Six months of observation--at two universities, at a drama festival, and with several independent theatre companies--form the basis for this evaluation of theatre in Kenya, Africa. While Kenyan dramas deal with a variety of themes, the majority are topical rather than universal in their treatment of issues. In many, the emphasis is on the…

In arguing for an interdisciplinary higher education curriculum in the arts (IDC), this paper points out that such collaborative efforts will help students to understand more thoroughly the interrelationships and underlying unity of the arts, to articulate their training more forcefully to the general public, and to engage more actively in…

The 1980s can be a great decade for the fine arts in higher education if students and administrators are offered a well-designed combination of interdisciplinary study and employment opportunities. A statement of goals for the arts should give high priority to maintaining quality, encouraging innovation and flexibility, and using resources…

This paper makes six assertions concerning the artist as experimenter and the means by which artists progress from experiment to experiment. (1) The family resemblances typically cited between the arts and the sciences are trivial, tend to be wish-fulfilling analyses of the common logic of art and science, and promise more than they can deliver.…

Trends in the current job market in the field of dance are identified, and aspects, such as personal qualifications, training requirements, income potential, and employment possibilities, are discussed. Employment opportunities in the professional world, the field of education, and the corporate environment are explored. Career opportunities for…

In theatrical production, skillful design is effective communication. A study of audience response to nine drama settings gives positive evidence that the successful designer creates "signposts and symbols" that communicate instantaneously to the observer. The setting is a message. All of the scenic elements must be unified in a clear and concise…

Findings from a study that examined effective administrators of schools for the visual and performing arts with respect to personality characteristics, leadership style, and administrative context are presented in this paper. Questionnaires mailed to 36 administrators of schools for the visual and performing arts in the United States and Canada…

A statewide survey of 60 college, high school, community, and private performance halls by the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities revealed that most are badly designed and architecturally inflexible. A Council consultant and staffperson personally examined each hall's stage, orchestra pit, dressing rooms, stage-area equipment,…

College theater programs should be evaluated and criticized on criteria that take into account the purposes of the programs and that have realistic bases for judging the effectiveness of instruction. The impact of college theater is based on its diversity as a training laboratory, as a part of a liberal curriculum, as a community theatre, and as a…

This document, part of a series of papers which describe the assessment of student learning in various school curriculum areas from prekindergarten through grade 12, focuses on the assessment of student learning in fine arts education. After an overview of current curriculum goals in fine arts education, subsequent sections describe…

The development and implementation of an evaluation plan for a district's program for the gifted is examined. The school system in question applied for state funding to develop appropriate instrumentation and implement such a plan. Its uniqueness was in its attempt to secure funds for developing an evaluation for a given program. Because the…

This paper expresses the need for the federal government, specifically the U.S. Office of Education, to promote the cause of the arts in education. The Office of Education needs to declare that art is an essential part of the common core of education, particularly at this time, when there is growing skepticism concerning the effectiveness of…

This collection of speeches focuses on arts advocacy from perspectives ranging from arts education to the role of government and business in the arts. The book contains an introduction by Milton Rhodes and includes eight speeches: (1) "To Answer the Hunger Within" (Thomas H. Kean); (2) "It is the Dark We Have to Fear" (Edward Albee); (3) "Making…

Performance in drama, dance, music, puppetry, or combinations of these arts can be an exciting encounter for young children. This case study investigated one 4-year-old's responses to a children's opera. Her responses before, during, and after the performance were systematically observed and analyzed. Data showed that the child had some knowledge…

The evaluation design and findings for nine demonstration school participating in the Indiana Comprehensive Plan for the Arts in Education are reviewed. Each school developed a quality arts education curriculum and shared their approaches with affiliated schools in their networks. The program evaluation design focused on program implementation and…