoratingthecreativityandinnovationthathasmadethis
countrygreat. Takingupthischarge,overthepasteighteenmonthsthePresi-
dent'sCommitteeonArtsandtheHumanities (PCAH) hasconductedanin-depthreview
ofthecurrentconditionofartseducation,surveyingrecentresearchaboutitsdocumented
benefits and identifyingpotential opportunities for advancing arts education. While we
foundagrowingbodyofresearchtosupportpositiveeducationaloutcomesassociatedwith
arts-rich schools, and many schools and programs engaged in such work, we also found
enormousvarietyinthedeliveryofartseducation,resultinginacomplexpatchworkwith
pocketsofvisionaryactivityflourishinginsomelocations andinequitiesinaccessto arts
educationincreasinginothers.
At this moment in our nation’s history, there is great urgency around major trans-
formationinAmerica’sschools. Persistentlyhighdropoutrates (reaching50%ormorein
someareas)areevidencethatmanyschoolsarenolongerabletoengageandmotivatetheir
students. Studentswhodograduatefromhighschoolareincreasinglytheproductsofnar-
rowedcurricula,lackingthecreativeandcriticalthinkingskillsneededforsuccessinpost-
Reinvesting in Arts Education V
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
secondaryeducationandtheworkforce. Insuchaclimate,theoutcomes associatedwith
—
artseducation whichincludeincreasedacademicachievement,schoolengagement,and
—
creativethinking havebecomeincreasinglyimportant. Decadesofresearchshowstrong
and consistentlinksbetween high-qualityarts education and awide range ofimpressive
educationaloutcomes. Thisistrueeventhough,asinmostareaswherelearningiscomplex,
theresearchbasedoesnotyetestablishcausalproof. Artsintegrationmodels,thepractice
ofteachingacrossclassroomsubjectsintandemwiththearts,havebeenyieldingsomepar-
ticularlypromisingresultsinschoolreformandclosingtheachievementgap. Mostrecent-
ly,cutting-edgestudiesinneurosciencehavebeenfurtherdevelopingourunderstandingof
howartsstrategiessupportcrucialbraindevelopmentinlearning.
At the same time, due to budget constraints and emphasis on the subjects ofhigh
stakestesting, artsinstructioninschoolsisonadownwardtrend. Justwhentheyneedit
—
most,theclassroomtasksandtoolsthatcouldbestreachandinspirethesestudents art,
—
music,movementandperforming arelessavailabletothem. Sadly,thisisespeciallytrue
for students from lower-income schools, where analyses showthat access to the arts in
schoolsisdisproportionatelyabsent.
One promising development is that, nationally, arts education is findingnew allies.
Policymakers andcivic andbusinessleaders, as reflectedinseveralrecenthighleveltask
force reports, are increasinglyrecognizingthe potential role ofthe arts in spurringinno-
vation, providingteacherswithmore effective classroom strategies, engagingstudents in
learning, andcreatingaclimate ofhighperformance inschools. Anotherdevelopmentis
theenthusiasmamongeducators andmembersofthe arts communityforexpandingarts
integrationandtheuseofwell-trainedteachingartistsinschools. Artsintegrationhasbeen
usedinanumberofverysuccessfullongtermprogramstoexpandartsopportunities,en-
gagestudentsmore deeplyinlearningcontent, and as aneffectiveschoolreformstrategy.
Teachingartistsalsorepresentanunderutilizedresourcepool,manyofwhomarebothea-
gerandwellqualifiedtoserveinlong-termassignmentsinschools.
ThePCAHrecognizedattheoutsetofthisresearchthatmanydiverse stakeholders
haveaninterestinartseducation. Anysignificantadvancementinthefieldwillrequireun-
precedentedunityofpurpose andthe coordinated actions oflocal, state, andfederalgov-
ernmentagencies, educators andprofessionalassociations, andthe arts community. The
vi Reinvesting in Arts Education
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
commonpurposeisexpansionofaccesstoartseducationsothatmorestudentsinAmeri-
canschools,especiallythoseinunderservedschools,havethebenefitsofacomprehensive
education. Basedonwhatwelearnedoverthepastyearaboutneedsandopportunities,the
PCAHismakingfiverecommendationsforactionstobeundertakenbydifferentstakehold-
erstoadvanceartseducation. Thoseactionsaredesignedtoclarifythepositionofthearts
inacomprehensive,well-roundedK-12educationthatisappropriateforallstudents;unify
andfocuseffortstoexpandartseducationofferingstounderservedstudentsandcommuni-
ties;andstrengthentheevidencebaseforhighqualityartseducation.
