Arts Curricula in Transition

Abstract

In July 1986, as New York City was preparing its Fourth of July celebration with the unveiling of the newly groomed Statue of Liberty, the Department of the in Education of Teachers College, Columbia University, was hosting an event of a different kind. In a four-day symposium, over 305 music, art, dance, and theatre participants met. The arts educators, representing all geographical regions of the country, included many Teachers College alumni. The symposium was cosponsored by the Music Educators National Conference, the National Art Education Association, the National Dance Association, the Children's Theatre Association of America, the Secondary Theatre Association of America, and the Education Program of the Kennedy Center. The title and focus of the symposium, Arts Curricula in Transition: A National Symposium on the in American Education, evolved out of the need to examine curriculum changes in the arts in light of reports in recent years on the status and health of American education. Several of the recommendations for curriculum revision from the reports had already begun to affect elementary and secondary programs in the arts. Many states were in the process of passing legislation regarding the arts in schools. Federal agencies with major roles in arts education were also drafting new policies. The Getty Foundation had issued its own report on the teaching of art, and the College Board had just released a document, Academic Preparation in the Arts, containing specific recommendations for curriculum development.