PDF & Related InfoBeyond the number of arts specialists on staff, the amount of time spent on arts education, the number of subjects or courses offered, or the amount of space allocated for arts instruction, schools and school districts can encourage and enhance arts education in a variety of other ways. To assess the extent to which public schools are providing support for arts education, both the elementary and secondary surveys requested information on several issues. First curriculum guidelines me important for the implementation of arts instruction, particularly if classroom teacher in the elementary grades are delivering the instruction, so both questionnaires asked whether the district provides teachers with written curriculum guidelines in the arts. The presence of a district arts coordinator & Curriculum specialist in the arts also reflects districts" commitment to providing administrative support for promoting achievement in the arts. In addition, provision of inservice training in the arts during the 1993-94 school year was used to indicate the extent to which teachers have access to opportunities for professional development in the arts. Whether or not school; had artists-in-residence within the past 5 years, and the contributions these individuals made to schools" arts programs, provided another measure of support for curriculum development, teacher enhancement, and educational activities for students. Both surveys also included questions on the use of technology in the arts, the extent of parental involvement in schools" arts programs, and the number of performances and presentations of students" art work, including the publication of a student literary magazine. Finally, respondents were asked if they were aware of the voluntary National Standards for Arts Education, and if so, whether their schools were incorporating any of the standards.
With the recent development of the voluntary National Standards for Arts Education (Consortium of National Arts Education Associations 1994), experts are coming to some consensus about the goals of arts education: what should be taught and what students should learn. Although exploring the content of schools" arts curricula was beyond the scope of this summary, the questionnaires did gather data on whether districts provide teachers with curriculum guidelines. The existence of such guidelines is a good indicator of consensus within the district concerning what should be taught in the arts. For those elementary schools where classroom teachers are responsible for instruction in the arts, such guidelines would be particularly useful and would contribute to the quality of the educational program offered.
Of the public elementary schools that offer music and visual arts, at least three-quarters have curriculum guidelines in these subjects provided by the district (Figure 10). The majority of public secondary schools that offer music, visual arts, and creative writing also reported having curriculum guidelines in each subject (Figure 11). Of those secondary schools that offer courses in drama/theatre, three-quarters have curriculum guidelines, while about two-thirds of schools including dance courses have such guidelines.
The voluntary National Standards for Arts Education are consensus statements about what an education in the arts should contain and are intended to improve and change how arts education is organized and delivered. Approximately one-third of public elementary and secondary school respondents indicated that they were aware of the standards (Figure 12). About one-quarter of all schools in each sample reported that they were both aware of the Standards and incorporated some of them into their curricula.
Arts coordinators or curriculum specialists at the district level can provide access to resources and information to classroom teachers and arts specialists, as well as generally act as advocates for arts education. Approximately one-third of both elementary and secondary public schools indicated that their districts have arts coordinators or curriculum specialists in the arts on staff (Table 7). Large schools and schools in cities and urban fringe areas axe more likely to have arts coordinators on their district staff than small schools and schools in towns and rural areas.
Another way that school districts can emphasize the importance of arts education and encourage students to enroll in arts courses is through imposing graduation requirements that include the ats in some way. The secondary school survey included a question about graduation requirements in the arts. Thirty-nine percent of all secondary schools reported that their districts require credit specifically in the arts for graduation (Table 8). Schools in the Northeast are more likely to require specific arts credit than those in other geographic regions. Another 22 percent of secondary schools require credit in the arts as an option within a specified group of courses, such as arts or foreign language or computer science.
Arts education can also be supported at the school level in a number of ways. Administrators can provide teachers access to inservice education or opportunities for other professional development activities. Artist-in-residence programs can provide teacher enhancement opportunities, as well as expose teachers and students to individuals who create art as their primary professional activity. Schools can further acknowledge the value of artistic expression by providing avenues for the display, performance, and publication of students" art work. Also, schools can provide teachers and students with opportunities to use technology in their teaching and learning of the arts. Finally, parental involvement in schools" arts programs may reflect a commitment on the part of the school to emphasize students" arts education.
