EVENTS & MOVEMENTS

Arts-in-Education Movement
Political and social activism of the late 1960’s and the 1970’s leads to a questioning of an educational system that is regimented and disciplined based. The proponents of the Arts-in-Education Movement see art as ‘an experience’ that is achieved through process participation and viewing the working process of performing artists (Efland, 1990).

The University City Project
The first project to be funded by the John David Rockefeller 3rd Fund under the direction of the Arts in Education Program, is the University City Project. This project takes place in The University City School District in St. Louis, Missouri between 1968 and 1971. Within the project, teachers are trained in arts integration methodologies and interdisciplinary activities. Instructional units are developed and all arts disciplines are used as paths for teaching other subjects. Funding for the University City Project comes largely from the John David Rockefeller 3rd Fund and the University City School District.

Accountability Movement
The Accountability Movement begins in the mid-1970’s as result of increased public pressure to hold the nation’s educational system accountable for declining test scores. The focus shifts from curriculum content to the development of assessment tools, instructional and behavioral objectives, and competency-based teacher education (Efland, 1990). Funding for much of the research comes from private sources such as the Carnegie Corporation, professional organizations including the National Art Education Association, universities, school districts, and governmental agencies.

National Assessment of Educational Progress
In 1969, the Education Commission of the States assumes responsibility for assessing educational progress and coordinating discussion of educational problems and activities. Two National Assessments of Art Learning as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are developed and administered in 1974-75 and 1978-79 to nine and thirteen year old students in public, parochial, and private schools. These assessments “measure student performance in drawing and design, as well as knowledge about and attitudes toward art” (Chapman, 1982, p.xvii).

Behavioral Emphasis in Art Education
Educational objectives include curriculum development and evaluation through the use of observable behavior objectives. The National Art Education Association commissions, Behavioral Emphasis in Art Education, a compilation of research and theory regarding the use of behavioral objectives in art education.

Qualitative Inquiry Movement
The Qualitative Inquiry Movement gains support during the mid-1970’s when educational theorists and researchers resist the use of behavioral objectives in the planning of curriculum and instructional assessment. Qualitative research becomes a widely used research tool in art education in the evaluation of educational activities and accomplishments (Efland, 1990). Funding for research comes primarily from educational organizations, universities, and governmental agencies. Educational researchers and doctoral students use qualitative research methods to look at art classroom education and student-teacher interactions to assess instruction and achievement.

Excellence in Education Movement (Discipline Based Art Education)
The development of Discipline Based Art Education (DBAE and neo-DBAE) comes from a call for educational accountability and growing concern for improving the quality of education (Sabol, 2004). Reform movements focus on the development of standards identified with each educational discipline and the ‘best practices’ in the field. DBAE has its beginnings in the curriculum reform movements of the 1950’s and 1960’s and is evident in various forms today.
In the 1980’s, DBAE is supported through initiatives and programs funded by the J. Paul Getty Trust. In 1983 the Trust establishes a center for education in the arts and LeiLani Lattin-Duke serves as Program Director. Initially a series of summer institutes is held in Los Angeles with the goal of training and motivating classroom teachers to incorporate art as part of their classroom curricula. For almost twenty years the Getty Trust sponsors workshops, seminars, national conferences, university pre-service pilot programs, develops in-service training programs, and commissions many scholarly papers (Dobbs, 2004). 

In 1967, Elliot Eisner’s work at Stanford University, under the sponsorship of the Kettering foundation, is a precursor to the concept of disciplines in DBAE. The project developed instructional materials and written curriculum that would aid classroom teachers in the instruction of art and children in the discovery of art through process and discussion. Value was placed on assessment and lays the foundation for future DBAE initiatives (Dobbs, 2004). The Getty Center publishes Eisner’s (1987) The Role of Discipline-Based Art Education in America’s Schools. Eisner works closely with the Getty Center in their development of DBAE research and projects.