Secondary Research

Overall, research shows that arts education is aligned with 21st Century Learning Outcomes. These outcomes include: an integrated approach to learning/teaching; innovative skills building; creativity and critical thinking skills; and collaboration.

It’s important to note that the research only shows correlations between arts education and academic achievement. It does not show causation.

Quality of arts education

Quality of arts education can best be understood by dissecting the experience into four components, each with key indicators for quality:

• Student Learning: what students are actually doing in the classroom, the kinds of projects and tasks they’re involved in, the focus and character of their engagement, the attitudes and mindsets they bring to the learning experience.
  • Engagement
  • Purposeful experiences creating or engaging with works of art
  • Emotional openness and honesty
  • Experimentation, exploration, and inquiry
  • Ownership
• Pedagogy: how teachers conceive of and practice their craft, how they conceptualize their role in the classroom, and how they design and implement instruction.
  • Authenticity
  • Modeling artistic processes, inquiry, and habits
  • Participation in the learning experience
  • Making learning relevant and connected to prior knowledge
  • Intentionality, flexibility, and transparency
• Community Dynamics: the social dimension of the relationships in the classroom or other arts learning setting, relationships among the students themselves, between students and teachers, and among the teachers and other adults who interact with students in the classroom.
  • Respect and trust among all participants, along with a belief in student capacities
  • Open communication
  • Collaboration
• Environment: the tangible and concrete elements, including the physical space of the classroom, the material resources available, as well as the time students receive (hours and years) to engage in arts learning.
  • Functional and aesthetic space and materials
  • The arts occupy a central place in the physical environment
  • Sufficient time for authentic artistic work

Quantity of Arts Education

Stats for Sacramento:

• 138 schools
• 111,498 enrolled
• 38,238 arts enrollment
• 34% arts
• 818 arts teachers, 139.3 (student/teacher ratio)

The Gold Standard

According to the California VAPA Framework, a balanced, comprehensive arts program is “one in which the arts are studied as discrete disciplines related to each other and, when appropriate, to other subject areas in the curriculum.” A comprehensive arts program has key elements that allow students to develop competencies in the art disciplines while also maintaining high standards for success. To master the standards of an arts discipline, the framework states that comprehensive arts programs should be built around 5 strands:

• Artistic perception. Students use language and the skills unique to visual arts, theater, dance and music to analyze and respond to sensory information.

• Creative expression. This deals with the application of the skills learned in the arts disciplines. Students create and/or perform their own work. They also communicate the intent of meaning of their work.

• Historical and cultural context. In learning an art discipline, the students work towards understanding the historical and cultural contributions within the discipline.

• Aesthetic valuing. Students learn to critically assess and derive meaning. This includes their own and from original works within the discipline. In this way, they learn to critique works of dance, music, theatre and the visual arts.

• Connections, relationships, and applications. Making connections of one art discipline to other arts is vital to a comprehensive arts program. By making these connections, students “develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and time management that contribute to lifelong learning, including career skills.”

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/vpaframewrk.pdf

Arts Education vs. Art Exposure

Ultimately, one is a by-product of the other. Countless research studies and documentation not only suggest but prove that learning outcomes dramatically increase with exposure to the arts. The phenomenon should be viewed holistically rather than dissected. It’s not either or: arts education or arts exposure. For maximum impact, they walk in hand in hand. However, for the purposes of this project, we must acknowledge the difference between the two so that we may focus on the core purpose, benefits, value, and importance of consistent arts education programs for K-8 grade students.

ARTS EDUCATION

Overview

• Arts education solves problems. Years of research show that it’s closely linked to academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity.

Americans for the Arts

• Research shows impressive benefits of arts education on entire school culture especially student motivation, attitudes, and attendance. Numerous reports discuss the ways that increased access and involvement in arts education encourage students to stay in school, succeed in school, succeed in life, and succeed in work.

Edutopia

• Involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill.

