President Obama recently described America's current economic, societal, educational, and technological circumstances as "our generation's 'Sputnik' moment." If history repeats itself in the twenty-first century, music educators may face a situation similar to that which developed in the 1960s concerning the impact of education reform on music…

The 1957 launch of "Sputnik" and the 1983 publication of "A Nation at Risk" shifted national education policy. Music educators promoted an "intrinsic value" of music philosophy following "Sputnik" and music advocacy through politics and public performances following "A Nation at Risk." Examining the history of both the intrinsic value philosophy…

This article provides an initial look at Race to the Top as it relates to professional development for arts educators. Topics include the philosophy of Race to the Top education reform, data informed professional development, performance pay, and how these changes may affect arts educators.

This content analysis examines how philosophy and advocacy articles published between 2005 and 2010 were influenced by current neuroscience research. The contents of twelve journals were explored, resulting in the inclusion of forty-five articles in this analysis. Recently, there has been a growing interest in neuroscientific research on music.…

Postsecondary dance education is at a crucial juncture in its history in academe. Emerging from women's physical education programs in the 1930s, the profession's realignment with the arts broadly and arts-based education specifically has been characterized by ambitious goals and steady growth through the 1990s. However, a number of critical…

This article examines the policy implications embedded in the questions asked by music educators that frame the historical progress and evolution of music education. Further, this article posits that while these questions have seemingly worked toward solutions to problems, they have systematically preserved the inequalities we intended to…

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…

Aesthetics is the philosophy of art (including poetry and literature), and philosophy can be defined as a way of reflecting and clarifying ordinary, everyday thoughts and feelings that people find hard to put into words. One such ordinary thought is the well-known fact that words have a larger, more expansive meaning in poetry than they do in…

Among art education theorists and writers, university faculty, graduate and some undergraduate students, notions of visual culture are being advocated, played with, and adopted as theoretical frames for preservice and graduate art education programs. In this paper, the author addresses the gap between theory and policy, examines possible responses…

Describes the educational system within the country of Ghana. Focuses on music education. Discusses the visual arts that constitute vocational skills within education. Addresses the need to move toward a systematic philosophy of arts education in Ghana. (CMK)

Characterizes traditional and progressive education focusing on the popularity of the progressive approach and the role of higher-order thinking in progressive teaching methods. Reviews studies on effective teaching methods and compares the practices seen within U.S. classrooms to those seen internationally. Concludes that traditional instruction…

Introduces articles from a symposium about arts education in three Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). Explains that the articles portray the relevant contexts for arts education, including the prevailing movements in arts education over the past century, general contents of the educational system, and the values and traditions…

Focuses on the philosophies and practices of art education in the primary and lower-secondary schools that have occurred since the early twentieth century. Identifies the different policy issues facing art education, such as integration into other subject areas using visual representation, creativity and the aesthetic learning processes, and…

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…