Research: A Foundation for Arts Education Advocacy

The history of virtues (and vices) associated with the arts goes back a long way, to early myths, the Old Testament, and Greek philosophy. Music, for example, has been viewed throughout the last 26 centuries as an agent of affect, a mode of cognition, a sophisticated form, a symbol system, and a social and political force. These attributes reverberate in contemporary philosophy of music and the other arts, as well as in educational goals and practices of arts education. Of these wide-ranging attributes, cognitive aspects have assumed in the last decades a central place in advocacy outcomes of arts education, testimony to the enduring power of the cognitive revolution. Elliot Eisner (1982) remarked that the kinds of nets we know how to weave determine the kinds of nets we cast, which, in turn, determine the kinds of fish we catch (p. 49). In the context of research and advocacy in arts education, our methodological tools often shape our research questions, reflecting the types of benefits we seek and the values that we espouse. This chapter presents research on outcomes associated with engagement in the arts, including: (1) metaanalyses of empirical studies examining connections between music and achievements in reading, math, spatial abilities, and creativity; (2) research focusing on the impact of music on the brain, searching for neurophysical impact of learning; and (3) holistic studies on the impact of music and other arts on students, investigating learning opportunities and exploring the long-term impact of arts instruction.1 The discussion of the various criteria for advocacy research is directed toward its contribution to an enhanced understanding of the possibilities of arts education and toward the improvement of theory and practice.