Examining Arts Education Appropriations: A Theoretical Policy Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 1:45 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Zooming Out: Broad Perspectives in Music Education (Table 5)

Abstract

Policymaking in arts education is rarely able to garner widespread attention and support. Instead, arts education policy making is often an indirect result of other education policy work, or is relegated to symbolic, low-cost policy achievements. As a result, any significant state appropriations for arts education are worthy of attention. Recent successes in this vein include California’s Proposal 28 and smaller funding appropriations in Michigan, Oklahoma, and Florida. The purpose of this conceptual/theoretical paper is to examine these policies in terms of the two main phases of the policy cycle: formation and implementation. Specific questions guiding the conceptual policy analysis are: (a) how did the policy formation process unfold in these states, and (b) how did early policy implementation proceed?

Author

• Ryan D. Shaw, Michigan State University