The Arts are not Fluff: Understanding the Barriers to Art Education in Utah

Throughout the history of the American public education system, arts-based curriculum has often been regarded as less critical to a child's education than empirical subjects like math, science, and literacy. With an increased focus on positivism, standardized testing, and educational budget cuts, schools across the nation, have seen drastic cuts to their art education programming. Although these factors also affect Utah schools, little research has been done on the barriers to art education in Utah. Through semi-structured interviews and digital stories from teachers, artists, and organizations working to in art education across the state, this research outlines the specific barriers K-12 art education programs face in Utah. Along with the national barriers, Utah also faces further barriers including unsupportive administrators and teachers, collaboration deficiencies, a focus on STEM education, increased ESL programming, and misinterpretations of the Utah Core Curriculum. Recommendations to overcoming these barriers include increasing advocacy and research on the benefits of art education, broadening collaboration efforts among organizations, artists, and schools, and expanding funding and support for art education programs across the state.

THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIERS TO ART EDUCATION IN UTAH by Molly Turner A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Masters of Arts in Community Leadership Westminster College Salt Lake City, Utah May 2015 Abstract Throughout the history of the American public education system, arts-based curriculum has often been regarded as less critical to a child's education than empirical subjects like math, science, and literacy. With an increased focus on positivism, standardized testing, and educational budget cuts, schools across the nation, have seen drastic cuts to their art education programming. Although these factors also affect Utah schools, little research has been done on the barriers to art education in Utah. Through semi-structured interviews and digital stories from teachers, artists, and organizations working to in art education across the state, this research outlines the specific barriers K-12 art education programs face in Utah. Along with the national barriers, Utah also faces further barriers including unsupportive administrators and teachers, collaboration deficiencies, a focus on STEM education, increased ESL programming, and misinterpretations of the Utah Core Curriculum. Recommendations to overcoming these barriers include increasing advocacy and research on the benefits of art education, broadening collaboration efforts among organizations, artists, and schools, and expanding funding and support for art education programs across the state. To those who know the arts are more than fluff and are doing something about it. Acknowledgements Thank you to all of my research participants for sharing your stories and passion for the arts. Thank you to my thesis advisors Shelley Erickson and Jamie Joanou and to Peggy Cain, the director of the MACL program. Thank you to Jean Irwin at the Utah Division of Arts and Museums for all of your support throughout this process. Thank you to my family and friends, especially my mom who, despite my whining, started dragging me to art museums from a very young age. Table of Contents Chapter I: Introduction to the Study Topic and Purpose ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Personal and Practical Significance .......................................................................................................... 1 Community Organization ........................................................................................................................... 2 Research Question ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Limitations and Delimitations ................................................................................................................... 4 Root Causes of the Lack of Arts Education ............................................................................................... 5 Chapter II: Literature Review Introduction to the Importance of the Arts ..................................................................................... 7 The Beginnings of Art Education in the United States ................................................................... 9 Art in schools ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Art education from independent organizations ....................................................................................... 11 Historical efforts for change .................................................................................................................... 12 Public Education Reform: Positivism, Testing, and the Arts ....................................................... 13 The rise of positivism and empirical knowledge ..................................................................................... 13 Standardized in modern education reform ............................................................................................... 15 No Child Left Behind and positivism ...................................................................................................... 17 Further Barriers to the Arts Today ................................................................................................ 18 Positivism and STEM .............................................................................................................................. 18 English as a Second Language curriculum .............................................................................................. 20 Implications for Organizations Providing Arts Programming ...................................................... 21 Collaborations between schools and arts organizations .......................................................................... 21 Current Efforts for Change ........................................................................................................... 24 The Common Core and the arts ............................................................................................................... 24 Chapter III: Methods Population .................................................................................................................................... 27 Participants ................................................................................................................................... 27 Access and Recruitment ................................................................................................................ 29 Methods ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Interviews ............................................................................................................................................... 29 Digital storytelling .................................................................................................................................. 30 Problems and Issues ...................................................................................................................... 32 Ethical Issues ............................................................................................................................... 