Constructivist thought and practice connect easily with forms of art education that emphasize choice and student agency. This article traces the contemporary forms of constructivism that vie with more structured pedagogical approaches in American schools and recommends policies and procedures that may preserve the qualities of constructivist…

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…

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…

When the members of Arts Education Partnership (AEP) first started thinking of how they might disseminate information about the AEP Winter Forum in New Orleans, they knew they wanted to shake up the format of a traditional Forum report. At this stage in the evolution of the Partnership, and of the arts education field as a whole, they felt they…

In June 2007, the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) convened the directors of eight collaborative entities to discuss promising practices for integrating the arts into the lives and curricula of urban public schools as a means of fostering system-wide educational improvement. The seven school-community collaboratives and one higher education…

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…

In June 2004, three out of four public schools in Florida failed to meet a new federal standard for school improvement, including one arts school that had earned "A" ratings on statewide tests for 4 consecutive years (Shanklin, 2004). Why are so many schools failing, including "A" schools? In this article, the author explains…

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 author looks back at the way she learned about art as a fourth grader in the 1930s and compares it to the sophisticated art programs of today. She concludes that she may have learned as much about art from just casual observation as art students do today. (RM)

Suggestions for reforming K-12 art education are made. The arts must be seen as basic, not as extracurricular activities. Arts in the general education curriculum should teach content, concepts, and critical appreciation skills. An interdisciplinary approach to the arts should be used. (RM)

An art class for future elementary teachers was asked to select art activities for classroom demonstration. Eighty percent selected how-to-do-it, single shot, fun-therapy, manipulations with short-term success orientations. This emphasis on the superficial and frivolous aspects of art shows the need for reexamining elementary art education…

A review of reports, a survey, and national assessments of art education shows that visual art students are not learning art knowledge and skills because art teachers do not teach art appreciation, art history, or design and drawing skills. Priorities concerning art education content and teaching methods must be changed. (RM)

The College Board's report "Academic Preparation for College" (APC) claims that study and performance in the arts are essential for success in college. Discussed are the APC report and its development, the APC arts statement and its evolution, and problems and prospects for implementation of the arts competencies. (RM)

Identifying an appropriate mission for art education within the context of the new school curriculum proposed by recent national reports is discusssed. Implications for art teacher education are drawn, and a model teacher preparation program overview is presented. (Author/RM)

Past educational reform movements have failed because they relied on money, research, and novel ideas, and because reforms were imposed on schools and not generated from within. Reform that comes through improved teacher preparation is the kind most likely to succeed. How teacher education in art should be changed is suggested. (RM)