It has been asserted that the test-based accountability of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) increased instruction in tested subject areas reading and math, leading to reductions in arts education. We tested this using two waves of data, before and after NCLB implementation, in a difference-in-differences design. The analyses indicated that the total…

The transfer of disability history research to new generation audiences is crucial to allow lessons from the past to impact the future inclusion and equality agenda. As today's children are the policy makers and the legislators of tomorrow, it is important for them to have opportunities to engage with disability life story narratives to understand…

"Music is both a creative and a performing art" (Hallam, 2006, p. 70). Many musicians and music educators maintain that composing and performing, although related, are essentially different aspects of musical activity. In the professional musical sphere, composition and performance are almost invariably separated; academic studies have…

Describes a study which found that, although teachers are required to have studied theater in college to get certification in 32 states, there are no such requirements in the rest of the country. (PRA)

Of 37 13- to 17-year-old students participating in a creative theater class, the ones with more experience scored significantly higher on creativity tests (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and Something About Myself Checklist) than their less experienced counterparts. (CL)

In England the government's specialist schools initiative is transforming the nature of secondary education. A three-year longitudinal case study tracked the effects of specialist performing arts college status on two schools. The sites were a mainstream school drawing pupils from an area of high social deprivation and disadvantage, and a special…

Considers how a researcher-practitioner, recognizing the human aspiration for wholeness, makes sense of the jumbled multiplicity of meanings available in the study of culture, education, and mediating art forms such as creative drama, theater in education, and childrens's theater. Describes field work during an ethnographic study at Pit Prop…

This document consists of tabulations of the responses from teachers and principals in 225 junior and senior high schools in Minnesota to questions related to speech and theater programs. Questions directed to principals asked for information about school size; grade levels served; support for speech and theater courses from students, faculty, and…

Describes Dutch experimental theatre and dance projects in which the artists themselves participated in the preparatory lessons and/or subsequent workshop. Compares learning experiences of pupils 14 to 16 years of age who participated in the projects. Shows that besides gender and level of education, the involvement of the artist significantly…

In order to develop a guide for teaching a course on playwriting, a study reviewed related literature and conducted a survey of information and opinions from practicing playwrights. Members of the Playwrights' Union of Canada, 145 playwrights, completed a survey of ten open-ended questions describing the processes of the playwright's art,…

Investigates specific rehearsal behaviors exhibited by band directors in rehearsal settings with particular emphasis on the amount of time directors engaged in conceptual teaching behaviors. Shows that, on average, directors spent less than 3% of observed teaching time engaged in conceptual teaching behavior. Discusses implications for band…

This study compared the areas of talent and career aspirations of boys and girls in Year 7 (n=398) and Year 11 (n=240) samples in a middle class metropolitan area in Australia. Students nominated the high school subject in which they saw themselves as being most talented, and current perceptions of talent in relation to each of their high school…

Testing and observation of 25 highly creative, intellectually gifted students and nearly 100 highly creative, non-intellectually gifted students participating in secondary and undergraduate theater arts programs revealed similarities and differences between the two groups in terms of acting technique, rehearsal technique, relationship to play…

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,…

Examines how student roles in the educational system have changed in accordance with social and educational changes and explores how students are constantly required to learn new behavior patterns in response to new forms of curriculum and instruction. Presents a case study of an attempt to implement a new form of instruction in a theatre arts…