The Vulnerability of Elementary Arts Programs: A Policy Analysis

• In Event: 72.065 - Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: 72.065-11 - Current Issues in K–12 Music Education

Abstract

In this paper, I offer a policy analysis of one school district's decision to cut all elementary arts programs. The purpose of the paper is to illuminate how a confluence of policy conditions caused structural vulnerability and enabled such cuts to be made. I argue that it is impossible to understand these conditions without understanding the effect of school accountability on the arts. The significance of the analysis is that it both illuminates the particulars of a case study and offers perspectives on other similar situations in school districts around the United States.

Author

• Ryan Shaw, Capital University