WE POST THIS SUMMARY IN THE BELIEF THAT IT IS A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF WORK THAT SHOULD BE WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED BY ALL INVOLVED IN EDUCATION - SPREAD THE WORD, EVENTUALLY EVEN THE POLITICIANS MIGHT HEAR IT...& DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
President’s Committee
on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) Reinvesting
in Arts Education. Winning America’s Future through Creative Schools
(May
2011)
Read the full report at: http://www.pcah.gov/sites/default/files/photos/PCAH_Reinvesting_4web.pdf
A decline in arts
education
‘At
this moment in our nation’s history, there is a great urgency around major
transformation in America’s schools.
Persistently high dropout rates (reaching 50% or more in some areas) are
evidence that many schools are no longer able to engage and motivate their
students. Students who do graduate from
high school are increasingly the products of narrowed curricula, lacking the
creative and critical thinking skills needed for success in post-secondary
education and the workforce’ (p vi)
‘arts
instruction in schools is on a downward trend …………… sadly this is especially
true for students from lower-income schools, where analyses show that access to
the arts in schools is disproportionately absent’ (p vi)
‘In
the global economy, creativity is essential ……………This report shows us the link
between arts education and achievement in other subjects. It documents that the process of making art –
whether it is written, performed, sculpted, photographed, filmed, danced or
painted – prepares children for success in the workforce not simply as artists,
but all professions. Most importantly,
it makes compelling argument for creating arts-rich schools and engaging
artists in ways that complement the study of other subjects such as literature,
history, science and mathematics’ (p2)
This
‘is the optimal moment for the federal government to make a major statement
about the value of bringing high quality arts teaching to more schools’ (p10)
‘Almost
every community – indeed, almost every school that tries to address the vexing
challenge of how to get more arts into schools does so differently …….. there
is no one model that works best for every community’ (p10)
‘Recent
analyses revealed that the schools with students who could most benefit from
the documented advantages of arts strategies are often those that either do not
recognize the benefits of arts education or do not have the resources to
provide it to their students. Current
budgetary crises as well as the narrowing of curricula have forced some schools
to curtail arts programs when they are most needed’ (p11)
Research evidence
about the relationship between involvement in the arts and academic performance
‘Champions of Change (Fiske, 1999)
reported seven correlative studies that show the pattern of linkage between
high levels of arts participation and higher grades and test scores in math and
reading. Included was the well regarded
Catterall study that first examined data from the National Educational
Longitudinal Survey (NELS) about the relationships between involvement in the
arts and academic performance. The
quantitative results (e.g standardized test scores, academic grades, and
dropout rates) showed that the probability of having more arts experiences in
school was greater for economically advantaged students than for low-socio
economic status students. However,
students with high involvement in the arts, including minority and low-income
students, performed better in school and stayed in school longer than students
with low involvement, the relative advantage increasing over the school
years. Low-income students involved in
drama showed greater reading proficiency and more positive self concept
compared to those with little or no involvement’ (p17)
‘Anthropologist
Shirley Brice Heath studied no-school youth organisations in low-income
neighbourhoods. Her research showed that
those students who were involved in arts education for at least nine hours a
week were four times more likely to have high academic achievement and three
times more likely to have high attendance (Heath, 1998)
‘In
2009, James Catterall was able to follow the original cohort of NELS students
into their mid twenties and found the persistence of strong connections between
arts learning in earlier years and overall academic success…………. Most
strikingly, arts-engaged low-income students are more likely than their
non-arts engaged peers to have attended and done well in college, obtained
employment with a future, volunteered in their communities and participated in
the political process by voting. In the many types of comparisons that
Catterall tracks, arts engaged low-income students tend to perform more like
average higher-income students.’ (p18)
‘In
a study released last year, Dallas’ Big
Thought program found that sustained engagement in a fine arts discipline
gave high school students substantial advantage in reading achievement when
compared to students who took fewer arts courses, and that all students who
participated in clubs or groups that focused on creative activities had an
advantage in reading and math achievement (Bransom et al., 2010) (p19)
‘Studies
have documented significant links between arts integration models and academic
and social outcomes for students, efficacy for teachers, and school-wide
improvements in culture and climate…….. Most important, the greatest gains in
schools with arts integration are often seen school-wide and also with the most
hard-to-reach and economically disadvantaged students…….. (Fiske, 1999)
reported that arts integration approaches were successful in producing better
attendance and fewer discipline problems, increased graduation rates, and
improved test scores; motivating students who were difficult to reach
otherwise; and providing challenges to more academically successful
students. Studies from Minnesota (Ingram
& Reidel, 2003; DeMoss and Morris, 2006) demonstrated particular benefits from
arts integration for economically disadvantaged students and English learners
in the form of reading achievement gains – not surprising given the
similarities between effective language instruction techniques and visual arts
and theatre skills’ (p19)
CAPE (Chicago Arts
Partnership in Education) and A+ Schools
‘School-wide
achievement gains have been observed when arts integration has been applied as
a school reform and improvement strategy’ (p20)
‘The
19 Chicago elementary schools operating the CAPE arts integration model showed
consistently higher average scores on the district’s reading and mathematics
assessments over a six year period when compared to all district elementary
schools (Catterall and Waldorf, 1999).
