What is arts integration?
Teachers, artists, principals and arts organizations may define arts integration differently but at the heart of this practice is the process of embedding arts activities into non-arts curriculum. Arts integration differs from traditional arts education by its intentional inclusion of both an arts discipline and a non-arts subject as part of learning. Arts integration is not a substitute for quality arts instruction. Arts specialists play a vital role in schools. Art is Education believes strongly in the need for sequential arts instruction by a certified art teacher and advocates on behalf of all students, so that they have equitable access to a quality education that includes regular arts instruction.
Research is being done throughout the country and over and over again, stories emerge of how the arts have transformed students and the schools and classrooms in which they learn. Arts integration can benefit many different types of learners but it seems that it has the most impact on those students who struggle in a traditional classroom setting and who are at-risk for academic failure. At a time, when teachers and administrators are faced with an unbelievable amount of pressures to meet state standards and less time to do so, arts integration has been a way for them to help students engage in learning more deeply and make school a place they want to be.
Arts Integration and 21st Century Learning Skills
Much is being said about the need to prepare students to be competitive in a 21st Century global economy. Schools are answering this challenge by focusing on curriculum that concentrates on Science Technology Engineering and Medicine or STEM. The importance of ensuring a place for the arts within STEM is imperative if schools are to help students be successful beyond the “core curriculum”.
It is through the arts, that people are creative, imaginative and innovative. It is through arts education that students develop and refine skills they need to succeed in a highly complex, technological, and multi‐cultural world. Regardless of the argument being made for arts education, one thing is clear; the arts are important to providing the kind of well rounded education all children deserve and must have to be successful as lifelong learners and citizens.