Expounds why and how music education at the preschool level has developed in Denmark and whether it should be a part of a formal national curriculum. Addresses the role of legislation in this process and the major schools of thought in music instruction as a context for understanding the development of this curriculum. (CMK)

Responds to a conference held in March 1996 entitled "Ongoing Inquiry" and designed to present the research methods and results of a five-year study of aesthetic education at the Lincoln Center Institute (New York). Discusses the assessment methods used, the assumptions underlying the assessment project, and the value of aesthetic education…

Conveys that the reliance on information technologies may disenfranchise those students unable to secure access to computers and the knowledge needed to use them. Addresses the issues behind technological segregation and asserts the need to replace the personal computer (PC) with a network computer (NC). Technological segregation affects all…

Utilizes historical research in order to examine current arts education policy; historical research can help policymakers develop more comprehensive perspectives and understand why specific strategies might have failed in the past. Explores reasons behind art education, why art was taught in public schools, and how to implement lasting reforms.…

Suggests that an inclusive definition of art can lead to more meaningful forms of elementary art education. Discusses who does and should teach art while addressing the reasons why elementary teachers are hindered when it comes to teaching the arts. Discusses different approaches and recommendations for improving U.S. art education. (CMK)

Disputes the reform agenda of the 1996 conference of the nation's governors in Palisades, New York that focused on high-quality academics, specifically on standards and assessment as the means for change. Believes that by building human capital and promoting teacher learning, a more significant and worthwhile change will occur in the schools. (CMK)

Addresses the argument that the arts can empower education reform through two means: (1) teaching all children the arts and (2) teaching the arts as central to all learning. Conveys that by concentrating on aesthetic literacy and the nonuniversality of children's artistic development, arts educators will gain support for teaching the arts in…

Examines the music-education program in Israel by addressing tensions that exist when trying to acculturate students into a particular musical culture. Attempts to define what constitutes a child's own musical culture by examining five predominant musical forms in Israel. Proposes an immediate commitment to exploration and experimentation in…

Justifies the need for arts specialists in elementary schools. Utilizes the Dallas (Texas) Independent School District (DISD) to illustrate the problems of lacking an arts specialist and provides different alternatives for arts education. Depicts the different groups that are important to the cause of returning arts specialists to the schools.…

Introduces assumptions about instrumental outcomes in teaching art education. Argues that, through instrumental outcomes, art causes students to think in new ways and knowledge is transferred from the study of art to traditional subjects. Presents research findings and implemented programs that support relationships among art instruction,…

Asserts that arts programs must be strong in themselves in order to survive; arts programs thrive through the collaboration of teachers, administrators, parents, students, and the community. Gives a multitude of steps, from program quality to informing the community, as a way for arts educators and advocates to take a stand. (CMK)

Maintains that arts educators must guide students toward an understanding of artistic excellence that will inspire them to be avid audiences for art. Asserts that more rigorous and substantive standards in the arts curriculum is the first step toward reform. Describes alternatives to public education and the choice of charter schools. (CMK)

Discusses the concept of a policy window for arts education and provides historical background of the different policy windows, positive and negative, that affected arts-education reform movements since the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts. Introduces the three articles in the Symposium on the Policy Role of Education Entities. (CMK)

Describes the Columbus Arts and Education Consortium (Ohio) that is a collection of arts, education, and technology professionals who devised a distance-learning initiative and competed for an Ameritech grant. Presents the results from a survey on the consortium members' experiences. Suggests how corporate foundations might better utilize their…

Highlights the Annenberg Foundation (Annenberg III) initiative for arts-education reform that challenged other New York philanthropic organizations to match their 12 million dollars for the public school systems. Reveals the plans for the Center for Arts Education that is the Annenberg III program hub and criticisms of the program. (CMK)