The current preoccupation with testing and curtailments of arts programs add up to educational and cultural deprivation for today's students. In our haste and intensity to achieve, dominate, and acquire, we should not undervalue the spiritual, mental, and emotional amenities provided by the fine arts, which comprise the languages of civilization.…

Discusses the importance of aesthetic education in middle schools. Imagines a school as an aesthetic environment. Describes how several content area teachers have enhanced the learning of traditional content through aesthetic projects and activities. Notes students' enthusiastic response. Outlines a five-step approach to incorporate aesthetics…

Presents responses to the policy recommendations issued by the National Endowment for the Arts in "Toward Civilization: A Report on Arts Education." Samuel Hope places this report in an historical context, Kevin Mulcahy points out the dangers of viewing art education as a pedagogical frill, and James Hutchens addresses issues of…

Many opportunities for linkages between the arts and adult education communities are examined. Discusses the emergence of the Canadian Association for Adult Education, adult educators' interest in the Canadian National Film Board, and the trend toward increased arts involvement. (CT)

Discusses the reasons for the development and inclusion of multiple art criticism formats in the curriculum. Points out the ways in which a variety of world views approach can heighten the appreciation of art. Suggests that a multi-cultural approach will enrich the lives of all students in a pluralistic society. (KO)

In light of the fact that young Americans spend hundreds of dollars each year on the arts yet have little training in developing critical skills, this writer outlines what must be done in school arts programs to educate culture consumers. (Author/JM)

The essential task of sharpening students' sensitivities may be facilitated by the curriculum, instructional program, and personnel of the school. Aesthetic education is basic because it is founded on the creative integration of sensing, feeling, intuiting, and thinking. The arts curriculum may be used to sharpen students' awareness and…

There is no natural or genetically determined talent for aesthetic appreciation, but at most a widely distributed capacity that, fortified by interest, can be developed. The aesthetic experience should be cultivated but for its own sake. (RM)

Asserts that the idea that intimate knowledge of the arts is crucial to the workings of a healthy society is catching on. Provides a history of American attitudes toward the arts. Summarizes ideas presented in reports by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Missouri Arts Council. (PRA)

This article is adapted from "The Handbook of Research and Policy in Art Education," Elliot Eisner and Michael Day (Eds.) [c] Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, Mahwah, NJ 2004. The author contends that two fundamental premises drive arts education advocacy as it is currently coined and circulated. The first premise is that all arts programming is…

Describes the American public's growing interest in art after World War II. Discusses the problematic history of arts in the public school curricula, in which arts programs are seen as a last priority in school reform and are the first to be eliminated in school districts facing financial retrenchment. (SR)

Provides 32 essays on the importance of aesthetic education. Topics range from the role of private institutions in art education, to the nature of art criticism and to rationales for art education in the public schools. (JDH)

Integration and cooperation between museum education and higher education programs of fine arts are advocated to develop visual skills among students and provide a fuller education. (JMF)

Discusses the utilitarian goals of education and examines how cultural literacy can contribute to a discourse on art education. Makes observations about utilitarian versus intrinsic education. Maintains that the concept of cultural literacy can help art educators make decisions regarding the common core of art education. (KM)

This paper presents a rationale for including aesthetic education in the traditional elementary and secondary curriculum. By teaching students to perceive images as artists do and to make images as artists do, aesthetic education fosters imaginative perception and sensitivity to a broad range of feelings. Four factors contribute to the need for…