The purpose of this 5-year aesthetic education project was to rethink and redefine the nature of art experiences offered to public school students, and to provide an integrated, aesthetically oriented approach. Contents of this first of two volumes (See also TE 499 838) are (1) a survey of recent curricular developments in American education (with references); (2) related literature on other model projects and on resource and research foundations; (3) a discussion of the contributions of Harry Broudy to aesthetic education; (4) an exploration of the project's exemplar approach to aesthetic education, which entails the analysis and historical-cultural study of masterworks in order to promote the development of critical ability; (5) evaluation procedures for the approach in aesthetic education; (6) some aspects of the early stages of the project; and (7) six of the 17 appended sections to the report--five on Western music and one on Western art--containing numerous sample lesson plans and curriculum materials. (MF)