When former President Clinton signed the Goals 2000: Educate America Act in 1994, it signaled an unprecedented federal commitment to American education. The act had particular significance for theatre and other areas of arts education: the legislation included the arts as one of the eight core subjects, suggesting that they were no longer a curricular extra but an area of study as important as math, science, or any other subject. In the years since the act was passed, some progress has certainly been made. Most states have adopted or at least adapted the National Standards for Arts Education (also issued in 1994). Discussion about assessment, curriculum, teacher certification and training, and the need for research has become more prominent. But so have school funding budget cuts and a concern that the arts are being edged out of the curriculum rather than being folded in. So, while there is some reason for optimism, it is just as certain that there is work to be done.
Teaching Theatre asked an assortment of arts education advocates and theatre educators: What do you think will be the most important issue facing K-12 education during the next five years? While the answers of the seventeen respondents hardly constitute a scientific survey, their comments do offer a mosaic of the concerns that are likely to garner the most attention in the next few years. Here’s each individual’s answer to the question and an edited version of their additional comments. To read the complete text of the respondents’ comments, click here. Michael Peitz, executive director, Educational Theatre Association
Getting those in local, district, and state decision-making positions to understand the broad value of theatre education.
Once we do that, then real change can happen in school theatre curriculum. To do it we’re going to have to start by publicizing the current data and research that proves what those of us in the field already know—that theatre education has a profound impact on the whole education of the child. Maureen Johnson, upper school theatre teacher, Lake Ridge Academy, North Ridge, Ohio, and author of Middle Mania! Imaginative Theatre Projects for Middle-School Actors
Theatre teachers’ training and certification and the development of a more varied curriculum for these teachers.
Specifically, I’d like to see training programs that use veteran theatre teachers to mentor new teachers, and, as part of that process, more emphasis on observation, curriculum exploration, and review of research that’s been done on assessment and the teaching of drama during the last ten years. Kathy Blum, director, Southeast Institute for Education in Theatre at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
Teacher shortages that will reach a critical status within the next few years.
If we expect to make a case for curricular theatre education, we need to think seriously about professional development for classroom teachers. As public schools scurry to ensure that there are teachers in the math, language arts, and science classrooms, what will happen to the empty arts classrooms? How can we train the in-service classroom teacher to engage her students in theatre experiences? How are the expectations for the classroom teacher different from the drama specialist? What does a theatre curriculum look like when taught by the classroom teacher? Jeanne Klein, professor of theatre and education, University of Kansas, and consultant on the 1998 NAEP arts assessment test
Continuing the effort to convince non-believing administrators and the lay public why and how theatre is so invaluable to a complete K-12 education.
That means making a case that theatre offers students things that no other curricular area already provides. We’ve been using the same arguments for a long time, so I think it’s time to start thinking out of the box, figuring out some new strategies. Gai Jones, theatre teacher, El Dorado High School, Placentia, California
Alignment of the theatre curriculum with the National Standards for Arts Education and assessment of students’ work.
In California, the state legislators approved the standards, so I think that will help us clarify here what exactly we need to include in a K-12 theatre curriculum. I think the other important issue that needs to be addressed is formal assessment of students’ work at all levels, including procedures that offer documentation proving what students know and learn. That will validate both the educator and student. Perhaps once we develop a more standardized curriculum and accompanying assessment, an AP course and test can be developed for high school students. Lynn Frost, vice president of product innovation, Franklin Covey Center, Orem, Utah, and former theatre teacher and EdTA board member
The transformation of the arts as a viable and significant tool for teaching the vitally critical skills, competencies, and characteristics needed by the work force of the future.
Students are arriving into the work place deficient in six specific competencies: communication, innovation, critical or business thinking, collaboration, focus, and execution or implementation skills. Every one of these is essential to any individual who wants to perform effectively inside the corporation of the present and the future. I think theatre will be the most comprehensive and inclusive way of teaching these valuable skills. Karen Husted, arts education consultant, and professor of education, University of Phoenix, Tucson
New research demonstrating how theatre education provides students multiple opportunities to learn key worker competencies.
The role of theatre educators is of paramount importance in this—it is teachers working in classrooms and on stage who can show researchers and advocates how these competencies are learned and mastered. I think future research will confirm that much of the pedagogy that is already used in K-12 theatre education is as powerful and effective as that of any other subject methodology. David O’Fallon, executive director, Perpich Center for the Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota (with input from Perpich staff members Tory Peterson, Barbara Morin, and Virginia McFerran)
Meeting the challenge of diversity in the schools.
