While policy formation frameworks are commonly used to understand public policy developments, scholars rarely have used them to reflect on arts education policies. Such analysis is important because it can assist both in identifying the genesis of past policies, including who the important actors are, how issues are framed and problematized, and…

The National Standards for the Arts are part of Goals 2000. The public must be made aware of why national visual arts standards are needed and how they relate to state art education frameworks, district curriculum guides, and lesson/unit plans. The goal of all arts education is to develop basic literacy in visual arts, music, theater, and dance.…

Comments on remarks by A. Graham Down, president of the Council for Basic Education, about integrating arts education into the curriculum. Concludes that, when the arts are channeled into the mainstream and made part and parcel of everything, arts education becomes dangerously confused. (CFR)

Asserts that it is important to avoid bandwagon superficialities related to the interdisciplinary approach to arts education in the K-12 curriculum. Concludes that the overarching issue related to the National Standards implementation is how to keep content and process in a productive relationship. (CFR)

Asserts that the new voluntary arts national standards present educators with a important opportunity to improve music and arts education in K-12 schools. Outlines the role of the national standards movement. Discusses the interrelationships among the standards and the undergraduate curriculum, teacher certification, and advanced placement. (CFR)

Asserts that the current focus on voluntary national standards has catapulted arts education into a new prominence. Discusses the background and tactics of current educational reform efforts. Concludes that, without empirical research and assessment, the proposed curricular standards will remain an educational fad. (CFR)

Traces the origins and development of the National Standards for Arts Education. Discusses the long-term effects the national standards might have on preservice and inservice teacher education. Questions whether national standards might lead to a standardization in arts education that would hamper teacher and student creativity. (CFR)

Asserts that, from a school administration point of view, empowerment through faculty cooperation and participation in work-related issues is quite different from actual control of the workplace. Discusses issues related to power, control, and authority in education, particularly in arts education. (CFR)