Changes in education policy--particularly at the federal and state levels--during the current era of ideologically and profit-driven "education reform" threaten balanced education in general and music/arts education in particular. Emerging answers to a number of pivotal questions will determine the future of the arts, arts education, and…

"Sounds of Learning: The Impact of Music Education" is a research program designed to allow researchers to examine the roles of music education in the lives of school-aged children to expand the understanding of music's role in a quality education. The NAMM Foundation, the sponsoring organization, has provided more than $1,000,000 to fund research…

This article explores the process of using lessons learned about high quality, effective arts education programs to help local educational leaders and practitioners create their own policy statements. It raises questions about policy implications from those lessons and connects them to the readers' own experience. It provides an intellectual…

The tendency to construct grand narratives makes participants in education politics unaware of the particularities of marginalized fields such as music education. One prominent reason for this trend is the discrepancy between the values underpinning education politics and the values of higher music education. This article discusses this problem by…

Exploring the complicated issues of assessment in the arts, the authors discuss assessment of arts education and arts programs from a qualitative perspective: experiential, naturalistic, and ethnographic interpretation. With special attention to the practices of teaching, learning, and administration of education in the arts, quality is sought…

Educational quality is a central issue in higher education and music teacher education. In this article, the author discusses problems concerning the development of and research into quality in music teacher education in Western societies' contemporary socio-cultural dynamics. He begins with a presentation of the concept of educational quality,…

Early childhood provision in England is undergoing a period of expansion and change. Policy for English early years education and care is based on principles of serving children in need rather than entitlement for all. The result is a two-tier system of private and state provision. Music has benefited from this increase in interest and investment.…

In this article, the author, aware of the importance of music education from the earliest age, especially in the emotional, expressive, cultural, social, intellectual, and creative needs of all children, analyzes the status of music education for the young child in Puerto Rico. She examines whether and how local education policies impact the…

Students' interests in and access to disciplinary study in the arts have increased dramatically over the past fifteen years. This is due in large part to steady growth in K-12 arts programming during the 1990s, when policymakers came to view arts instruction as part of an effective response to concerns about the quality of America's schools. Arts…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed into law on January 8, 2002, states that its primary purpose is "to close the achievement gap through accountability, research-based instruction, flexibility and options for parents, so that no child is left behind." The goals of NCLB, according to the U.S. Department of Education, include improving the…

Over the past two decades, education in the United States has undergone phenomenal change. Fueled by both internal and external forces, challenges arose to previously held paradigms. Political, economic, social, cultural, and technological concerns all combined to drive the changes. Waves of educational reform precipitated by publication of "A…

Discusses the success of arts-focused schools in performing and visual arts. Offers examples of outstanding schools. Focuses on the importance of having the best administration, the administrative considerations involved in establishing a successful arts-infused school, and finding the best faculty with a diverse focus. (CMK)

Explores three lessons that can be learned about arts education during the twentieth century: (1) the decentralization of education in the United States; (2) developing student competence in performing and creating art; and (3) the importance of quality above quantity. (CMK)

Investigates the development of arts education in Singapore considering the role of multicultural policies and the government. Indicates that the growing interest in the arts, due to increasing economic affluence, and the goal of making Singapore a "Global City for the Arts" spurred the further development of arts education. (CMK)

Asserts that the dialectic between excellence and equity in art education is generally expressed as an "either/or" situation. Argues that curricula and assessments can be designed to challenge artistically talented students and also serve the needs of all students. Concludes that both universal and relative social contexts are important. (MJP)