Arts Education In Public Elementary And Secondary Schools

Student access to arts education and the quality of such instruction in the nation's public schools continue to be of concern to policymakers, educators, and families. Specifically, research has focused on questions such as: To what extent do students receive instruction in the arts? Under what conditions is this instruction provided? What is the profile of arts education instructors? (Ruppert and Nelson 2006). This study is the third of its kind to be conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (nces) in the Institute of Education Sciences (ies), U.S. Department of Education, to provide national data that inform these issues. The first study was conducted in the 1994-95 school year to provide baseline data on public schools' approaches to arts education. The second study was conducted during the 1999-2000 school year to provide broader coverage of arts education issues by collecting the first national data on educational backgrounds, professional development activities, teaching loads, and instructional practices of elementary school teachers--self-contained classroom teachers, music specialists, and visual arts specialists. To update the information from a decade ago, Congress requested that the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement (oii) and nces conduct a new study that would borrow from and build on the previous studies. This study examines many of the issues from the previous studies, including the extent to which students received instruction in the arts; the facilities and resources available for arts education instruction; and the preparation, work environments, and instructional practices of music and visual arts specialists and non-arts classroom teachers. This study also addresses emerging issues such as the availability of curriculum-based arts education activities outside of regular school hours and the presence of school-community partnerships in the arts. In addition, the current study provides broader coverage of arts education instructors by including two new surveys for secondary music and visual arts specialists. Selected indicators on arts education in public elementary and secondary schools are organized into four sections, one for each arts education subject area--music, visual arts, dance, and drama/theatre. Using its Fast Response Survey System (frss), nces conducted the surveys during the 2009-10 school year, with the two school surveys and the collection of sampling lists for the teacher surveys starting in fall 2009. frss is a survey system designed to collect small amounts of issue-oriented data from a nationally representative sample of districts, schools, or teachers with minimal burden on respondents and within a relatively short period of time. The findings in this report have been chosen to demonstrate the range of information available from the frss study rather than to discuss all of the observed differences; they are not meant to emphasize any particular issue. The findings are based on self-reported data from public school principals and teachers. Where relevant, national findings are broken out by the poverty concentration at the school, measured as the percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Appended are: (1) Technical Notes; and (2) Standard Errors for Text Tables and Figures. (Contains 63 tables, 27 figures and 16 footnotes.) [For "Supplemental Tables to the nces Report. Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10 (nces 2012-014)," see ed530716.].

This report, based on findings from The Elementary Arts Education Survey, 1994, looks at information regarding the general questions: (1) What art subjects are being taught in public schools? (2) How do schools and districts support arts education? (3) How have schools' arts programs changed compared to 5 years ago. Survey responses indicate that the primary focus of public school arts education is music and visual arts, with music instruction receiving more commitment than visual arts. Creative writing is typically incorporated into the language arts curriculum. Dance instruction by a dance specialist is rare, and dramatic and theatre activities are most often used by classroom teachers to reinforce instruction in other subjects. Elementary students are receiving about the same amount of instruction time in music and visual arts, although classroom teachers are more likely to teach visual arts than music, which is taught predominantly by music specialists. Very little is being done to promote arts education through external resources. But school districts' commitment to keeping arts education in the mainstream of basic education is evidenced by allocation of funds to arts education; developing and providing curriculum guidelines in arts subjects; and by employing an arts curriculum coordinator. An examination of changes in terms of arts programs as compared to 5 years ago indicates that increases in instructional time, number of arts staff, allocation of supplies and materials, funds for teachers' classroom use, and use of museums, galleries, and performances are reported by 20 to 30 percent of the respondents. Forty-one percent of elementary schools and 62 percent of secondary schools reported increases in enrollment. About half of the schools reported an increase in the number of courses offered, while 39 percent reported that the number of courses had remained the same. Fifteen tables present survey data. The appendices present the following: "Survey Methodology and Data Reliability"; "Tables of Standard Errors"; and examples of survey forms. (MM)

Arts Education for Gifted Learners provides information for teachers and parents interested in supporting an artistically talented child. It reveals the characteristics of artistically talented students, describes program options, and shares an approach for supporting the affective needs of these students. This is one of the books in Prufrock Press' popular Practical Strategies Series in Gifted Education. This series offers a unique collection of tightly focused books that provide a concise, practical introduction to important topics concerning the education of gifted children. The guides offer a perfect beginner's introduction to key information about gifted and talented education.