The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the most impressive in its arts advocacy. Their overall mission is to build networks among nations that enable solidarity by "mobilizing for education," "building intercultural understanding," "pursuing scientific cooperation" and "protecting freedom of expression." The Arts Education page of the UNESCO website states that "the Arts . . . are integral to life: function, creation and learning are intertwined." Further, they state that arts "enhance an interdisciplinary approach to learning in a range of subject areas." Not long after UNESCO was formed in 1945, an offshoot formed specifically for arts education advocacy which continues to operate as a UNESCO partner, the International Society for Education through Art (InSEA). Recent UNESCO efforts include the Second World Conference on Arts Education (2010) in Seoul, Korea, attended by 650 official and experts in arts education from 95 countries, out of which came a global agenda for promoting arts education. That was followed in 2011 by the creation of the International Arts Education Week to promote “awareness on the importance of arts education . . . cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and social cohesion.”
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) uses extensive data collection and analysis to help governments move their populations further from poverty and closer to prosperity. In 2013, the OECD published a 270 page report “Art for Art’s Sake? The Impact of Arts Education” which explored art education’s impact on the development of foundational skills and 21st Century Skills. The research shows that art may very well have a positive impact on these skills though there is not enough hard evidence yet to reach hard and fast conclusions. Unfortunately, it also reports an overall lack of consistent content and systematic teaching of the arts. The report concludes that regardless of its impact on other learning areas, art for art’s sake has an important place in our schools because of its crucial role in the human experience.
On the home front, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a professional teachers union, drafted a resolution in 2014 advocating for the State of California to collect and report on their continuing work to implement state standards for visual and performing arts, sequential, comprehensive standards set forth by the federal government in 1994 and adopted or adapted by 49 states in the years that have followed. California is the frontrunner in moving towards rigorous arts standards (probably, I think, because their economy is hugely dependent on media and entertainment). The AFT sees the arts as “critical to ensuring equitable access to a comprehensive education for all students” and is eager to have California share their information with parents, policy makers, and the general public throughout the country.
My research led me to believe that it’s an exciting time to be an Artist-Educator. There is a lot of positive change going on around the globe which is counter to what the daily news would have us believe – that schools, teachers and policy makers are horrible and that the world is doomed! In Part 2 of this blog, I will share some of the things I learned as I was researching arts in education.
Sources:
Require Comprehensive Data Collection In the Visual and Performing Arts [AFT Resolution]. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/resolution/require-comprehensive-data-collection-visual-and-performing-arts
Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education. (nd). Retrieved from http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/41117/12798106085Seoul_Agenda_Goals_for_the_Development_of_Arts_Education.pdf/Seoul%2BAgenda_Goals%2Bfor%2Bthe%2BDevelopment%2Bof%2BArts%2BEducation.pdf
Winner, E., T. Goldstein and S. Vincent-Lancrin. (2013, June 14). Art for Art’s Sake? The Impact of Arts Education, Educational Research and Innovation. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264180789-en
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