While teaching science in an alternative arts high school, the author continuously addresses the challenge of welcoming creative, right-brained students into the world of systematic inquiry. Busily mixing paint colors, choreographing futuristic dances, performing comedic theater, and practicing the banjo, the students rarely initiate authentic…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, which champions arts education as an integral component of a holistic curriculum and assessment process, encourages schools to make use of resources from the community, including arts and cultural organizations, artists, folklorists, and craftspeople. This broadened approach to education provides…

New trends for visual, musical, and theatrical arts are described in this report, which is arranged into seven brief sections. The first section reports on the trend to integrate the arts into the secondary academic curriculum (a kind of mainstreaming). Specific efforts directed toward mainstreaming at the local, state, and national levels are…

The interplay between government and artists and between politics and culture, especially as it relates to the avant-garde and the public, is the topic of this Inter Nationes forum, held jointly with the Center for Journalistic Studies at the University of Giessen and the Federal Mission of Rhineland-Palatinate. As Dr. Bernhard Vogel, president of…

This report examines a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Ecuador Ministry of Education which used puppet and "campesino" (folk) theater as a creative form for the presentation of numeracy and literacy programs and for introducing social consciousness concepts. It focuses on the use of the puppet theater in…

The forum on partnerships to improve teaching the arts was an outgrowth of earlier gatherings and of research to identify and respond to current challenges to sustain and enhance quality arts teaching. During 1999 the Arts Education Partnership convened a task force which concluded that improved teaching hinges on collaborations among three key…

Provides an in-depth look at the National Standards for Art Education and attempts to correct some of the misconceptions associated with them. Articulates a number of the objections and concerns regarding the standards. Answers each objection with a thoughtful response. (MJP)

Recommends turning some of the more tedious aspects of elementary instrumental rehearsals (particularly playing scales) into games. Describes a number of educational games that can be constructed around these activities, including a "Wheel of Fortune" parody. (MJP)

Surveys the barely developed and chaotic field of theater teacher assessment and finds that a piecemeal, state-by-state approach dominates. Briefly summarizes assessment in 11 states, revealing few guidelines and a variety of practices. Discusses proposed improvements from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. (MJP)

Recommends strategies for building and retaining audience interest in musical concerts. Discusses the design of a concert program and the placement of types of musical pieces. Concludes that student ensembles are directly affected by the way conductors present and rehearse the music. (CFR)

Argues that arts education should be a basic subject in the school curriculum because perception which is a key characteristic of art education is basic to intelligence. Outlines three phases of research concerning spatial ability and theories of perception. Highlights higher education's role in the relationship between arts education and general…

Examines the life and work of a teacher of Japanese traditional dance ("Nihon Buyo") in the United States, K. Fujima. Describes the following: (1) Fujima's educational approach; (2) her students' learning experience; and (3) her contributions to the maintenance of Japanese ideal behavior in the communities in which she teaches. (SLD)

Describes four Norwegian kindergarten/day care programs: (1) Tislegard kindergarten and day care center, using community sculptures as the basis for art activities; (2) Bjerkeallen Barnehage, examining the impact on activities and staff relationships when half the staff are men; (3) Labakken, using nature as a central arena for play; and (4)…

This paper presents excerpts from the author's diary describing the experiences encountered while conducting the Theater Workshop Project, a project designed for enhancing the literacy of homeless mothers and children. The project's objectives and techniques are to: (1) use storytelling in the shelters as an entertaining vehicle to begin to build…

This book, consisting of a series of discussion papers and case studies, is a compilation of the papers presented at a region 1 workshop on participatory research in Africa. Included in the volume are the following discussion papers: "The Concept of Development in the Social Sciences," by Kemal Mustafa and Deborah Bryceson; "The…