As the common core state standards become reality, teachers have reason for concern. In this article the author outlines the roots of what has been called the corporate reform in education and its effects on the arts, poverty, and disabilities. The financial contributions of the Gates and Broad foundations led to the corporatization and nationwide…

Visual arts teachers engage in complex work on a daily basis. This work is informed by practical knowledge that is rarely examined or drawn on in research or in the development of policy. Focusing on the work of secondary visual arts teachers, this article reports on a research program conducted in a regional area of New South Wales, Australia.…

This article explores the views of children's poet Michael Rosen in relation to poetry in education. It is based on an interview in which Rosen not only discusses the significance of encouraging young people to engage with poetry at school but also analyzes a number of threats to poetry's place in the English curriculum. This article…

This article looks at how arts integration can boost the language development of limited English proficient students in kindergarten through second grade. I first review existing research on how young children learn and describe the special challenges faced by children who must learn in an unfamiliar language. I then identify arts-based mechanisms…

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 article aims to examine the kinds of teaching practices that correspond to the various educational roles ascribed to the arts within school curricula. Three teaching approaches are analyzed: (1) "teaching the arts", in which the arts are treated as distinct cognitive teaching subjects; (2) "teaching through the arts", in which the arts are…

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…

This article examines constructivist philosophies for learning with an emphasis on student-centered environments in education and the active involvement of students in learning as they relate new understanding to what they already know and refine previous skills in terms of newly acquired proficiencies. Active learning is explored from a…

This article investigates generalist kindergarten teachers' academic music training based on data collected from students undertaking an undergraduate degree in preschool (kindergarten) education (students aged 4-6 years) in Greece. The study was carried out through a questionnaire survey that addressed students' aspirations when entering the…

Individual creativity is ubiquitous. New technologies both enable and urge fresh approaches to creativity in the context of education. University-level education offers a natural place to adjust pedagogical structures in favor of a more individual approach to learning that organizes the intellectual community into new patters of interaction and…

In the light of a decision taken in April 2009 that the arts will be included in a projected national curriculum it seems relevant to examine "First We See: The National Review of Visual Education," which was completed in August 2008. That Review recommends the development of a visual education curriculum for the compulsory years of schooling.…

In this article, the author explores the possibilities of teaching and learning through multiple-literacies in an arts environment. Acknowledging that technologies have a profound effect on our society, and often outpace our ability to properly assess or understand their implications, the author asserts that young people can become critical and…

Arts organizations that partner with schools to design, implement, and evaluate arts education programs are rethinking traditional practices of evaluation to more directly engage school partners, artists, and administrators. External arts partners are also being held accountable for learning outcomes that result from their programs. In this…

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.…

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…