1. Build collaborations among different approaches. The PCAH urges leaders of
professional associations toworkwithfederal and state agenciesto build and dem-
onstrate connections among different educators in the arts: art specialists work-
ing on standards-based approaches; classroom teachers trained in arts integration;
and project-based teaching artists. The PCAH believes that collaborations among
national leadership organizations should move beyond internal debates in the arts
education field about modes ofdelivery ofarts instruction in order to address the
more pressing issues of equitable access and infusing more schools with a
creativity-richenvironment.
2. Develop the field ofarts integration. The second recommendationfocuses on an
expansionofartsintegration. ThePCAHencouragesfurtherdevelopmentofthefield
ofartsintegrationthroughstrengtheningteacherpreparationandprofessionaldevel-
opment,targetingavailableartsfunding,andsettingupmechanismsforsharingideas
about arts integration through communities ofpractice. In this recommendation
weidentifyrolesforregionalandstateartsandeducationagenciesaswellasprivate
funders.
3. Expand in-school opportunities for teaching artists. We strongly believe that
working artists in this country represent an underutilized and underdeveloped re-
source in increasingthe quality andvitalityofarts education in our public schools.
The PCAH recommends expandingthe role ofteaching artists, in partnership with
arts specialists and classroomteachers, through sustained engagements in schools.
This should include supporting high quality professional development in pedagogy
Reinvesting in Arts Education vii
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
and curriculum. We see an opportunityforleadership inthisfromthe regional and
stateartsagencies,aswellasanationalserviceprogramsimilartothe“ArtistsCorps”
ideaarticulatedinPresidentObama’sArtsPolicyCampaignplatform.
4. UtilizefederalandstatepoliciestoreinforcetheplaceofartsinK-12education.
Thisrecommendationfocusesontheneedforfederalandstateeducationleadersto
provide policy guidance for employingthe arts to increase the rigor ofcurriculum,
strengthenteacher quality, and improve low-performingschools. Buildingcapacity
tocreateandinnovateinourstudentsiscentraltoguaranteeingthenation’scompeti-
tiveness. Todothisitisnecessaryforfederalandstategovernmentstomovebeyond
merely“allowing”theartsasanexpenditureofacomprehensiveeducation.
5. Widen the focus ofevidence gatheringabout arts education. Finally, while the
evidencebaseforthebenefits ofthe arts iscompelling,there is roomto expandsys-
tematicdatagatheringaboutthearts,specificallyindevelopingcreativityandenhanc-
ingengagementinschool. Educatorsneedpracticaltoolstomeasuretheprogressof
—
studentlearninginthearts aninvestmentthatdovetailswiththefederaleducation
agency’sinvestmentsinmoreauthenticassessmentsofcomplexlearning. Fromafed-
eral perspective, policymakers should help stakeholders make informed arguments
anddecisionsregardingimpactandequitableaccess. Thisrequirespoliciesthatsup-
portongoingdatagatheringaboutavailableopportunities,includingteacherquality,
resources,andfacilitiesatthelocalandstatelevel.
ThePCAHenvisions schools incities andtowns across ournationthatare alivewiththe
energyofcreativethinkingandfreshideas,fullofart,musicandmovement. Allofourre-
searchpointstothesuccessofschoolsthatare“arts-rich,”inwhichstudentswhomayhave
fallen bythe wayside find themselves re-engaged in learningwhentheir enthusiasm for
film, design,theaterorevenhip-hopistappedintobytheirteachers. Moreadvancedstu-
dentsalsoreaprewardsinthisenvironment,demonstratingacceleratedlearningandsus-
tainedlevelsofmotivation.
PCAHstandsreadytopartnerwithpublic agenciesandtheprivatesectortofurther
developandimplementtheserecommendations.
Reinvesting in Arts Education