This article examines assessment of "intangible" concepts in dance education such as creativity, risk, originality, or artistic thinking. Through the development of assessment workshops for arts educators, conducted from 2009 through 2011 across the state of Illinois and supported by the Illinois Arts Council, the authors developed a…

This paper examines two improvisational processes, Authentic Movement (AM) and automatic drawing (AD), the possibility of their presentation to the viewer and the meanings such presentation may bring to the work presented. Improvisation has traditionally been used in the process of creating a finished work of art rather than in the finished art…

Rhode Island has recently mandated a new kind of arts requirement for high school graduation that involves proving proficiency in one of four art forms: music, visual art, theater, or dance. How the state came to mandate this law, how proficiency is currently defined and assessed in dance, and what effects the cuts in arts education funding will…

This article explores the contrasting arguments for the place of the arts in education made by the two distinguished arts educators--the American Elliot Eisner and British dance and physical education theorist Graham McFee. Both scholars begin with the premise that the arts should be central to a liberal education and then diverge. McFee argues,…

In this essay, the author notes a danger concerning the general approach to teaching about the arts through improper use of the concepts "aesthetic" and "artistic." Observing that both concepts are often used interchangeably, with "aesthetic" being seen as the more generic term, the author argues that these concepts are separate and should be…

Using data from the 1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA92), research focused on the question: "Does arts education make arts participation more accessible to Americans?" The effects of both school-based arts education and community-based arts education were considered and compared. Art forms considered in this…

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1997 Arts Assessment, which assessed eighth-grade students only, indicate that public and private schools in the United States are far more likely to offer extensive instruction in music and the visual arts than in either dance or theater. Includes 1 table and web addresses for…

This booklet provides a framework for developing K-12 arts curriculum in dance, music, theater arts, and visual arts. The frameworks consist of goals in each of these subjects and are developed for K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade levels along with suggested objectives. Significant differences in this updated version include: (1) a strong emphasis on…

This booklet is a revision of the original publication and provides a framework for developing art curriculum for K-12 programs in dance, music, theater arts, and visual arts. The frameworks consist of goals and objectives in each of these arts and are developed for K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade levels. Features in this version include: (1) a…