Improving Visual Arts Education

This report documents the experiments by the Getty Center for Education in the Arts to research and develop content and teaching practices in school visual arts programs. An 18-month Rand Corporation study, begun in 1982, investigated discipline based art education (DBAE) visual arts programs in 7 cross country school districts. The study's two purposes were to determine whether the holistic DBAE approach to visual arts education was viable, and to learn more about the character of such programs. Findings from this study were tested by the Getty Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts between 1983-89. The Institute's goals were to implement innovation and improvement in the way visual arts were defined and taught, and to provide a more substantive model for staff development. Toward this end, school district personnel from 21 Los Angeles County School Districts (California) were introduced to the concept of DBAE and assisted in establishing programs of DBAE instruction. Results showed that: (1) changing the way society values art in education is still problematic as art is seen as "a frill, nice but not really necessary"; (2) using a coherent theory is an effective starting place for art programs; and (3) art can be implemented in programs found like those in the rest of the discipline based curriculum. The report concludes with appendixes that include a chronological overview; evaluation instruments; listings of institute contributors and advisory committees; participating districts in Los Angeles County; cooperating museums; and a 1991 evaluation of DBAE programs. Contains 22 references. (MM)-ERIC