Moreover, in the CAPE schools there were associated positive changes in
school climate, e.g leadership, focus on instruction, teacher colleagueship and
participation in decision making’ (p20)
‘A+
Schools are a comprehensive education reform model that is based on using
arts-integrated instruction, incorporating Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences, recent brain research findings, and dance, drama, music, visual
art and creative writing. More than
twelve years of research about the A+ Schools in North Carolina tracked
consistent gains in student achievement, the schools’ engagement of parents and
community, and other measures of learning and success. Most notably, the A+ Schools with higher
proportions of disadvantaged and minority students performed as well on
statewide reading and mathematics assessments as students from more advantaged
schools. This is doubly impressive
considering that while other schools have focused on basic skills in response
to high stakes testing, the A+ Schools have been able to achieve reading and
mathematics gains on statewide accountability tests without narrowing the
curriculum (Corbitt, McKenny, Noblit and Wilson, 2001)’ (p21)
Brain research
‘Increasingly,
researchers are finding evidence that early arts education is a building block
of developing brain function. Examples
of findings, some of which corroborate earlier findings include:
·
Music
training is closely correlated with development of phonological awareness – one
of the most important predictors of early reading skills
·
Children
who were motivated to practice a specific art form developed improved attention
and also improved general intelligence.
Training of attention and focus leads to improvement in other cognitive
domains.
·
Links
have been found between high levels of music training and the ability to
manipulate information in both working memory and long-term memory’ (p22)
‘Studies
that not specifically about arts education have identified types of learning
experiences that have implications for arts education. For example, reading researchers have found
that visualisation can produce significant gains in reading comprehension
(Shanahan, et al, 2010). Visualisation
means that children can create mental images as they read – clearly a skill
that could be supported by helping students draw or paint pictures or
demonstrate with movement or acting what they imagine from a story.’ (p23)
Education system in
crisis
‘By
some estimates, approximately 50% of male students from disadvantaged minority
groups leave school before graduation ……An estimated 2 million students attend
a high school in which fewer than 50% of students graduate’ (p28)
‘Studies
about the reasons for these trends provide a remarkably consistent picture:
students report being bored, almost half saying that classes are not
interesting (this is true even of those with high grades who drop out) and over
two-thirds say they are not inspired to work hard and that too little was
expected of them (Bridgeland et al, 2006) (p28)
‘The
narrow focus on only teaching the basics clearly has not been the answer. Many high school graduates lack the skills to
make them successful in post-secondary education and later in the
workforce. These are sometimes referred
to as 21st Century skills, or habits of mind, and include problem
solving, critical and creative thinking, dealing with ambiguity and complexity,
integration of multiple skills sets, and the ability to perform
cross-disciplinary work. Leaders worry
that the United States is losing its competitive edge in creativity and
innovation, and that the call for ever more rigorous academic standards is
insufficient without a concomitant focus on developing creativity and
imagination’ (p29)
‘The
implications for educators are daunting. They must find ways to reach and
motivate more students and, at the same time, teach more challenging content
and 21st Century skills. The
expectation is that they must create an exciting climate of relevant learning
tasks for students who are increasingly turning to digital devices and not
teachers, texts, or each other for learning new information and expressing
ideas. For teachers and principals who
continue to be constrained by rigid curricula, the pressures of standardized
testing and ever-increasing budget cuts, the demands seem overwhelming.’ (p29)
‘Reformers
are calling now for transformation of learning that is, fundamental change in
what and how students learn’ (p30)
‘Tight
school budgets are a major problem but some also blame the narrowing of the
curriculum as a result of emphasis on accountability for basic skills’ (p30)
Inequity in Arts
Opportunities
‘There
is increasing evidence that the students in schools that most challenged and
serving the highest need student populations often have the fewest arts
opportunities’ (p32)
‘In
schools identified as needing improvement and /or with higher percentages of
minority students, teachers were much more likely to report a reduction in time
spent in arts instruction’ (p32)
‘The
most frequently cited reason for the lack of arts education opportunity was
inadequate funding followed by a focus on improving test scores (Center for
Education Policy, SRI International, n.d.) (p33)
Allies in Creativity
‘Last
year’s IBM 2010 Global CEO Survey found that CEOs in 60 countries believe
creativity is the most important leadership quality and that creativity helps
employees capitalize on complexity (IBM 2010)’ (p38)
‘employers
rate creativity and innovation among the top five important skills for workers
and believe that the most essential skills for demonstrating creativity are the
ability to identify new patterns of behaviour or new combinations of actions
and integrate knowledge across different disciplines’ (p38)
Arts Integration – a
solution?
