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Responding to Policy in Art Education

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International policy is having a heavy impact on creativity in art education
with both positive and negative implications for the future of the professional field.
In this paper, I will discuss some of the important dimensions of recent policy that
are influencing art teaching and learning and some of the exciting ways that art
educators are responding to negative impacts of policy in order to benefit their
students learning about the creative, the imaginative, and the inspired.
In order for creative or imaginative thinking to emerge in art classrooms,
we must challenge students through interests and concerns that are relevant to
them, which can be done best by teachers who have had a challenging teacher
education. Otherwise, we are just requiring students to make things. As I will
illustrate, professional practice that promotes creativity now requires educational
leadership, by both teachers and higher educators, which incites creative action on
the part of students.

Creativity and the Educational Effects of Policy
Social scientists and policy-makers in many post-industrial countries are
placing a new emphasis on creativity. What is variously called the creative sector,
creative industries, and the creative class, includes producers of a wide range of
visual culture, from fine art to popular art (such as film, television, crafts,
architecture, comics, toys, folk art, computer games, advertising, and fashion).
The recent popular and renewed interest in the creative arts and design is
changing conceptions of social, political, and economic development. The growth
of visual technologies alone, from computer graphics to digital video, has had a
tremendous impact on economic and social development, which illustrates some of
the advantages of global conditions.
The economic growth of this sector of the post-industrial global economy is
becoming influential enough for even business people and politicians to notice.
Richard Floridas (2002) often cited book, The Rise of the Creative Class, has made
such a compelling argument that government officials across the US are changing
local policy and investing millions to attract creative workers and companies to
their regions. Professor Florida argues that one-third of the US economy is made
up of creative class jobs and he uses the term perhaps more liberally than most
people would in the arts. But, even limiting the definition to the realm of visual
culture that art educators are now teaching, about 10% of the US economy is made
up of the creative sector, which is substantial.
The sane giovlh of visuaI cuIluie has occuiied in olhei posl-indusliiaI
counliies. Ioi exanpIe, lhe ciealive secloi vas iecenlIy given ciedil foi lvice
lhe giovlh iale in lhe UK as conpaied lo lhe econony as a vhoIe (iilish
ConsuIale piess ieIease, Novenlei 21, 2OO5). And fion 2OO3, in ils annuaI
IoIicy Addiess, lhe Hong Kong SAR Coveinnenl has enphasized an
invigoialion of lhe econony ly acliveIy pionoling lhe ciealive indusliies.
It is becoming generally understood that cultural strength can no longer be assumed
to be about traditional consumer products, but rather it is about information and
creative ideas and networks. Economic and public policy experts are becoming
increasingly aware that a strong, creative labor force is not only essential to
developing the knowledge necessary to succeed in the Creative Economy and that
strong social structures are required to ensure the development and distribution of
that knowledge (e.g. Florida, 2002; Venturelli, 1998).
But, what about the importance of a strong art education? Creative social, political,
and economic growth cannot be sustained or valued without the solid foundation of
a professional art education for producers as well as an art education for those who
will be influenced by the creative arts and the cultural experiences they enable.
I raise this question because international public policy is beginning to
arrest the healthy growth of creative culture as educational policy is defeating
teachers by establishing boundaries that limit the possibilities of student
imagination. Current political and socioeconomic conditions are moving us
toward an increasing focus on the development of an educational system that
emphasizes information gathering and distribution skills without sufficient
attention to the meaningful qualities of communication. At the same time,
concerns have increased about youth violence and terrorism resulting in new
policies intended to increase security, but which may mainly function to reduce
individual freedoms.
Although the common definition of public policy is based on the idea of public
service, policy can hurt as much as it can help. Without intelligent and thoughtful
criticism of the public policy that influences educational practice, students
experiences in the arts may not reflect educators best, creative vision. Let me
provide you with some examples that are currently influencing art education.
The following three global conditions are being used to shape policy and limit the
possibilities of creative education:
1. 1. Global tensions are causing fear-driven security policies.
2. 2. Politicians are generating conservative fiscal policies for
social services, such as education, and promoting the
businessization of education through, for example, privatization
and corporate sponsorship, resulting in essentialist curriculum and
assessment policies.
3. 3. Economic interests are promoting quick-fix creativity
development policies.
The educational results of these conditions are:
1. 1. Increased fear of addressing challenging topics in
curriculum and instruction.
2. 2. Limited spending on learning resources, but increased
spending on testing and narrowed curriculum of inputs (reading
and math), not outputs (critical thinking and expression).
3. 3. Regional development standardizing creative
environments.

