No Child Left Behind and Fine Arts Classes

Abstract

Since the Bush administration enacted the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, lawmakers and school administrators have questioned what changes, if any, the Obama administration will make. This article discusses the effects of NCLB on nontested subjects, specifically music and arts in the general curriculum. Major effects on scheduling and funding policies have forced educators to reconsider how advocacy for the arts should be approached.

Music teacher stress in the era of accountability

“…However, no studies were found in arts education literature that have directly investigated the link between the era of accountability and teacher stress. Researchers have tied accountability reforms to effects on arts curriculum and policy (Baker 2012;Beveridge 2009;French 2009;Gerrity 2009;Heffner 2007;Kos 2007), but have rarely focused on teachers. The reviewed studies that have focused on arts teachers' experiences (Myers 2010;Spohn 2008) did not consider stress in a formal sense.…”

Creativity at the Crossroads: Pragmatic Versus Humanist Claims in Education Reform Speeches

“…One tentative learning theory stemming from this rhetorical speech analysis is that a student who engages in educational opportunities that foster a humanistic type of creativity might be more likely to persist in their academics, graduate, and pursue and sustain meaningful careers. Thus, in the context of current educational practice, music and arts courses should not be used as fun or reward classes for students in remedial reading and math classes, but should be core, pivotal classes to increase student engagement and retention (Beveridge, 2010).…”

Troubling Methods-Centric “Teacher Production”: Social Foundations in Dance Education Teacher Preparation

“…These values, which are not always prevalent in teacher preparation in other disciplines, cannot be expected to be developed solely in methods-based, technical courses-primarily because by design, these courses fail to address larger questions about the purpose, meaning, and function of a democratic education. Beveridge (2010) reminds arts educators that:…”

“…School districts have increased instructional time in tested subjects like math and reading (Westheimer and Kahne 2007;Picower 2011), which has resulted in reduced instruction in the arts and their marginalization in school curricula (Beveridge 2010;Allison 2013;Sabol 2013). Arts specialist teachers and their teaching responsibilities within their art discipline are similarly marginalized, as Sabol (2010) notes that they are "required to provide supplemental instruction in subject areas outside art education .…”