White paperartsed

Protecting Arts Education
A proposal in safeguarding arts education within a classroom setting  
SAFEGUARDING ARTS EDUCATION -GA YOO 1

Introduction
Introduction
The economic recession, stemming from 2007, continues to impact K-12 education heavily. The
budgets cuts to education has led to a series of negative outcomes: thousands of educators have lost
their jobs, educational reforms focusing on low-income communities has been placed on abeyance,
physical education courses- an important safeguard against childhood obesity- have been removed
from traditional curriculum and special programs—ranging from assisting children with disabilities to
helping young students prepare for entrance to higher education-have been in decline. As alarming as
such outcomes sound, the focus of this paper will be on covering one negative drawback to education
in particular: the cuts to art education. This white paper is presented in the following ways: 1) The
paper builds on a history of art education in the United States in order to provide a context in which to
understand art’s contemporary role in education, 2) The paper highlights the political climate that has
led to cuts in arts education, 3) The paper draws on social science research and neuroscience research
data in order to show the wealth of evidence that affirms the multifarious benefits of arts education and
finally 4) the paper provides possible solutions that can safeguard the arts in classroom settings. The
goal of this white paper is to implement a multi-faceted approach that reintroduces the importance of
art in the context of an educational setting.
Art Education: A brief history 1821-1990s.
Today, education in the arts include music, visual arts, and a secondary language requirement. Art
education in the United States was formally introduced in classroom settings in 1821; it was centered

on visual representation—most specifically in drawing items to scale . During this period, education in1
the arts was not embraced by public schools. Indeed, many educational leaders were hesitant in making
art a classroom norm. Massachusetts was the first state to incorporate art into its curriculum. Art was
advocated for the reason that it was believed to be an essential tool in training pupils to become avid
contributors to the fabric industry, needless to say, art education during this time revolved around
design. In 1880, art education in public schools was appreciated for reasons other than the practical. It
became popular for teachers to include art in their classrooms purely for creative pursuits. From the
1880s and forward, art has continued to receive widespread support for its ability to stimulate creative
thinking within students. Today, it has become a bit of a cultural norm for a parent to proudly display
their child’s artwork—distinguished by a gold star-- on the front of their refrigerator door; the
prevalence of this norm reveals that a child’s experience with art in an educational setting extends
beyond that of the classroom.
No Child Left Behind Act and the Economic Recession of 2007
In 2001, there was wide public concern regarding the state of public education. Quantitative data from
various research studies have affirmed that across the nation, there exists an alarming discrepancy in
the academic achievement gap between subgroups of students; this gap is especially profound when
examining subgroups of students in the context of ethnicity . Specifically, those of Latino and2
Hispanic backgrounds tend to lag behind in academic performance that includes test scores, class
grades and the SATs; this same effect of low academic performance is seen in those students who come
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/994696?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=211028289572871
http://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/.../AEP-Wire-09-2010-Sabol-NCLB2

from parents with low-socioeconomic backgrounds . One’s location was also viewed as a determining3
factor of how a student would academically perform, those who lived in poor urban neighborhoods
were seen as performing more poorly than those who lived in affluent suburban towns . The4
importance of neighborhood context can be understood to be important, mainly for the reason that it
gives certain students an advantage over others. Access to role models, as seen and felt within a given
neighborhood, can help academic aspirations. For example, if a child lives in an area whereby he/she is
in close proximity to working professionals such as CEOs, vice presidents, and directors, this can serve
as a powerful incentive for a child to aspire to higher career goals and thus adopt a strong school ethic.
The publication of the mentioned data, along with numerous others, made it clear to laypeople and
politicians alike that the nation, most specifically its education, was experiencing a crisis. Whether in
the form of lack of access to role models, tutors, parental guidance or schools that staff more qualified
teachers, important subgroups of students were at a comparative academic disadvantaged. Hence, in
2001 the federal government took an active role in shaping a student’s academic progress. NCLB was
introduced in 2001 and later was signed by President Bush in 2002. The aim of NCLB was to make
education more equitable for students. The NCLB included many strict regulations and measures to
monitor student progress: standardized testing for reading and mathematics, teacher qualifications, and
report cards .5
Decline of Art Education: Current Impact
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19909/3
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/cd/12_1/Leventhal.cfm4
http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/nclb.aspx5