33 Participant ethics ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Researcher subjectivity ............................................................................................................................ 34 Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 34 Validity ........................................................................................................................................ 36 Chapter IV: Findings and Analysis Participants ................................................................................................................................... 38 Benefits of the Arts in Utah Schools ............................................................................................. 39 The arts create well-rounded students ..................................................................................................... 39 The arts are beneficial to integrated learning .......................................................................................... 41 The Barriers the Arts Face in Utah ............................................................................................... 42 Barriers to art education within schools .................................................................................................. 43 The little a ............................................................................................................................................... 43 ESL and the arts ...................................................................................................................................... 45 High-stakes testing ................................................................................................................................. 48 The Common Core in Utah ..................................................................................................................... 50 Issues with Administrators and Teachers ..................................................................................... 52 Administrators and the arts ...................................................................................................................... 52 Old guard teachers and the arts ................................................................................................................ 55 Collaboration in the Arts ............................................................................................................... 57 Statewide efforts ..................................................................................................................................... 57 Smaller collaborations ............................................................................................................................. 59 Funding Barriers to Art Education ................................................................................................ 60 School budgets ........................................................................................................................................ 60 Outside funding ...................................................................................................................................... 61 Chapter V: Discussion Implications .................................................................................................................................. 65 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 66 Policy ...................................................................................................................................................... 66 Lobby for arts curriculum to be required ........................................................................................... 66 Request a percentage of SB194 funds go specifically to art education ............. ……………………67 The Utah Division of Arts and Museums and similar organizations ...................................................... 67 Continue with current funding and collaboration efforts ................................................................... 67 Increase qualitative and quantitative research .................................................................................... 68 Art Education Collective Impact Initiative ......................................................................................... 68 Teachers and organizations providing arts programming ....................................................................... 69 STEM to STEAM ............................................................................................................................... 69 ESL and the arts ................................................................................................................................. 70 Limitations ................................................................................................................................... 70 Future Research ............................................................................................................................ 71 References .................................................................................................................................... 73 Appendix A Recruitment Script .................................................................................................... 87 Appendix B Art Education in Utah Study Consent Form ............................................................. 88 Appendix C Interview Protocol .................................................................................................... 90 Appendix D Learning Objectives and Personal Reflection .......................................................... 92 Appendix E Digital Story Links ................................................................................................... 95 Appendix F IRB Approval ............................................................................................................ 96 Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 1 Chapter I: Introduction to the Study Topic and Purpose In recent years, an increased focus on accountability and standardized testing in education has led to a decreased emphasis on arts-based curriculum. Despite research indicating that the arts increase student's cognition and problem solving abilities (Sabol, 2013), the arts continue to see major budget cuts in schools across the nation, including in Utah. With an increased focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and a notoriously low education budget, art education in Utah continues to become a lower priority in education policy reform and funding. For my research I interviewed participants of a statewide survey researching the art education opportunities currently existing across the state. In doing so, this project will give greater understanding to the universal barriers facing organizations and individuals working to increase arts-based learning for Utah students in grades K-12. By informing policy makers and education reformers about the barriers to arts education in Utah, the research I conducted will help give a voice to those advocating for arts-based learning and increase funding for arts programming for all students across the state. Personal and Practical Significance Both scholars and educators have argued that participation in the arts prepares students to fully participate in a