In lhe foIIoving, I viII discuss each of lhese poIicy effecls and sone
consliuclive iesponses ly dedicaled and sociaIIy iesponsilIe leacheis.

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Lel ne use a US exanpIe lo iIIusliale lhe fiisl of lhese effecls: incieased
feai of addiessing chaIIenging lopics. Lasl ApiiI, a 15-yeai-oId Washinglon
Slale loy vas appioached ly lhe US Seciel Seivice foIIoving lhe confiscalion
ly schooI officiaIs of sone vioIenl diavings he had done of Iiesidenl ush in a
skelchlook foi ail cIass. The schooI officiaIs and lhe IocaI poIice consideied
lhese diavings lhiealening so lhey conlacled lhe Seciel Seivice vho deaI vilh
lolh lhieals lo lhe Iiesidenl and vilh schooI vioIence.
In the US, controversial drawings are protected speech, and although the boy was
reprimanded in school, no legal action was taken against him because it was
resolved that these drawings were political statements, not threats against an
individual or institution. However, this situation raises problematic issues for art
educators. Students see graphic representations of violence on a regular basis, so it
should hardly be surprising that the same types of images appear in their art. In a
political environment where policy becomes law with virtually no public debate and
much of the media promotes fear (while doing little actual analysis to inform us), it
is understandable that even well-intentioned teachers and school officials could
become fearful and avoid challenging topics.
In iesponse lo poIicy, sliong leacheis aie leaching aloul lhe conpIexily
of ail, incIuding chaIIenging ail. Highei educalois aie voiking lo heIp leacheis
undeisland lheii iighls and lhe iighls of lheii sludenls in oidei suppoil
ciealivily and fieedon of consliuclive expiession. Ail leacheis aie ciilicaIIy
inpoilanl in suslaining such an enviionnenl. HeIping leacheis deveIop
Ieadeiship skiIIs and skiIIs lo luiId liusl in lhe cIassioon can pionole
consliuclive seIf-expiession and a ciilicaI sociaI consciousness. In lhe US, in
oidei lo nove leyond Iinils of poIicy, piofessionaIs in schooIs and in highei
educalion aie deveIoping coIIaloialive skiIIs and slialegies, such as schooI-
univeisily pailneiships, lo lenefil sludenls and pionole ciealive Ieaining.

Curriculum, Assessment, and Fiscal Policy
The second effect of federal policy is limited spending on learning
resources, but increased spending on testing, and a narrowed curriculum of
inputs (reading and math), not outputs (critical thinking and expression). A
generally conservative political attitude toward schooling is reflected in current
educational policy, which results in an emphasis on testing and narrowly defined
objectives with little consideration of the larger, humanistic aims of democratic
curriculum.
In the US, the No Child Left Behind act reified this view when it was passed
supported by the Bush administration. As a result of strong lobbying by arts
education professional groups, art was included as a core subject in this act.
However, that was the only good news for art education. The act currently
emphasizes reading and math testing. Annual tests are given to students and public
records are made of the test scores. Schools that do not show an increase in test
scores on an annual basis are punished through budget reductions. With such strong
motivation, schools are reducing time and resources spent on the arts and increasing
the time and money spent on testing. Rather than promoting arts learning in
curriculum (which interestingly has been suggested in some research to improve
learning in other school subjects), time is being used to teach students how to take
tests. Even art teachers are being contracted by their administrators to help students
improve their academic subject test scores. At first, socioeconomic groups whose
children have had consistently lower test scores applauded this act as a way of
leveling the playing field. However, ninety percent of the people who completed
a web survey about NCLB last year stated that they did believe the Act will be
successful and a strong majority (over 70%) stated that it required too much testing
(http://www.publiceducation.org/nclbhearings.asp).
The emphasis on inappropriate assessments and the so-called academic subjects is
not only prevalent in the United States. Based on a series of UNESCO reports on
art education, from Jordan to Brazil, from Great Britain to Samoa, art is short-
changed in favor of other school subjects even when art is considered a core subject.
When testing is not the major problem, a lack of resources and materials hinders art
education, often because policy is not in place to ensure that these resources are
provided. And when testing is the emphasis, policy ensures that short-term learning
is the major goal rather than the long-term growth that a good art education can
support.
The greatest emphasis in some countries is increased control over public
schooling through financial incentives (and punishments), the privatization and
commercialization of schooling, and a curriculum focused on raising test scores
through an emphasis on formal and technical aspects of learning to the exclusion
of meaningful content. This problem was illustrated in relation to US art
education in 1997 by the results of the last national assessment for art (carried out
in eighth grades across the country), concluding that although students had a
reasonable level of formal and technical knowledge about art, they were
remarkably weak on visual meaning (NAEP, 1997).
In response to essentialist curriculum and conservative fiscal policy,
teaching is newly being approached as a creative activity. Creative curriculum
development and instructional methods promote teaching for meaning, which
emphasizes concepts as well as skills of analysis, critique, and synthesis in
expressive art making, writing, and speaking. It helps students understand the
importance of art in their daily lives and relates this knowledge to other modes of
communication.

