Phenomenology has been defined as "an approach to philosophy centering on analysis of the phenomena that flood (human) awareness" (Jorgenson, 1992), including the essences, meanings, and essentially necessary relations of these phenomena. In the last fifty years, an increasing number of writers have begun to examine the music-listening experience…

During the past twenty years, the accountability movement and its attendant testing have raised fears in the arts education community that schools will feel pressure to divert instructional time and resources toward tested areas of the curriculum, such as reading and math (Eisner 2000). This paper presents the results of studies on the impact of…

The authors of this article contend that most doctoral students in the arts do not fully appreciate the meaning of their PhD, and that the current system of graduate education perpetuates this phenomenon, with each generation of professors passing down their understanding of the doctorate to succeeding generations. The authors argue that what is…

Defining "curriculum" is difficult, because, as a multidimensional term, it has been given a variety of definitions throughout the years. Although the curriculum field has deepened and diversified impressively during the past decades, it still seems unlikely that any definition will ever fully capture all the meanings, characteristics, and…

Teachers are constantly under pressure to produce results in the form of student achievement. The combinations of characteristics and methods that teachers use to achieve those results may seem endless. Still, there are behaviors and techniques that constantly emerge in any evaluation of a master teacher. In this article, the author presents an…

How do those concerned about arts teaching in schools confront the fact that the arts disciplines are often designated as basics, but often not treated like "real" basics? The following questions may be useful in seeking a way forward regionally, nationally, and especially locally: (1) What do we do about these two facts: (a) many proposals…

At present, there appear to be only two prerequisites for entry into a music teacher education program at most institutions: a minimum academic grade point average and sufficient musical competence to be admitted to the school of music. These seem overly minimal, and serious suggestions have been made regarding additional essential requirements.…

In 2001, the U.S. government allocated $4.5 billion to after-school programs through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) grant directed at high-poverty, low-performing schools. Since 2003, 6,800 rural and urban public schools have been served around the country, at county, city, and district levels as well as some organizations…

In the popular media, American cultural, educational, and political life is portrayed as ideologically split down the middle. The split is often framed in terms of opposites by using the ideas and labels addressed by the author in this paper--traditional versus nontraditional, experiment versus the status quo, diversity versus homogeneity, change…

Teacher education in music has its strength in knowledge and skills but is lacking an emphasis on the general purpose of schooling, more attention to the student, greater flexibility in the requirements in music, a focus on scholarship in and out of music, and access to the remainder of the curriculum. In short, the research data in education do…

Approaches toward teaching art in schools and methods of teaching art vary according to the teachers' perceptions of the major goals. As the Israeli school curriculum does not set clear guidelines for art teaching, the teachers themselves are free to formulate their aims, curricula, and teaching methods. The purpose of this study was to…

The purpose of this article is to begin to articulate a model for collaborative arts integration curricula that honor the value of creative and critical thinking in the arts. It presents both challenges and possibilities in collaborations between arts and nonarts organizations and teachers by examining two collaborative programs: (1) A Theater…

This article explores the needs, methods, and benefits of reconceptualizing art education teacher preparation from the enterprise of the university alone to a more collaborative model involving the university, primary and secondary public schools, and local and global communities. The goal of such a shift is to develop opportunities for preservice…

In 2004, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released evidence that points to arts and music teachers possibly being greatest at risk for leaving their current teaching positions. In classifying teachers as stayers, movers, or leavers, the NCES found arts and music teachers to be the highest of all assignment areas of teachers who…

In this era of accountability, policymakers view professional development as the key to increasing teacher quality and correspondingly improving student learning. A recent survey of state requirements for teachers reports that thirty-nine states fund professional development programs, forty states have published specific professional development…