democratic society and helps to "develop the capacity for social and cultural transformation," giving them understanding and appreciation of cultures beyond their own (Malin, 2012, p. 2). As the daughter of an artist, my ability to make sense of the world around me was greatly enhanced by early and consistent exposure to the arts. Beyond active participation in the arts at home, I was also fortunate enough to attend an elementary school that valued the arts and made arts-based learning a core part of curriculum. In my own experience as both a student and now as an adult, my involvement in the arts has enhanced my ability to solve problems more creatively, to better appreciate the world around me, and to relate to people and cultures different from my own. I have also seen how the arts help children express their creativity and make sense of the world around them. Recently I worked with students from a Title One elementary school on the west side of Salt Lake City on an arts-based project. For this project, they took characters from myths they had written and brought them to life in the form of papier-mâché masks. During this experience I watched the students make connections between language arts, history, and the visual arts. This experience reaffirmed my belief that if given the opportunity, everyone can benefit from lifelong learning in the arts. If we truly want to see both our students and our state succeed, arts-based curriculum must become a higher priority for school districts and policy makers. Creative problem solving skills gained through exposure to the arts helps mold well-rounded citizens who are better able to contribute to the state, national, and global economy (Ruppert, 2010). Understanding the barriers to art education in Utah will allow policy makers and school officials to more fully understand the importance of arts-based learning, including the role they can play in removing these barriers. Community Organization For this project I primarily worked with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, Utah's state art council. During the same time as I conducted my interviews, the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 3 Division of Arts and Museums, Westminster College, Brigham Young University, and Utah Valley University sent out a statewide survey to individuals and organizations participating in arts education programming. This survey attempted to capture all of the art education programs taking place across the state. My role involved updating contact information, survey development, and distribution. Although my participation in this survey was part of an internship with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, my individual thesis work specifically entailed interviewing four survey respondents in order to further understand the barriers for those working in art education. Along with interviews, I also asked participants to create digital stories of their experiences working in art education. Digital storytelling asks participants to create short films (usually 3-5 minutes) using still images, voice recordings, videos, sound or music, and text (Gubrium, Hill, & Flicker, 2014). After discussing digital story telling with all participants, because of time constraints, only one organization was able to commit to participate in the digital story process. From the survey results and my further research, the Division of Arts and Museums and its partners hope to increase both collaboration and funding for art education in Utah. The findings will be shared with legislatures, participating organizations, and the general public to advocate for an art education Collective Impact initiative, a process that helps organizations create "a common agenda for solving a specific social problem" (Kania & Kramer, 2011, p. 36). Although my own interviews contributed to goals of the work I am doing during my internship, my individual work was a separate body of research from the initial survey. Following my research, my findings were shared with the Utah Division of Arts & Museums (UA&E) and survey Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 4 partners Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and Westminster College. The digital story may also be used on the UA&E website. Research Question This project accompanied an extensive statewide survey, the purpose of which was to capture the various art education efforts throughout Utah. As a follow up to those surveys, my specific research question was: • What are the universal barriers in implementing and maintaining art education programs for K-12 students in Utah? o What are the barriers faced by educators and schools? o What are the barriers faced by individuals and organizations? Limitations and Delimitations Because of time and geographical limitations, I could not include interviews from every organization and individual who participated in the larger arts education survey. Also, the interviews included could have been limited by participants' biases, which may have included selective memory and exaggeration. Their answers may not be independently verifiable. Because of this, I selected interviewees approved by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums who are known for their professionalism across the state. I was also limited by the amount of time I had for my research and was unable to meet with as many participants as I would have liked. This study may also be limited by my own personal biases, which prevented me from being completely objective on the topic of art education. Because of this, I disclosed my personal opinions about the importance of art education to participants prior to my interviews. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 5 For my thesis, I only researched art education in Utah, specifically the barriers faced in efforts to sustain and increase arts-based learning across the state. Because of this, only individuals and organizations in Utah were interviewed. In order to get a comprehensive view at the barriers to art education across the state, I chose participants who have worked with both rural and urban populations in Utah. Individuals including teachers, artists, and museum educators, as well as art and non-arts based organizations, were considered as interviewees and digital story participants for this project as many non-art organizations provide art-education programming. Root Causes of the Lack of Arts Education The depth and breadth of art education programs in America's public schools has historically been dependent on the state of the U.S. economy. Two of the main contributing factors in the decline of arts education programming have been the budget cuts due to changes in the economy and the increased prevalence of standardized testing. When education budgets are cut, art programs, including music, dance and visual arts, are usually the first to go. By the beginning of the 21st century, most students in the United States took more than two dozen tests; the testing areas being math, science, and language arts (Duncan & Stevens, 2011). Because the arts are not as quantifiable as other subjects, many legislatures, government officials, and members of the public do not understand the role art can play in helping students excel in testable subjects. In the 1980's, as other nations' economies threatened to overshadow the United States, President