Policy can present any number of wicked problems for arts educators and advocates. The complexity of policy accompanied by a general lack of policy dexterity fuels the legitimacy gap between advocacy arguments and policy implementation and, thus, weakens the arts in the education policy realm. To help close the gap, common weak arguments in policy…

This article explores the extent to which recent policy-based advocacy for music in Australian schools has been guided by economic arguments. This exploration was driven by emerging commentary on the rise of neo-social education policy, which is said to have reframed equality and social justice in education as tools for economic agendas. To…

This issue represents one of the first objective, collaborative pieces addressing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) across all arts content areas in diverse areas of policy. The results justify further investigation into the congruence of the arts and SEL, exploring examples of SEL instruction in the arts, and the development of consistent messages…

The Great Recession caused many school districts across the country to make numerous cuts in their annual budget models. As a result of these austerity measures, administrators often reduced arts education offerings. In the current study, we highlight how budget reductions in three districts negatively impacted music education curricula, and how…

This article examines ways in which music education advocacy efforts have become disconnected from the unified visions and declarations of music educators espoused in the Tanglewood and Housewright declarations and are thus reifying the disconnect between what we value and what we say we value. We first analyze the policies posited by the recently…

Changes in education policy--particularly at the federal and state levels--during the current era of ideologically and profit-driven "education reform" threaten balanced education in general and music/arts education in particular. Emerging answers to a number of pivotal questions will determine the future of the arts, arts education, and…

In considering how policy work might forward arts education, it is helpful to reflect on the present state of music and arts education while looking ahead at future challenges and possibilities. This response to Shuler's (2001) set of predictions related to music education and policy in the twenty-first century addresses such work in the…

The 1957 launch of "Sputnik" and the 1983 publication of "A Nation at Risk" shifted national education policy. Music educators promoted an "intrinsic value" of music philosophy following "Sputnik" and music advocacy through politics and public performances following "A Nation at Risk." Examining the history of both the intrinsic value philosophy…

The field of education in the United States is in a period of unprecedented change. Educators in all disciplines are challenged to understand and respond to the waves of reform sweeping over the national education landscape. Linking these reforms to meaningful outcomes that will produce more rigorous and effective measures of quality and…

Policy can be a useful tool for effecting change, but policy analysis, which shapes policy development, has been underused in music education research. This paper demonstrates how Bardach's (2000) Eightfold Path can be used to develop solutions to problems in music education. Some have argued that school music programs do not prepare students to…

This article explores the process of using lessons learned about high quality, effective arts education programs to help local educational leaders and practitioners create their own policy statements. It raises questions about policy implications from those lessons and connects them to the readers' own experience. It provides an intellectual…

Music education exists within a web of policies. Those most often identified by music teachers and professional associations are the policies imposed on the profession by governmental and regulatory bodies. Advocacy efforts to change policy are mostly directed toward these bodies. However, the practice of music education is perhaps more influenced…

Describes music education and its priorities as a basis for stimulating research questions and discusses advocacy research as evidence of the worth of music education research cited by arts advocates. Responds to the publication entitled "Priorities for Arts Education Research" by the Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership. (CMK)

Examines the legitimacy of claims (specifically the ability of the arts to serve myriad social, educational, and economic development functions) made by arts bureaucrats and advocates desperate to maintain the federal arts support structure. Scrutinizes the motives and consequences of these claims and explores their effects on elementary and…

Addresses three issues for educational policy reform in arts education: (1) what students should learn; (2) improving teacher performance; and (3) enabling teachers to assess the progress of student learning. Explains that confronting these issues requires research on how arts learning takes place. (CMK)