About half of all public elementary schools reported that during the 1993-94 school year the school or their district had offered teachers inservice training or other professional development activities in the arts (Table 9). A comparable number of secondary schools reported that the school or district had offered these opportunities to their staff. Schools in central cities and urban fringe areas were more likely to offer teacher inservice activities than those in towns and rural areas.
Schools were asked whether they had supported any artists-in-residence during the past 5 years and, if so, to specify the artists" areas of expertise. The choices were creative writing, dance, drama/theatre, folklore, music, and visual arts. Slightly more than one-third of elementary and secondary schools indicated that artists had been in residence during that time period (Figure 13). While schools reported artists-in-residence in all of the arts areas listed, very few secondary schools had supported any in either dance or folklore. According to both elementary and secondary respondents, these artists-in-residence made the greatest contribution to schools" arts programs by providing knowledge about art forms to students through exhibition or instruction (Figure 14). Significantly fewer artists-in-residence provided input on curriculum development or inservice for teachers.
Arts education is further supported by schools' encouraging students to exhibit and perform their art work outside of their own classrooms. Elementary and secondary schools were asked to report on the number of presentations of students" art work that took place during the 1993-94 school year. Schools reported separately for both informal presentations-put on for the school community only-and formal ones-put on for parents and the public. Data on the number of presentations of students" arts work were calculated for all public elementary and secondary schools, rather than just for those that offer instruction in a particular arts subject, since many schools indicated that performances or exhibitions took place as part of extracurricular activities and were not necessarily tied to instruction in a particular arts subject. In addition, a considerable number of respondents indicated that arts presentations, particularly in visual arts, were "ongoing" or "continuous." In these cases, were data were recoded to 10 presentations, based on the assumption that there was an arts exhibit going on during each of the 10 months in the school year. For creative writing, schools were asked whether they publish a student literary magazine.
At the elementary level, schools averaged approximately six informal exhibitions of students" visual arts work, which was higher than any other type of arts presentation, and two formal visual arts exhibitions (Table 10). In music, elementary schools averaged about three informal and three formal student musical performances. The average of two informal drama/theatre presentations probably reflects the findings that many elementary schools reported that teachers used dramatic activities in the teaching of other subjects. Elementary schools averaged fewer than one dance performance of either kind, which is consistent with the lack of dance instruction going on at this level.
At the secondary level, the numbers of different kinds of student exhibitions and performances are comparable to those at the elementary level, except in the performance of music and drama/theatre productions. Secondary schools averaged about five informal musical presentations and more than seven formal ones; an average of about two formal dramatic productions were reported.
Only 18 percent of elementary schools publish literary magazines of students" work (Figure 15). However, 38 percent of secondary schools publish student literary magazines. At the secondary level, this activity is related to school size and geographic region. Large secondary schools and those in the Northeast are the most likely to publish literary magazines (Table 11). Elementary schools in the Northeast also are more likely to publish students" work than those in other geographic regions.
The use of technology through instructional tools such as computers, 1- and 2-way video, CD-ROM, telecommunications, and multimedia has expanded into many areas of education. This allows both teachers and students more access to information and to interactive experiences. Since much of this kind of technology is conducive to facilitating arts education, respondents were asked in what arts subjects schools use or integrate technology.
About two-thirds of all public elementary schools use technology in teaching creative writing (Figure 16). However, less than half of secondary schools use technology in this way. The opposite is the case for music and visual arts. While only one-third of elementary schools use technology in teaching music and visual arts, about half of all secondary schools do so. About one-quarter of secondary schools also use technology to teach drama/theatre. Technology is being used to teach dance only in a very small percentage of public schools, which is consistent with the limited amount of dance instruction going on.
Parental support for arts programs in schools can be demonstrated in various ways. For this survey, respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which parents are involved in the following activities at the school: sponsoring fundraising activities for the arts, sponsoring Booster Clubs (secondary survey only), sponsoring arts exhibitions or visiting performers, volunteering in arts programs, and attending school arts events.
The most notable way that parents support their children's artistic efforts is through attendance at school arts events. Approximately three-quarters of public elementary and secondary schools indicated that this was true either to a moderate or great extent (Table 12).
Volunteering in arts programs is the least likely avenue for parents to provide support for arts education in schools. Approximately half of both elementary and secondary schools reported that parents volunteered in school arts programs little or not at all.
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