An evaluation of the Aesthetic Education Curriculum Program, a curriculum reform effort to establish aesthetic education in the public schools, showed that for a curriculum reform effort to succeed, the necessary curriculum change either has to be mandated by some educational authority or established through the teacher training process.…

A unit of study, designed for a general humanities course at the community college level, illustrates the relevance of aesthetics, art history, and art criticism to art education. The unit is predicated on the belief that the visual arts possess potential for contributing to humanistic education. (Author/RM)

The central policy issue in the elitist-populist controversy is what works of art are to be included in curricula. Elitists defend the choice of exemplary pieces of art as instructional materials; populists find this advocacy of exemplars restrictive. How the choice of aesthetic exemplars constitutes a curriculum issue is discussed. (RM)

Educators must realize that identity should not be sought in culture and that people have to be weaned away from their cultures toward what is truly valuable in a transcendental, culture-free way. Instead of feeling narcissistic about culture, people should become involved with art, which also should be culture-free. (RM)

This topic pack, revised for 2000-2001, is designed to provide timely information on arts education. The topic pack includes the following: full-text articles from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's (ASCD) publications which have been carefully chosen and may include articles from "Educational Leadership" magazine,…

This Colorado state visual arts content standards guide is based on the idea that visual arts education benefits the student because it cultivates the whole person, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication. Students develop an…

Most art programs at the secondary level and beyond hope to produce students who can make discriminating aesthetic judgments about many kinds of visual art forms. This paper describes how students judge the art they encounter and suggests how art teachers might improve the quality of their students' responses. (Author/IS)

This article explores the factors which account for the weaknesses of the visual arts in the social studies curriculum. Of necessity, it therefore examines social studies teachers and their training. Finally, it suggests what can be done to make aesthetic expression an integral part of instruction in social studies. (Author/SJL)

The author demonstrates how schools reflect our cultural tradition by giving low status to forms of consciousness and intelligence related to the arts. He discusses forms of representation and modes of conceptualization, arguing for the adoption of a broader view of cognition, that values the full range of student aptitudes. (SJL)

The Attitude toward Arts Education Scale (ATAES) was developed to assess attitude change in elementary school teachers resulting from a K-6 arts education program. This paper describes the instrument's construction and its reliability and validity properties. A copy of the ATAES is appended. (Author/SJL)

Results of this study indicate that students' attitudes toward styles of painting studied were influenced in a positive direction through use of an experimental curriculum. (RW)

This reprint of a 1938 article presents a plea for art education by American artist Grant Wood. Wood says that all children need the opportunity to express themselves in drawing and painting in order to be happy. He explains the importance of teaching expression through art rather than teaching art techniques. (SM)

Focuses on the questionnaire results and class discussion with Acadia High School (Scottsdale, Arizona) students, aged 16 to 19 years old, exploring the aesthetic values present at shopping malls. Explains that students were also invited to meet in the mall to locate and photograph examples. (CMK)

Describes the cross-cultural Harvard Project Zero that was designed to identify major issues in Chinese arts education and to clarify differences between the aesthetic and educational systems of the United States and China. Discusses the exchange of education specialists, the interviewing of artists, and the examination of philosophy. (KO)

Describes Chinese art education from the viewpoint of an exchange expert in a cross-cultural study. Provides insights into the context in which art is produced in China. Contrasts the Chinese emphasis upon teaching by imitation with the Western emphasis upon concepts and guidance. (KO)