Reagan called for a greater focus on accountability and standardized testing in education (Smith, 1996). This mentality was further ingrained into the public education system when President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 6 into law in 2001. Initially created to "close achievement gaps among different groups of students" (Spohn, 2008, p.3), NCLB cut funding to schools that did not meet the testing standards the law required. This mentality of accountability and testing has steered curriculum towards teaching children to test instead of providing a more holistic education. In answer to the failure of NCLB, 48 states have led the effort to adopt the Common Core Curriculum that establishes a single set of educational standards for students from kindergarten to 12th grade (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014). Although this initiative moves away from many of the requirements of NCLB, subjects like math, science, and literacy (subjects that are believed to breed better workers, hence strengthening the economy) continue to dominate over art education. Testing also remains a large component of the Common Core Curriculum. During the school year, students from third to eighth grade across the United States, including Utah, may be tested for periods that span up to 12 weeks and high school students up to 8 weeks (Stephens, 2014). Despite research indicating the importance of the arts to a child's overall development and future, the public education system continues to focus on testing and accountability. Although there is information available on how these root causes are effecting American student's participation in the arts in general, there is little data on Utah students specifically. My research sheds light on how issues listed above are affecting Utah schools as well as organizations providing arts-based curriculum across the state. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 7 Chapter II: Literature Review Introduction to the Importance of Art Participation in the arts, including music, visual arts, dance, theater, and literary arts, gives students a creative outlook to make sense of the world around them. Research strongly suggests that there is a positive correlation between students who are involved in the arts and overall academic achievement (Stuht & Gates, 2007). The arts in education help students develop empathy, self-motivation, and greater respect for cultural diversity (Perrin, 2008). Arts-based learning can act as an essential tool to help students connect with and understand both the world around them as well as other subjects they are studying. Participating in art activities can give parents and teachers insight about a child's learning style and can promote cognitive gains, helping students build knowledge (Armistead, 1996). Art education can also teach children how to engage in their communities. Many theorists argue that participation in the arts gives students the awareness to help shape just democracies within their communities and society at large (Malin, 2012). In her research on the role of art in community building among elementary school children, Malin (2012) observed fourteen students ranging from first to fifth grade for one year as they engaged in arts-based learning in the classroom. In this study, students were specifically participating in the visual arts including painting and drawing. Observing and speaking with the children as they made art, the researcher found that "in the art room, the children played active and central roles in determining what the practice of their artistic community would look like" and that participating in the arts gave them the ability to augment the shape and direction of their cultural and social worlds (Malin, Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 8 2012, p. 17). From this research we learn that the effects of arts-based learning go far beyond the classroom into the real world. Despite findings that art helps students succeed, throughout the history of education in the United States, arts-based curriculum become a secondary subject, incorporated only when education budgets allow (Heilig, Cole, & Aguilar, 2010). Research indicates that many schools in the United States have largely cut art budgets or have done away with art programs completely. According to a 2012 study by the Campaign for America's Future, cuts to education funding are causing increases in class size and the termination of art, music, and physical education programs (Bryant, 2012). Utah has not been exempt from this lack of funding. According to the Utah Education Association, districts across the state lack the funding for elementary art or music teachers (Tracy, 2013). Research also indicates that there has been an increased focus on testing and accountability in schools, often to the detriment of arts-based learning. Recently, a study from the Center on Education Policy found that America's increased focus on standardized test scores has led to a 16% decline in time devoted to art and music education in public schools since 2001 (Perrin, 2008). Teachers are spending the majority of their time in the classroom educating students on subjects that can easily be tested. Because of this, many students are being denied exposure to certain subjects, including the arts. Many believe the arts should not be part of the core curriculum because artistic subjects are not easily quantifiable through standardized testing (Heilig et al., 2010). In efforts to combat the loss of arts-based curriculum, there has been an increased effort from outside organizations to provide art programs. For my own Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 9 research, I studied the barriers to art education in Utah, specifically from the viewpoint of public educators and schools, arts and non-arts organizations, and individual artists, In order to provide further background on this topic, I will now review literature regarding the importance of the arts in education, the history of arts education in public schools, and the major root causes of the decline in public art education with specific focus on the mitigating social, economic, and political factors including the rise of positivism and privatization in the United States public education system. Although most of the research available provides information about the importance of arts education and the negative effects of recent education reform in the United States, there is little research addressing how these issues have affected Utah specifically. There is a need for current literature on the state of Utah's art education programming and the barriers to the implementation and sustainability of these programs. My research findings in Chapter IV help address these gaps in the literature and provide specific information and important perspectives on art education in Utah. The Beginnings of Art Education in the United States Art in schools. Although advocated for by Benjamin Franklin as early as 1749, arts-based curriculum was not introduced into America's public education system until the early 1820s (Whitford, 1923). Even then, this curriculum was based more on vocational training than cultural and creative development. Art was introduced into schools to provide, "practical training for industrial employment," through drafting and technical drawing education (Heilig et al., 2010, p. 