Statistically, the most diverse groups of people in the United States today are children in our schools. Part of the reason for this is the high population of immigrant children who are now coming into the schools. Since theatre should reflect life and be a lens through which we better understand people and the world around us, it is imperative that educational theatre reflect this diversity. Kim Wheetley, director, Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, and Lyndhurst Chair of Excellence in Arts Education
The relevance of theatre education in schools and in students’ lives.
In this new “age of information,” our communications have made a critical shift from a tradition of print to far greater dependence on imagery. This has had a profound effect on how we see our world, how we think about it, and how we solve its problems. Readily accessible technologies and information from television, film, CD-ROMs, and the internet are changing the way young people perceive, think, and function. Their natural inclination to master these popular technologies results in self-motivated explorations as they formulate their own questions in the pursuit of solutions to problems they consider relevant. Theatre educators need to broaden their perspective and provide a comprehensive approach to exploring the multicultural world of the art form that embraces this new sensibility. Jeffrey Leptak-Moreau, director of education and advocacy, Educational Theatre Association
A redefinition of theatre education that includes all forms of popular and commercial entertainment.
Theatre education began a century ago in universities as the study of theatre history and playwriting. From there it grew to include every aspect of theatre performance and production. However, if you look at the major theatre journals from the last decade, you will see that the ever-broadening field of “performance studies” has eclipsed theatre history and dramaturgy. I think we should again follow the lead of the scholars and enlarge the study of theatre to include all types of popular and commercial entertainment. Dawn M. Ellis, arts consultant for the Arts Education Partnership, the Ford Foundation, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and various other state and national arts advocacy organizations
Understanding the nature of learning when young people experience theatre arts.
Politically, the Bush administration heralds literacy as important as accountability under its developing education plan. If that translates into the national incentives that affect state policy, special funding and attention will continue to focus on the young person’s encounters with the written word. The way the skills of acting and directing bring text to life needs to be part of that movement. Likewise, the skill of communication—part of the “soft skills” needed for a twenty-first century workforce—will continue to provide access to higher paying employment opportunities. Laurie Baskin, director of government and education programs, Theatre Communications Group
Finding a way for outstanding partnership programs between regional theatres and their local schools to continue, thrive, and even grow.
As states have developed standards and related testing, it has become more difficult to find the time during the school day to conduct these arts programs, in spite of the fact that there are many committed classroom teachers and theatre educators. Gretta Berghammer, chair, University of Northern Iowa theatre department, and past president of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education
Accountability and assessment.
Currently, education policy makers are overly focused on measurable outcomes and have a myopic view of how those outcomes can and should be achieved. I think the present emphasis on reading and math and science is pushing education leaders to look for a “quick fix” to insure that students can complete mandatory tests in these areas. I fear that we are creating, because of assessment and high-stakes testing, a learning environment that is very much single-performance and subject-based, as opposed to holistic in its approach to education and learning. I worry that the arts will be excluded if this singular view of performance continues. Samuel Hope, executive director of the National Office for Arts Accreditation
An expansion of curriculum-based K-12 theatre programs led by highly qualified specialist teachers.
The goal ought to be to establish programs, faculty, and resources that will help large numbers of students gain the theatre competencies suggested in the National Standards for Arts Education of 1994. Since these standards have been adopted or adapted in forty-seven states, there is a stronger basis for developing programs at the local level than at any time in our educational history. Betty Jane Wagner, professor of language and literacy, Roosevelt University, and author of Educational Drama and Language Arts: What Research Shows
The need to prove that arts education in general is a critical component to the K-12 education of all students.
In the assessment-of-achievement climate now pervasive in public education, arts advocates of all stripes will need to unite. If we don’t, we risk starving the next generation of the developmental potential that our fast-moving information society desperately needs. Claudette Morton, executive director, Montana Small Schools Alliance, and chair of the 1997 NAEP Arts Standards Committee
Making sure that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) stays on its proposed schedule to do another arts assessment (including theatre) in 2007.
In order to do that, planning and committee work must begin in 2002. This assessment is critical to keep the arts in the forefront of public education. We learned so much from the first one in 1997, but we can learn much more from a second one. There will be a major body of comparative research as well as new specifics to mine. The first NAEP Arts Assessment, which included theatre, stands as a landmark for how to do large-scale performance assessment. Kent Seidel, executive director of the Alliance for Curriculum Reform
The need for the various theatre advocates and organizations to pull together into a unified voice.
We must work together for a vision of theatre education that is rich, of high quality, supported and available in all schools for all students, and includes the input of teachers, artists, school leaders, parents, and other community members. To do that the various organizations representing educational theatre need to work together in a cooperative, one-voice fashion. We’d also like to hear what you have to say about the future of theatre education. You can participate in a discussion on this topic on our Discussion Board. Back to top of page |