The field of education in the United States is in a period of unprecedented change. Educators in all disciplines are challenged to understand and respond to the waves of reform sweeping over the national education landscape. Linking these reforms to meaningful outcomes that will produce more rigorous and effective measures of quality and…

The work of renewing curriculum in music education faces the inertia of current curricular practices and an education reform climate that is unfavorable toward such work. This article suggests that the development of music teacher agency is central to combating these challenges, and that the development of such agency relies on today's…

The rhetoric of the creative economy agenda has influenced the revised Ontario curriculum in the arts for grades 9-12. Yet, increasing rhetorical and substantive support for a creative economy agenda in Ontario at large is not sufficiently reflected in the revised Ontario arts curriculum. The expanded agenda is not matched by expanded substantive…

An immediate critical task of the arts education field is to resolve the polarities of low-quality integrative and overly marginalized discipline-specific approaches to teaching in schools. In pursuing this challenge, the author defines three teaching approaches--arts as craftsmanship, arts as play, and arts as inquiry--and calls for re-weighted…

This longitudinal study (2001-09) of two Hong Kong secondary schools highlights six issues with an integrated arts curriculum: first, integration of knowledge and skills negatively precedes the integration of learners' construction of meaning; second, integration is perceived as challenging the profession's status; third, teachers are unaccustomed…

In light of the tendency to present the arts in an integrated fashion in many education systems worldwide, this article examines the consequences of integration for discrete art forms. In particular, we investigate the advantages of adopting a syntegrated approach to the facilitation of arts in teacher preparation. A specific comparison between…

From bipartisan origins and a laudable intent, the No Child Left Behind (Act) of 2001 has profoundly altered the condition of art education. A historical vantage point and review of literature reveals the current status of pending arts language revisions to the NCLB Act, as well as a pressing need to examine the key recommendations and to consider…

This article addresses accountability issues that affect music education policy and implementation in the neoliberal education system. Using examples from education reform in Ontario, Canada, the author argues that two forms of accountability imbalances fostered by the neoliberal state--hierarchical answerability over communicative reason and…

Arts Education is, technically, core to the school curriculum according to federal mandates and certain state mandates. However, it is rarely made accessible to all students despite earnest advocating on the part of dedicated organizations and individuals. In order for a democratic society to function successfully, its members must be invested and…

This article proposes a way to expand the study of arts education within new contexts of technology and globalization. Drawing upon theories that have informed arts and aesthetic education in the past, the authors suggest new applications for these ideas to ensure that arts education sustains its significance in twenty-first-century society. The…

Early childhood music education in Israel is important for policymakers and practitioners. Various programs, official and nonofficial, coexist in chaotic and unrelated ways. Recently, the Ministry of Education published a music curriculum for children ages three to six, which dictates the musical repertoire-mainly Western art music and Hebrew…

Past successes in music education and teacher preparation must not cause us to ignore the nature and potential of present policy influences and strategic challenges. For a successful future, we must fervently protect certain ideas and conditions often obscured by illusions about present circumstances, possibilities, and powers. Illusions in areas…

The historical development of early childhood music education (ECE) in Kenya reveals the challenging circumstances under which it has, and continues, to progress. Poverty remains the most formidable hindrance to the success of this area of education. Multiculturalism, the mosaic that defines Kenya's rich heritage, also demands ingenuity from…

The curricula for preparing music specialists has remained largely unchanged for decades. In this time, most professions have moved toward preparing specialists while the music education profession has moved toward preparing generalists. The author examines how this is unrealistic and out of touch with the times and the future. Furthermore, the…

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…