In the past decade of educational reform, there has been one astounding accomplishment: The federal and state governments and the private sector have recommended and adopted policies to advance the visual and performing arts as essential to a comprehensive education. The goals created by the president and the governors of all 50 states for…

The existential contexts of education reach far beyond the conceptions of Goals 2000 or the appalling actualities of family breakdown, homelessness, violence, and other "savage inequalities." Classroom encounters with the arts can move the young to imagine, extend, and renew. If the arts' significance for growth, inventiveness, and…

This essay traces the development of music in the public school curriculum and focuses on the Goals 2000 emphasis on music in life. Music has been a part of the high school curriculum since the Boston school system accepted it in 1838. While music education for much of this century has had difficulties defining itself and its role in the…

Contends that strides have been made toward fair representation of music in public education. Asserts that the results of the Goals 2000 and the national effort of the Music Educators National Conference will bring a new era. Discusses the national standards and three challenges to the music education. (CFR)

Asserts that this is a frenetic time for arts education. Discusses the formation and implementation of public policy regarding arts education. Concludes that the most responsible policies emerge when broad-based input from professionals and lay persons is solicited and acted upon. (CFR)

Maintains that the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) achieved an important symbolic victory by being a primary developer of the National Standards for Arts Education. Presents and discusses five issues related to the Goals 2000 program in general and the standards related to music education in particular. (CFR)

Asserts that it is important to avoid bandwagon superficialities related to the interdisciplinary approach to arts education in the K-12 curriculum. Concludes that the overarching issue related to the National Standards implementation is how to keep content and process in a productive relationship. (CFR)

Contends that questions about power and who has it dominated U.S. political and social discourse. Discusses five aspects of power and art: (1) three power/art relationships; (2) the struggle between individuals and systems; (3) power applications; (4) current power contexts; and (5) major futures issues. (CFR)

Asserts that the new voluntary arts national standards present educators with a important opportunity to improve music and arts education in K-12 schools. Outlines the role of the national standards movement. Discusses the interrelationships among the standards and the undergraduate curriculum, teacher certification, and advanced placement. (CFR)

Maintains that the effort to develop and implement national standards in the arts is politically correct but not free of psychological or pedagogical viewpoints. Asserts that educators must formulate the right questions and assess objectively the potential outcomes of an arts education program in reformed schools. (CFR)

Asserts that the current focus on voluntary national standards has catapulted arts education into a new prominence. Discusses the background and tactics of current educational reform efforts. Concludes that, without empirical research and assessment, the proposed curricular standards will remain an educational fad. (CFR)

Traces the origins and development of the National Standards for Arts Education. Discusses the long-term effects the national standards might have on preservice and inservice teacher education. Questions whether national standards might lead to a standardization in arts education that would hamper teacher and student creativity. (CFR)

Asserts that, from a school administration point of view, empowerment through faculty cooperation and participation in work-related issues is quite different from actual control of the workplace. Discusses issues related to power, control, and authority in education, particularly in arts education. (CFR)

Discusses two related dilemmas: (1) the tension between the Western view of historical progress and the realities of modern society; and (2) the tension between old and new approaches to teaching and learning about the arts. Argues that the end result of implementing the Goals 2000 program might diminish the teaching of the arts as discrete…

This resource text was developed to assist parents, teachers, school administrators, school board personnel, and other concerned citizens in their efforts to develop and implement local education standards. Having drawn heavily upon Internet-accessible resources for the development and implementation of educational standards, the text is intended…