Environmental Development and the New Creativity
The third effect of policy influences students through the visual environment.
Regional development, even development that seeks to attract and grow creative
industries, often standardizes the environment. Many urban governments in the
United States are working to develop their regions in this manner. The same shops
can be seen, the same restaurants, even the same landscape design (such as bike
paths). Global companies and products make everything look the same and heritage
differences in visual culture often become hidden.
Without a curriculum that enhances students critical capabilities, they tend to see
such commonality with an uncritical eye, undervaluing the creative and the unique.
And without experiences that actually engage students with visual culture and
cultural institutions, from museums to television, they will not come to understand
the importance of the creative arts in their lives.
In iesponse lo slandaidized enviionnenlaI deveIopnenl educalois aie
leaching sludenls hov lo effecliveIy ciilique vhich heIps sludenls lo lhink
ciilicaIIy aloul lhe iange of visuaI cuIluie lhey encounlei. Lducalois aie laking
giealei Ieadeiship in pailneiing vilh cuIluiaI inslilulions lhal have
liadilionaIIy vaIued ciealivily, such as nuseuns and univeisilies, and vilh
popuIai ciealive indusliies, vhich can aid sludenls in undeislanding aeslhelic
ieIalionships lelveen lhe popuIai ails and lhe fine ails in a vaiiely of
enviionnenls. Thiough such cuIluiaI voik, sludenls can deveIop a lellei
undeislanding of lhe vaIue of ciealive voik.
These policies and their influences contain remarkable incongruities. While on the
one hand, public policy seems to be moving in the direction of creativity as a test of
cultural vitality, one the other hand, educational policy is focused on limiting the
learning of creative thinking and production. Public policy should be based on the
promotion of cultural originality and a diversity of expression. Art education can
help students understand this important aspect public life.

What is Basic to Art Education?