Since the inception of the NCLB act, public schools in the United States generally have experienced a
decline in art education that has been traditionally offered to students . Political scientists argue that6
since NCLB act involves high stakes testing, courses such as music, drama, and other arts related
courses, are viewed by many stakeholders as not playing a crucial role in a child’s educational
development. Hence, art courses are cut while science and math courses are prioritized. In the context
of schools that are poorly funded, cuts in art programs become even more dramatic. Indeed, in
secondary schools, it has been noted that art and music teachers are amongst the first to be terminated
from their position . In lieu of the economic recession, the decline in art education has been more7
dramatic as budgets cuts force schools across the nation to prioritize certain courses over others. The
effects of the NCLB act in the context of the economic recession is informative. Prior to the NCLB act
and the mortgage crisis, nearly 100% of the nation’s schools had offered art programs. Alarmingly,
today it is down to 80% we can expect to see this statistic continue towards a downward trend if there8
is no intervention. Specifically, in 2012, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released
the results of a nationwide arts survey (the first in a decade). The study revealed an increasing
disappearance of arts related courses in general school curriculum Sadly, school aged children no9
longer have the same level of exposure to music at their schools as they do with textual learning.
Indeed, the percentage of children who have access to music programs has declined to 50% . 40% of10
http://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/.../AEP-Wire-09-2010-Sabol-NCLB.pdf6
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/even-before-layoffs-schools-lost-135-arts-teachers/?_r=07
http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/young-stewards-of-public-policy/essays/2009-10-the-voting-problem8
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/04/ed-releases-new-report-on-arts-education-in-u-s-public-schools/9
http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/young-stewards-of-public-policy/essays/2009-10-the-voting-problem10

schools do not require art courses to be required for graduation . Unfortunately, the schools that have11
experienced the most dramatic cuts in their arts program are those that reside in historically
disadvantaged areas that serve low-income students . In the next following sections, the white paper12
will attempt to show how the benefits of arts education is multifold.
DATA
Music and Brain Chemistry
Countries that have high ranking in math and science scores among its students have arts and music as
a mandatory component of their education ; these countries seem to recognize the benefits of the arts13
in intellectual thinking and thus can serve as a role model for the United States. Indeed, research has
supported a correlation between music and math skills. Many studies show that students who take
music courses in high school tend to score higher on standardized mathematics test than those who do
not . This correlation can be understood by understanding the mechanism of the brain and how it14
operates. Neuroscience research reveals that spatial temporal reasoning is important mainly for its role
in helping us to understand the relationship between ideas and objects and the relationship between
space and time. We tend to use the temporal spatial lobe when we calculate numbers and formulas.
Music appears to help strengthen this region of the brain that allows for spatial-temporal reasoning ; a15
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/04/ed-releases-new-report-on-arts-education-in-u-s-public-schools/11
http://www.wbez.org/news/culture/northwest-side-school-cuts-back-arts-band-10847012
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-arts-education13
http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/music-students-have-higher-sat-scores-but-why-58468/14
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1168050615

latent effect of playing and studying music, then, is that it enhances one’s mathematical skills.
Research also reveals that a student who is making music has their senses, muscles, and intellect
simultaneously engaged. Brain scans of students taken after they have performed a musical
composition reveal that their cerebral cortex, and all of its entire subcomponents, is active ; thus, one16
can dismiss the assumption that playing music does not involve critical thinking skills.
Neuroscience research has also shown that music helps promote creativity, social development,
personality and self-worth ; these are all vital components that can help a person become well17
rounded and a vital contributor of society. Indeed, such skills can be carried over into one’s work
environment. Creativity is crucial in a work environment where unforeseen crises require one to think
outside traditional framework in order to reach a solution. In addition, social development is crucial to
one’s ability to be flexible to the diversity of thoughts that they may face at any given time. Hence,
social development can help one learn the art of collaboration and tolerance in the context of diversity.
Music and art may serve as a binding factor for students within a classroom setting. Music courses
provides a setting where students of various backgrounds are brought together; students receive a
chance to learn how to collaborate at an early age. The skill of collaboration can continue to be
cultivated throughout a student’s life until it is ready to be utilized a workforce environment. Arts
education has also been shown to increase leadership skills . Although the reason for the correlation is18
not clear, one can discern one possible explanation. Self-confidence is an important quality for students
http://www.schoolmusictoday.com/advocacy/studentdevelopment.html16
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-arts-education17
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/22/top-10-skills-children-learn-from-the-arts/18

