This book is the first comprehensive account of developments in open and distance non-formal education in developing countries for over more than 20 years. It includes many instructive and inspiring examples of how international agencies such as UNESCO, FAO, WHO, UNICEF, USAID and the Commonwealth of Learning and national providers are using…

Reading Improvement Through Art (RITA) program is an interdisciplinary approach to literacy that blends visual art with reading comprehension, evaluated in nine New York City urban high schools. 240 problem readers participating in the pilot program were pre- and post-tested in the Fall 1975 and Spring 1976 semesters. The testing showed the 9th…

Background/Context: For over two decades, the boundaries between the social sciences and the humanities have become blurred, and numerous articles and books have been written about the infusion of the arts in qualitative research as a means to collect and analyze data and to represent findings. Yet these arts-based research processes, although…

This paper focuses on two questions: (1) Can visual arts be an effective way for students to express what they have learned in social studies?; and (2) Can creative activity improve motivation, participation, attitude, and enhance learning in social studies? The sample for study was drawn from 75 fifth-graders in 3 classes in a school located in a…

While the capacity to recognize and appreciate beauty may be inborn in all of us, participation in the arts as an audience or artist usually involves a learning process. What is the relationship between childhood and early adult experiences with the arts and later participation? In 1982, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the…

A practicum program using art activities to help eight Hispanic immigrant kindergarten children learn English was developed and implemented over a period of 10 weeks. Rather than relying on one learning mode, program designers used activities to stimulate visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile senses in order to teach color, relative length,…

Until recently, little scholarly attention has been paid to the art found in children's books. This study describes a project with a fifth grade class in an effort to increase their ability to critique book illustrations. Ten slides from picture books were shown to one experimental and one control group. Students were asked to critique the…

Discusses ways in which block building represents the young child's art world, the use of blocks as an art medium, and art concepts that can be developed with the use of blocks. Suggests a methodology of block building that is designed to enhance artistic ability. (RJC)

Reviews past studies of children's drawings and their relationship to academic ability. Discusses the use of Clark's Drawing Abilities Test with gifted and talented secondary students. Finds that the test can be used successfully to identify various ability levels among students. (CFR)

Proceedings from the Sunbird Seminar for artists, art historians, and art educators from the California State University campuses are documented in this volume. The presentations included discussions about the national context for art education and teacher credentialing in California, the Snowbird projects sponsored by the Getty Center for…

Music is everywhere. People listen to compact discs while relaxing at home, MP3s while jogging in the park, live music concerts in their free time, and internet radio on the computer. What are people listening to? Who is doing the listening? How have listening patterns changed over time? This report aims to answer those questions by using data…

Tracks the art education field's development of a national plan to promote growth and awareness. Political attacks and budget cuts in the last decade have created an unprecedented movement built on cooperation and collaboration between local and national educators. (MJP)

Discusses the changes in art education within the last 30 years and considers their effect on assessment. Briefly touches on theorists and their contributions to the field, including Elliot Eisner, Robert Stake, and Leonard Meyer. Includes a summarized list of art education guidelines. (MJP)

This paper examines art, a discipline that bears striking parallels, and differences, in the way it is practiced and valued in the United States and Japan. In Japan, art is a valued part of the elementary curriculum warranting as much time as science and social studies. In the United States, art is generally thought of as something extra to do if…

This document is the secondary level visual arts component of the North Dakota Arts Curriculum Project. After a presentation of the philosophy, goals, and objectives for the visual arts program, the guide is organized into four sections. The first section, "Visual Arts Program Components," presents an overview of educational…