‘Arts
integration is the practice of using arts strategies to build skills and teach
classroom subjects across different disciplines………When implemented effectively
and with rigor; students receive both high quality arts instruction and subject
matter instruction in reading, math, science and other subjects within an
integrated lesson plan……….The possibilities for learning other subjects through
the arts are limitless: young English learners practice English adverbs by
following the directions of a dance instructor; algebra teachers help students
create digital designs that demonstrate their understanding of mathematical
relationships; and middle school students create and play musical instruments
in the process of learning about sound and wave forms’ (p39)
‘Professional
development for classroom teachers, arts specialists and teaching artists is
crucial to an effective arts integration program’ (p40)
‘Teaching
artists are clearly a critical part of the solution for meeting the goal of
expanding high quality arts experiences in underserved schools through extended
placements’ (p42)
‘The
lessons from successful endeavours like Teach for America’ [show] ‘there is
truly an opportunity to take advantage of the arts to achieve significant and
last benefits for students, teachers and schools.’ (p43)
‘The
arts are a vital part of the culture and life of this country and all students deserve
access to the arts in school as part of a complete education. Just as science and social studies are deemed
essential subjects independent of their value to other learning outcomes, the
arts merit a similar unambiguous place in the curriculum’ (p48)
‘We
urge the leaders of professional associations to work with federal and state
agencies to support connections among the different approaches to arts education’ (p49)
‘Too
often advocates focus on the method of
delivery of arts instruction, rather than the quality of that instruction and the flexibility to adapt to the needs of the community. …… We recommend efforts that demonstrate how
teams of classroom teachers, arts specialists and teaching artists can work
together on building curricula, delivering instruction, and learning from each
other…………… We agree that the arts will have a more secure place in the
curriculum when teachers experience firsthand the deepening of learning in
their subjects that comes from incorporating arts teaching strategies and
working in collaboration with arts specialists and teaching artists’ (p50)
Summary
‘The PCAH envisions
schools in cities and towns across our nation that are alive with the energy of
creative thinking and fresh ideas, full of art, music and movement. All of the research points to the success of
schools that are ‘arts rich’ – in which students who may have fallen by the
wayside find themselves re-engaged in learning when their enthusiasm for film,
design, theatre or even hip-hop is tapped into by their teachers………. We would
like to see classrooms where teachers develop new ways of working with students
and collaborating with their colleagues to motivate the best performance from
their classes. We want to create schools
where every student feels he or she is good at something and where all teachers
feel they have the tools they need to reach their students’ (p55)
References
Ashby,C.,&
Rich,B. (Eds.). (2008) Learning, arts and
the brain: The Dana Consortium report on arts and cognition. New York: Dana press
Bransom,J.,
Brown,A. Denson,K. Hoitsma,L. Pinto,Y. Wolf,D.P. & Wolf,T. (2010) Creative Learning: People and Pathways. Dallas:
Big Thought
Bridgeland,J.M.,
Dilulio,J.J., & Morison,K.B. (2006) . The
silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Washington,DC: Civic
Enterprises
Catterall,J.S.
(2009). Doing well and doing good by art:
The effects of education in the visual and performing arts on the achievements
and values of young adults. http://tiny.cc/Oprbg
Corbett,D.,
McKenney,M., Noblit,G., & Wilson,B. (2001). The A+ schools program: school, community, teacher and student effects.
(Report #6 in a series of seven policy reports summarizing the four-year
pilot of A+ schools in North Carolina). Winston-salem, NC: Kenan Institute for
the Arts
DeMoss,
K. & Morris,T. (2002). How arts
integration supports student learning: Students shed light on the connections. Chicago,
IL: Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE)
Fiske,
E.B. (Ed.). 1999 Champions of change: the
impact of the arts on learning. Washington DC: The Arts Education
Partnership and the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities. Retrieved from http://www.aep-arts.org/files/publications/ChampsReport.pdf
Heath,
S.B, Soep,E.,& Roach,A. (1998) Living the arts through language-learning: A
report on community-based organisations.
Americans for the Arts 2 (7), 1-20
Ingram,D.
& Reidell,E. (2003). Arts for
academic achievement: What does arts integration do for students? Minneapolis,
MN: Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement
Shanahan,t.,
Callison,K., Carriere,C., Duke,N.K., Pearson,P.D., Schatscheinder,C. &
Torgeson,J. (2010). Improving reading
comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide (NCEE
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Regional Assistance, Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education
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