Conlenpoiaiy ciealive pioduclion nusl le lhoughl of Iess as lheiapeulic
seIf-expiession and noie as lhe deveIopnenl of cuIluiaI idenlily. This is vhy
iecenl educalionaI poIicy nisses lhe poinl. So-caIIed lasic skiIIs do nol deveIop
adequaleIy vilhoul oppoilunilies foi neaningfuI, ciealive appIicalions lhal
Iead lo sludenls peisonaI and cuIluiaI giovlh. Such giovlh depends upon a
iich and conpIex knovIedge of sludenls as veII as knovIedge of lhe iange of
issues, oljecls, and ciiliques of ail. Il is veII docunenled lhal Ieaining lakes
pIace nosl effecliveIy vhen sludenls aie inleiacliveIy engaged. An enphasis
on inpul Ieaining is nol as effeclive as Ieaining lhiough ciealive appIicalions
lased on sludenls capaliIilies, inleiesls, and goaIs.
Likevise, lhe idea of vhal is lasic in ail educalion needs seiious
ieconsideialion. We have noved fai leyond lhe idea lhal ail educalion is onIy
aloul Iine, shape, and coIoi. Of couise, lhose aie inpoilanl as lhey aIIov
peopIe lo iepiesenl lheii ideas in visuaI foin, lul vhal is liuIy lasic lo ail
educalion has nol jusl lo do vilh queslions of !"# peopIe nake ail. Whal is
lasic lo ail educalion aIso has lo do vilh queslions of #!$ peopIe nake ail,
hov lhey &'( ail, and hov lhey )*+&( ail. Iail of lhe jol of pionoling ciealivily
nov nusl le lo ievisil lhe concepl in ieIalion lo poslnodein ideas aloul
oiiginaIily and iepioduclion. Whal is lasic lo ail educalion incIudes ciealive
and ciilicaI skiIIs and concepls and has as nuch lo do vilh lhe ciealivily of
audiences as of ailisls. These aie inpoilanl consideialions in lhe cuiienl ail
educalion iefoin invoIving visuaI cuIluie, vhich enphasizes ciealive
expeiiences lased on leacheis knovIedge of sludenl inleiesls, sociocuIluiaI
condilions, and fine ail and popuIai cuIluie (Iieednan, 2OO3).
The conceplion of ail educalion as heIping sludenls lo Ieain aloul lhe
chaIIenging aspecls of visuaI cuIluie is iIIuslialed ly a nuiaI piojecl caiiied oul
ly lhe sludenls of leachei Lisa KasleIIo. As lhese inages iIIusliale, lhis piojecl
enalIed Lisas sludenls lo undeisland ail as lhe visuaI expiession of poveifuI
ideas. Aflei giving appiovaI foi lhe sludenls lo do a nuiaI in lhe schooI
cafeleiia, schooI officiaIs iejecled lhe sludenls design lecause il incIuded an
inage of a gun, aIlhough lhe nessage of lhe nuiaI vas peacefuI. The leachei
used lhe silualion as a vay lo heIp lhe sludenls undeisland lhe conpIexilies of
ail and luined lhe silualion inlo an even noie effeclive Ieaining expeiience ly
enalIing lhe sludenls lo painl lheii nuiaI on paneIs, vhich lhey lhen exhililed
in olhei Iocalions in lovn.
This type of experience is consistent with the new forms of consciousness that are
used by students today in the construction of their identities. Art educators have
long known that art helps students understand the human condition through their
investigations of themselves, particularly when students find their strengths and are
allowed to develop them in-depth. As I found during the research I conducted with
teens who play computer games (Freedman, 2003), and as Danish visual culture
researcher Helene Illeris (2005) states, young people
engage in encounters with art as active participants rather than passive viewers.
Performances, installation art, video and computer art are preferred to traditional
art forms. (p. 235) being hooked, experiencing otherness, participating in
social exchanges and engaging in meta-reflective processes of learning seem to
underline all the positive learning experiences that young people have in their
encounters with contemporary art. (p. 239)
Another important influence on this reform of art education has been changes in
student populations and in the visual culture that influence them. Teaching visual
culture is more multicultural, more interdisciplinary, and more technological than
art education in the past. It addresses the range of challenging issues that lead
professional artists and students to make powerful visual statements.
Fundamentally, it is about art as a form of cultural production and seeks to reveal
the creativity (by both makers and viewers) that gives images and artifacts their
meanings.

Making Art/Making Change
I work extensively with school districts and other cultural institutions to aid individual teachers and education officers
who work to improve students lives through art outside the limitations of policy. To illustrate the power of teachers to make
change, I will read a statement published in the Illinois Art Education Association newsletter by one of my students, Robert Hewett
(2005), who is the Chair of his secondary school art department. (I am showing the work of his students now.) Bob states:
Aflei accepling a high schooI leaching posilion, I legan lo iefIecl on ny
ovn leaching piaclices vilh one significanl queslion in nind. Whal is
lhe ioIe of lhe visuaI ails vilhin a high schooI cuiiicuIun`

I vanled lo give ny sludenls a neaningfuI expeiience lhal vouId
nolivale lhen lo naslei nedia and lechniques. |ulj il occuiied lo ne
lhal a ieIevanl conlenpoiaiy high schooI piogian is sliucluied aiound
sludenl inleiesls and significanl sociaI issues and conceins.
Conlenpoiaiy poslnodein ail, design, lechnoIogy, and popuIai visuaI
cuIluie vouId piovide an invaIualIe iesouice foi addiessing lhese
inleiesls and Iaigei issues. Wilh lhese as nolivalois, consideialions such
as nedia and lechnique vouId le suljecl lo lhe needs of sludenl
Ieaining.

|Taking an appioach lo leachingj visuaI cuIluie addiesses nany of lhe
queslions and conceins lhal I had iaised iegaiding ny ovn leaching
piaclices. Change vas inlinidaling and chaIIenging al fiisl, il sliII is.
ul lhe lenefils foi ne, ny sludenls, and ny piofession aie vasl.