Daily Signal

• In response to Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, which included funding for more than 100k STEM teachers over the next decade, academic leaders agreed that “A” for “arts and humanities” should be added to create STEAM education. Arts and humanities are just as an important dimension of educating students as are science, technology, engineering, and math.

ARTS EXPOSURE

Overview

• Exposure equals Access. Culturally enriching experiences, like the arts, not only produce educational benefits, but promote major gains in children’s confidence, persistence, collaboration, motivation, tolerance, empathy, and a greater sense of community.

The Daily Signal

• Once the great equalizer in terms of access to arts and culture in public schools, cultural field trips were viewed as central to a school’s educational mission. With continued budget cuts and lack of funding, less-advantaged students are less likely to have these experiences, while more advantaged families expose their children to cultural institutions and experiences outside of school hours. When give access to art exposure, students from rural or high-poverty areas often have reported higher levels of historical recall, desire, and interest.

Edutopia

• From Mozart for babies, to tutus for toddlers, to family trips to the museum, children of affluent, aspiring parents generally get exposed to the arts whether or not public schools provide them. Low-income children, often, do not. Strong arts programming in schools helps close a gap that has left many a child behind. Access equals a more level playing field with children who have enrichment experiences and opportunities.

Huffington Post

• Arts exposure or access at a very young age fosters creativity, encourages tolerance of diverse populations, and promotes use of creative outlets for expressing emotions.

Arts Education Throughout California and other Cities

“The strongest single factor in determining whether a school district provides arts education is the community’s insistence, support, and participation in making it happen. So everyone who has a stake in our children’s success should see arts education as their cause.”

- Hillary Rodham Clinton

The guiding principle for major school districts like Los Angeles and San Francisco, is that all students deserve both access to and equity in arts education.

While different in structure and execution, the success model for both districts is rooted in the alignment of and support from the cities, school districts, and communities. Leveraging all three components is vital to ensure sustainability and delivery of the arts education programs.

Los Angeles Unified School District (USD)

In 2012, the nation’s largest school district, the Los Angeles USD, made arts instruction a core subject, designating it as important as subjects like math and English. The dedicated Arts Education Branch ensures all K-12 students are exposed to the arts—during the school day. In addition to city funding, resources are supplemented by community partnerships, fundraising, and local volunteer artists.

An Arts Equity Index (AEI) is used to ensure that under-served students and schools receive an increased level of arts support and services. To measure effectiveness and accountability, the AEI is broken down into six levels:

1. Non-Existent
2. Basic
3. Emerging
4. Developing
5. Strong
6. Excelling

A school’s AEI level is determined through a short electronic survey completed by a principal (or designee) that assesses where and how arts resources and supplies are being used in a school. ​Upon implementation, the AEI goal level for all Los Angeles schools was 4 (Developing) or higher. ​Each school year, steps were taken to provide more equity of arts resource allocation based on the assigned level, and to ensure that all students had appropriate arts access and instruction.

When schools failed to meet the Level 4 or higher AEI level, alternative support was extended, including:

• Additional arts teachers
• Additional supplies, materials, and equipment
• Externally secured funding and in-kind support
• Strategic community arts partner usage
• Expanded instructional time options (0 & 7 period classes)

San Francisco USD

San Francisco USD introduced the Arts Education Master Plan (AEMP) as the blueprint for integrating the arts into each student’s daily curriculum. The Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) office administers and is part of San Francisco USD’s Curriculum and Instruction Division (C&I) office that oversees teaching and learning, along with the other academic subjects.

From day one of pre-school through senior year of high school, students are exposed to arts education in the classroom, including visual arts, dance, drama/theatre, music, and literary arts. An Arts Coordinator is assigned to each school, and partners with the principals to ensure the implementation of the AEMP.

In addition to the alignment and support of the city and school district, strong partnerships are formed with arts education organizations, community partners, and cultural institutions.