to speak out their minds. If one is feeling unsure, doubtful or overly sensitive to what type of feedback
that they may receive, it can serve as a deterrent for speaking their minds no matter how sound or
strong their suggestion may be. A leader cannot be afraid to voice their opinion when trying to
demonstrate effective leadership. Hence, students who initially lack confidence can have an early
experience with confidence when creating a given artwork in which they can be proud of; such
confidence can extend to other realms of their lives. Personality and self-worth are important
safeguards to the mental health of a human being. A well-rounded personality and self-worth can
protect the individual from depression and from engaging in certain destructive norms. It appears that
the benefits of arts education is profound amongst a subgroup of at-risk students.
Music: A safety net for at risk youth
It appears that arts education serves an especially important role for at-risk students who come from
socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Within disadvantaged neighborhoods, students
who had higher levels of engagement with art were more likely to have greater school attendance . It19
is reasonable to consider the possibility students who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more
likely to have a close interaction with gang activity. An at-risk student’s participation in art then, can
serve as a strong deterrent for becoming involved with gang violence as they learn to spend time
outside the school setting in positive ways. In addition, at risk students who had higher levels of
engagement with art were more likely to have high levels of academic achievement than those who did
not . As previously mentioned, neuroscience confirms that the act of creating art stimulates certain20
http://arts.gov/news/2012/new-nea-research-report-shows-potential-benefits-arts-education-risk-youth19

regions of the brain that promotes critical thinking skills. At-risk students, then, when engaging with
art, may be altering their neural pathways in ways that translates to better academic performance. In
addition, art classes may appear interesting to students, thereby motivating students to attend classes
consistently. It is reasonable to assume that consistent class attendance translates to higher academic
performance as they are exposed to higher levels of content. Studies also report that at-risk students
with high levels of art engagement were more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than those at-risk
students who lacked such engagement with the arts , this is an interesting statistic to consider for the21
reason that a bachelor’s degree provides an individual with more options in work opportunities. The
connection between engagement with the arts and career aspirations is also worthy to note: at risk
students who had higher levels of engagement with the arts were more likely to have higher career
aspirations than those students who did not . This is especially important for those students who may22
lack role models in their lives, art can serve as a safety net when role models in the context of family
are not present. Finally, studies report that arts education helps leverage the learning field for students
who come from different ethnic backgrounds. When classroom instructions include art, students are
better able to retain and understand information despite their lack of proficiency in the English
language .23
Health of Community
A thriving positive culture in a community is important and it appears art education aids that ability.
Studies reveal that a student’s early experience with the arts translates to other healthy behaviors that
http://phys.org/news/2012-04-arts-benefits-at-risk-youth.html22
http://prezi.com/g6k-8gua_x4e/arts-integration-an-effective-tool-for-effective-change-in-americas-schools/23

are learning centered. Specifically, students who had high engagement with the arts were more likely to
have visited a library and read a book outside of class requirements , these healthy behaviors can help24
enhance the cohesiveness of a given community.
Teacher Satisfaction
Interestingly, it appears that the benefits of arts in the education extends beyond that of students.
Research reveals that in school that includes arts in the curriculum, teachers report greater work
satisfaction; this is followed by a lower turnover rate . It is reasonable to assume that teacher turnover25
rate would have an influence on a school’s morale. Spending time with one another breeds familiarity
and therefore trust, thereby leading to ample grounds in which friendships can be fostered, work
environment, in addition, can become more enjoyable. A high turnover rate can serve as a barrier to a
school’s cohesive environment, impacting not only staff members but students as well. Thus, if
teachers have greater incentives to stay committed to their term at school, the benefits can be multifold.
In the next following sections of this white paper, we suggest a number of solutions that can help
reintroduce arts education back into classroom settings. It is best to implement them in its entirety,
rather than focusing on one particular solution. The strength of the overall solution, depends on the
implementation of all its subcomponents.
SOLUTIONS
www.aep-arts.org/.../Preparing-Students-for-the-Next-America-FINAL24
www.aep-arts.org/.../Preparing-Students-for-the-Next-America-FINAL.pdf25

