Art+in+Education,+Fall+2011

EDC 102 Template Page

‍I. Description of Problem or Issue


Education in the Arts is frequently the first item pared from a school's budget when funding is insufficient. "Arts is a luxury." "We need to focus on practical skills." 'Art is only for talented kids and they will get it outside school." "Once the students all meet standards in reading and math, we can worry about Art." These are common attitudes which reflect a failure to appreciate the benefits of Art Education. Our group will look at the funding problem facing schools today and address the ways Art Education benefits students. We will focus on the way Art Education provides skills and experiences useful to adult citizens, how art-related jobs are an increasingly large part of the US economy, and how adding Art Education to a school curriculum raises performance in non-art classes.

‍II. Research Summary
James' research showed: Children that are provided an art education at a young age not only show major academic benefits for the future, but social benefits as well. Social benefits include self-expression and individualism as well as a developed imagination and creative skills. Academic benefits include having a range of intelligence and a variety of learning styles. Stronger problem solving skills and critical thinking skills have also been proven to be benefits according to //American For Arts, 2002.// Articulating a vision, developing an informed perception, and learning to solve problems and make decisions are all aspects of education that are being forgotten. There is much more that goes into learning and developing characteristics at a young age than just taking quizzes and tests. When the //Americans for the Arts National Public Opinion Survey was conducted, January 2001// the results showed that 91% of respondents feel that arts is vital to a well-rounded education. 95% believe that art is a critical factor in a child's creativity, self-expression, and individualism. Although in most schools the arts are extremely underappreciated, the fact that the subject does nothing but improve a students all around skills cannot be denied. A major factor that separates art from any other subject is the way you learn it. Instead of focusing on the linguistic and logical-mathematics ways of learning in which most school are based, the arts draws on a range of intelligences and learning styles.

Rachels' research showed: Many art programs around the world are being cut all of the time due to lack of resources. School are provided with a certain amount of money to fund their programs, and they do not always have enough to fund all of the programs they wish to provide. Art is usually the first program to be cut, school don't see the importance of fine arts, but fine arts is important. Fine arts gives students a way to process the information they learned in other classes in their own creative ways. Due to the No Child Left Behind Act schools put moreof the funding towards English and Math so that the students can get all of the resources possible to succeed in those subjects which means there is no funding left for the fine arts. School are supposed to have a fine arts, but not all schools follow that, schools find ways to work around that and cut the arts program to use the little resources they have for other programs. Some schools even try to have their students pay to take an arts program but even that isn't enough. The main reason fine arts programs are being cut is due to lack of resources, and resources being used for other programs that school think to be more important than the arts.

Rick’s research showed: A great deal of research has been performed with varying results showing the impact of art education on general academic performance. Studies show that students with a significant amount of art exposure outperform their peers under a wide variety of conditions. Other studies show that a schhol with a significant art component in its curriculum does not significantly outperform other schools with no such component. All studies agree, however that art education helps students in a wide variety of non-academic ways, such as citizenship, attendance, and graduation rates. There s also a powerful argument to be made that the skills an art education imparts - teamwork, creativity, problem-solving, experimentation - are fundamental skills in our developing economy.

‍II. Group Product Overview


1. Our group is going to start off with a powerpoint involving lack of funding in most art departments, art education and it's importance for children, and the benefits of art education in non art areas.

2. We will each individually discuss the topics that we researched and also include subtopics that have come up during our research.

3. We will conclude with an introduction to the basic physical and voice exercises actors use to get ready for a performace. This will involve stretching, breathing, and speech exercises useful for anyone involved in public speaking.

‍IV. Research Questions and Reference Summaries

 * || **Research Question** || **Researcher** ||
 * 1. || Why is there a lack of funding for fine arts? || //Rachel Mayer Rachels page// ||
 * 2. || What is the impact of Art Education on General Academic Performance? || //Richard Bagley Rick's Page// ||
 * 3. || What is the importance of art in early childhood education? || James Haggerty James Haggerty ||