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New report cites need for more arts integration
Arts education can lower dropout rates and improve scores in other subjects, presidential panel says
Schools that participated in an arts-integration model had consistently higher average scores on district reading and math assessments.
Although No Child Left Behind has prompted many districts to focus on core subject areas and ignore or cut arts education programs, a new federal report suggests that’s a wrong approach.
Released May 6, the report reveals that arts education might help student achievement in these core areas and is essential to the nation’s future competitiveness—and it urges school leaders to try creative approaches to arts education during the school day.
Compiled by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), the report is titled “Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools.” It is the first federal analysis of arts education data of its kind in a decade.
“To succeed today and in the future, America’s children will need to be inventive, resourceful, and imaginative,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote in the report’s foreword. “The best way to foster that creativity is through arts education.”
For more on fostering creativity among students:
How—and why—to teach innovation in our schools
Putting our ideas of assessment to the test
New tool shows how arts education boosts 21st century skills
Developed in response to President Obama’s Arts Policy Campaign Platform, the report presents five recommendations to help schools incorporate the arts into other disciplines:
- Build robust collaborations among different approaches to arts education.
- Develop the field of arts integration.
- Expand in-school opportunities for teaching artists.
- Use federal and state policies to reinforce the place of arts in K-12 education.
- Widen the focus of evidence gathering about arts education.
“Imagine more science classrooms where kids learned about sound waves by playing the flute, or understood mathematical relationships by creating digital designs,” said Dennis Scholl, vice president of the arts at the Knight Foundation. “Integrating arts into our everyday lives and learning is essential.”
Data highlighted in the report show that low-income students who participate in arts education are four times more likely to have high academic achievement and three times more likely to have high attendance than those who don’t, with these results continuing into college. Schools that participated in an arts-integration model had consistently higher average scores on district reading and math assessments.
3 Responses to New report cites need for more arts integration
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eburton
May 9, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Arts education and exposure not only leads to more well rounded learners but an individuals’ ability to think above the surface and apply learning to their lives and experiences.
If we want critical thinkers who can move ideas into actions we need to include the arts in every facet of our curriculum.
Erika Burton, Ph.D.
Stepping Stones Together, Founder
Empowering parental involvement in early literacy programs
http://www.steppingstonestogether.com
eburton
May 9, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Arts education and exposure not only leads to more well rounded learners but an individuals’ ability to think above the surface and apply learning to their lives and experiences.
If we want critical thinkers who can move ideas into actions we need to include the arts in every facet of our curriculum.
Erika Burton, Ph.D.
Stepping Stones Together, Founder
Empowering parental involvement in early literacy programs
http://www.steppingstonestogether.com
joanrosen
May 9, 2011 at 3:10 pm
This is wonderful and reassuring news for arts educators nation wide.
Time is of the essence here. School districts saddled with excessive costs are trimming their budgets by downsizing, not increasing arts education programs. A student cannot experience sound waves in science by playing the flute if the school instrumental music teacher has been let go to reduce the budget. Parent support can be used as a powerful tool to insure that these cuts do not occur. School Boards and administrators do listen to parent input. The data from this report needs to be shared with the nation with an “Action for Arts” movement.
joanrosen
May 9, 2011 at 3:10 pm
This is wonderful and reassuring news for arts educators nation wide.
Time is of the essence here. School districts saddled with excessive costs are trimming their budgets by downsizing, not increasing arts education programs. A student cannot experience sound waves in science by playing the flute if the school instrumental music teacher has been let go to reduce the budget. Parent support can be used as a powerful tool to insure that these cuts do not occur. School Boards and administrators do listen to parent input. The data from this report needs to be shared with the nation with an “Action for Arts” movement.
dcolavita
May 12, 2011 at 9:33 am
I wonder how many educators know of the arts resources available via videoconferencing to support this endeavor. At http://www.cilc.org, a not-for-profit website/organization, you can use a highly sophisticated search engine to find programs from over 200 providers – most nationally, but some internationally as well! Come check it out – the searching is free. You can even register for a free webinar that will help you learn to use all features of the website. Here’s the link: http://is.gd/OQ2Hr1
Dawn Colavita
Director of Communications
CILC
http://www.cilc.org
dcolavita
May 12, 2011 at 9:33 am
I wonder how many educators know of the arts resources available via videoconferencing to support this endeavor. At http://www.cilc.org, a not-for-profit website/organization, you can use a highly sophisticated search engine to find programs from over 200 providers – most nationally, but some internationally as well! Come check it out – the searching is free. You can even register for a free webinar that will help you learn to use all features of the website. Here’s the link: http://is.gd/OQ2Hr1
Dawn Colavita
Director of Communications
CILC
http://www.cilc.org