Research
Continued research is necessary in order to offer a strong argument for the role of art education.
Although, currently a wealth of research data already exists confirming the multifarious benefits of arts
education, it is important that research continues to stay relevant to our time and updated periodically.
It would poorly convince politicians if one used research from the late 90s, for example. In addition, it
would be beneficial to focus on other demographic variables in addition to: SES status, at-risk versus
non-at risk, ethnic backgrounds and other commonly used variables. The purpose of including diversity
in variables within research is to allow the body of research to be as comprehensive as possible. A
potential variable to include can include the marriage status of a student (i.e. divorced versus non-
divorced), for example. The white paper suggests less focus on replicating prior studies and instead a
concentration on gaps that may exist within the body of literature.
Community involvement
Community outreach is necessary at the local level in order for parents to become well informed about
the importance of arts in a child’s education. It is recommended that parents create community forums
whereby they attend school meetings and understand who the important stakeholders are. The white
paper also recommends that parents work with state and community leaders, so that reintroducing arts
in the classroom becomes part of a politician’s political agenda.
Philanthropy
Outreach to philanthropic groups can also be helpful in securing arts education for students. The
emergence of non-profit organizations, and their collaboration with philanthropic groups can help the

effective management of grants and funds that can be channeled in ways that optimize arts in a
classroom setting. NY trust serves as a model that many communities can aspire to emulate. The NY
trust helps the collaboration between art institutions and public schools in an efficient and organized
manner. In addition, public schools can depend on volunteers from various museums and art groups
when funding is non-sufficient.
Benefits
The benefits of implementing the solutions can occur at a local level. Schools can exercise their
autonomy on which arts courses they wish to emphasize, thereby tailoring them to the unique interests
and demographics of students that tend to comprise a given classroom. The benefits can also extend
that to a federal level if more politicians are active in introducing arts education into the political
agenda; in this case, one can hope that a bill can be signed into law.
Conclusion
There appears to be widespread support regarding art education’s role in the classroom. A 2005 survey
conducted by Harris Poll reveal that 93 % of Americans believe that the arts are vital for a well-
rounded education for children ; in 2001, the percentage was at 91% , the 2% increase show a26 27
growing trend of Americans support art in K-12 education. In addition, 54% of Americans had rated
1. www.aep-arts.org/.../Preparing-Students-for-the-Next-America-FINAL26

the importance of art as a “ten” on a scale of one to ten , that is nearly half of the majority that rank art28
as being of primary importance. With the majority of the Americans supporting arts in education, in
addition to the wealth of research data drawing from multidiscipline highlighting its benefits, the white
paper confidently affirms that the implementation of solutions that it has suggested can lead to a
profound outcome of securing the quality of life of many citizens at a micro and macro level.

Bibliography
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uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102828957287
2. http://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/.../AEP-Wire-09-2010-Sabol-NCLB
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19909/
4. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/cd/12_1/Leventhal.cfm
5. http://www.k12.wa.us/esea/nclb.aspx
6. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/even-before-layoffs-schools-lost-135-arts-teachers/?_r=0
7. http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/young-stewards-of-public-policy/essays/2009-10-the-voting-problem
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9. http://www.wbez.org/news/culture/northwest-side-school-cuts-back-arts-band-108470
10. http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-arts-education
11. http://www.psmag.com/blogs/news-blog/music-students-have-higher-sat-scores-but-why-58468/
12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11680506
13. http://www.schoolmusictoday.com/advocacy/studentdevelopment.html
14. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/22/top-10-skills-children-learn-from-
the-arts/
15. http://arts.gov/news/2012/new-nea-research-report-shows-potential-benefits-arts-education-risk-youth
16. http://phys.org/news/2012-04-arts-benefits-at-risk-youth.html
17. http://prezi.com/g6k-8gua_x4e/arts-integration-an-effective-tool-for-effective-change-in-americas-
schools/
18. www.aep-arts.org/.../Preparing-Students-for-the-Next-America-FINAL

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