Abstract
Arts education in the United States, especially in public schools, has been neglected and its public funding has decreased. This is partly due to the difference in the conception of public education policies and the arts. The theory of economic goods and an analysis of two current education policies demonstrate that public education is treated as a public good that is needed by all people, and therefore funded with tax dollars. Because the arts are common goods that different people value in their own terms, education in the arts is treated as nonessential and funded sporadically in public school settings. Based on the theory of the commons, the author suggests that nonprofit arts organizations are equipped to deal with the common good and diverse nature of the arts and can provide sustainable arts education that fills the gap of arts education in public schools.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 98-107 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Arts Management Law and Society |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 15 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 Taylor & Francis.
Funding
Launched in 2009, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were created in order to provide a more comprehensive system of accountability for each public school, and to raise the bar regarding students’ readiness for both college and careers. The two national organizations that played a key role in the development of the CCSS are the National Governors Association, a membership organization representing governors in the fifty states and United States territories, and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the national organization representing all of the state superintendents of schools (Linn 2014). This initiative is primarily funded by wealthy foundations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation (Wexler 2014). The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers are responsible for coming up with assessment plans that are aligned with the standards and instructional content (McShane 2014).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | |
| Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation |
Keywords
- Arts education
- education policies
- nonprofit arts sector
- theory of economic goods
- theory of the commons
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Visual Arts and Performing Arts
- Strategy and Management
- Law