Whal is lhe ioIe of lhe visuaI ails vilhin a high schooI cuiiicuIun` Nov,
I feeI I an liuIy leginning lo ansvei lhal queslion. (p. 8)

Lalei, aflei naking changes in his piogian, ol (peisonaI coiiespondence,
2OO5) viole:
The effecl on oui ail piogian has leen has leen ieaIIy nolicealIe.
Sludenls aie liuIy nolivaled and inleiesled in vhal lhey aie Ieaining
and ciealing. I lhink lhal lhis is due lo lhe sludenls seeing ail as ieaIIy
ieIevanl and connecled lo lheii Iives and expeiiences no nallei lheii
aliIily lo nanipuIale nedia.

We liy lo piesenl lhe visuaI ails as a vay of knoving, naking neaning,
and consliucling knovIedge. We sliess visuaI and popuIai cuIluie,
cuiienl evenls, and conlenpoiaiy visuaI foins and lechnoIogy. AIso
inpoilanl, lhis appioach has nade a diffeience in lhe vay oui schooI
adninislialion vievs oui puipose and ieIevance, especiaIIy vheie visuaI
lechnoIogy is conceined. We ieceive funds nuch noie easiIy vhen ve
fiane oui iequesls in leins of pioviding lhe sludenl vilh ieIevanl Iife
skiIIs such as lhose foi conlenpoiaiy visuaI lechnoIogy and consliucling
and deconsliucling visuaI knovIedge and connunicalion.

Conclusion
So, vhal can leacheis and poIicy nakeis do lo nake ail educalion
neaningfuI in lhe conlexl of gIolaI condilions and confIicling poIicy` I
ieconnend lhe foIIoving:
1. 1. Woik vilh olhei educalois and cuIluiaI inslilulion pailneis lo
nake iegionaI and IocaI cuiiicuIun slay up-lo-dale vilh lhe
conlenpoiaiy visuaI ails and vilh changes in lhe piofessionaI fieId.
2. 2. Suppoil ail educalion poIicy and piaclice lhal is lolh
individuaIIy ciealive and sociaIIy iesponsilIe lo heIp sludenls and
aduIls ieaIize lhe inpoilance of lhe visuaI ails in lheii daiIy Iife.
3. 3. HeIp sludenls lo Ieain lhe nany ieasons vhy peopIe cieale al
lhe sane line as lhey Ieain aloul hov peopIe cieale.
4. 4. Iionole ciealivily in sludenls lhiough voik lased on
sludenl conceins and slienglhs, using aulhenlic assessnenl, so lhal
lhey have an oppoilunily lo Ieain deep, cuIluiaI knovIedge aloul lhe
povei of ail and lheii povei lo connunicale lhiough ail.
5. Emphasize leadership in higher education and in teaching practice with the goal
of developing local, national, and international coalitions to influence policy.
We should feel pride in the history of our field and in the past art educators who
have emphasized important foundations of artistic creativity, such as, childrens
drawing development and the growth of individual talents. But, in the context of
current global conditions, postmodern identities, and political economies, new policies
demand our attention. Helping students to think and act with insight and imagination
now requires a redefinition of professionalism in the field and new strategies for
leadership at all levels.

9":"*"&;"7

British Consulate-General Press Release (November 21, 2005). UK Design Savvy
Boosts UK Economy and Links with Hong Kong.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage
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Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Hermanson, K. (1999). Why does one want to learn? In
Hooper-Greenhill, E. (ed.) The educational role of the museum (2
nd
ed.), London:
Routledge.
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class: And how its transforming work,
leisure, community, and everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and the social
life of art. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hewett, R. (2005). Mosiac: The newsletter of the Illinois Art Education Association,
Fall, p. 8.
Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce (March, 2003). Developing Hong Kongs
creative industries An action-oriented strategy.
Illeris, H. (2005). Young people and contemporary art. International Journal of Art
and Design Education, 24(3), 321-242.
The NAEP 1997 Arts Report Card: Eighth Grade Findings from the National
Assessment of Educational Progress. Washington, DC: NAEP.
Venturelli, S. (!998). Liberalizing the European media: Politics, regulation, and the
public sphere. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.