137). It is interesting to note that even at the time of art's appearance in education, the public education curriculum focused heavily on empirical subjects and training workers, a pattern that would reemerge in the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 10 1980s (Duncan & Stevens, 2009). In the early 1900s, as industry became more efficient, Americans had more leisure time to dedicate to arts and culture. This growing interest in the arts helped arts education become a common curriculum goal in schools (Saunders, 1971). At the turn of the century, student-centered, studio-based learning became integrated into high schools across the nation, influenced by education theorist John Dewey, whose research found that access to art education helped expand a child's perspective of the world while creating venues for action and understanding (Goldblatt, 2006). As America moved into the late 1920s, educators believed that the arts had become a permanent part of curriculum (Efland, 1983). Similar to the trend seen in more recent years, the prevalence of art in public schools ebbed and flowed over the next few decades depending on the state of the U.S. economy. With the economic downturns of the Great Depression and both World War I and II, budget cuts plagued the education system. In these times of tightened the purse strings, the arts were usually the first programs to go (Saunders, 1971). During the Great Depression, thousands of schools were closed but enrollment continued to increase. In order to both address these needs while lowering costs, many districts cut their art programs entirely (Efland, 1983). In the 1980s, as other countries' economies threatened to overshadow the United States, an increased emphasis on mathematics and science in education once again pushed the arts into the background (Smith, 1996). Education again became focused on imparting empirical knowledge over creative expression. This focus gave rise to the dominance of standardized testing within the public education system, leaving little room for arts-based curriculum. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 11 Art education from independent organizations. Although there is little literature regarding the history of outside organizations providing art programs in public schools, the programs these organizations provide have become an integral part of art education programs across the nation (Amrein-Beardsley, 2009). The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a federal agency created in 1965, is one of the earliest known organizations to advocate for both arts organizations and art in schools (Heilig et al., 2010). When the NEA was first created, it purposely focused more on arts-in school-programs and less on creating programs led by specialists (Helig et al., 2010). This strategy was exemplified by some of the first projects the NEA funded including a pilot program in Pittsburg, Detroit, and New York City called Poets in the Schools and a Laboratory Theatre Project that helped train secondary school students in classical drama (Bauerlein, 2009). Although there is little research available on the history of outside organizations providing art in schools, these programs have become more prevalent in recent years. Because of the standardized testing demands, many teachers and administrators have turned to outside organizations to teach art in their classrooms (Amrein-Beardsley, 2009). In Maricopa County, Arizona, for example, sixty community-based nonprofit cultural and arts-based organists are working with public schools to give children more access to the arts (Amrein-Beardsley, 2009). Although there are many organizations providing arts programming to schools in Utah, there is little research readily available on the legacy of outside organizations providing in-school arts programming in the state. By interviewing art educators across the state, my research contributes further information about the history of outside organizations providing arts programming Utah schools. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 12 Historical efforts for change. Throughout the history of the arts in public education, there have been some glimpses of change, often brought about by passionate art professionals, teachers, and organizations willing to advocate for the cause. In the 1950s, as the economy boomed, school boards began increasing funding for art programs, including hiring trained art teachers to oversee these programs (Ziegfeld, 1951). The arts gained further support during the John F. Kennedy administration. In honor of the death of the poet Robert Frost, President Kennedy told an audience at Amherst College, "I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statehood" (Kennedy, 1963, p. 2). Two years later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act, which helped create the National Endowment for the Arts (About the NEA, 2014). Yet, when Russia's Sputnik beat America to space, the arts were again sidelined to make way for science and math (Smith, 1996). Just prior to the election of George W. Bush, members of the Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Art Education Association came together on a policy project to outline a national plan to ensure incorporation of the arts in schools nationwide (Heilig et al., 2010). The legislation identified the arts as part of the core curriculum in federal policy and stated that by 2000 all students would demonstrate competency in core subjects including math, science, geography and the arts (Heilig et al., 2010). This collaboration brought many to hope that the arts would finally be recognized as core curriculum in schools, but with the 2000 election of George W. Bush and the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act which will be discussed further on in Chapter II, any efforts to enact specific art-education policy were overshadowed. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 13 Although various efforts have been made throughout the years to more fully incorporate the arts into education, a lack of consistent support and policy highlight that the arts are not a priority to America's education system. Public Education Reform: Positivism, Testing, and the Arts The rise of positivism and empirical knowledge. One of the major root causes in the decrease of arts programming in public education is an increased focus on positivism, a paradigm that puts "an emphasis on science as an instrument of prediction and control" (Levin & Clowes, 1991, p. 5). Further, positivism argues that there is a single reality independent of humans and that "the methods of the natural sciences should be adopted in research on social, and specifically educational, questions" (Mackenzie, 2011, p. 534). In education, positivism calls for using scientific methods, or testing, to measure student achievement. The recent prevalence of positivism in America's education reform has led to an increase in standardized testing and an increased focus on empirical subjects that fit the positivist approach to measuring results (Chappell & Cahnmann-Taylor, 2013). Empiricism holds that observation and experimentation are superior to reflection or reasoning thus, empirical subjects are those that provide sensory or experiential knowledge (Mathison, 2005). Thus empirical subjects like math and science, and literacy, which can be easily quantified, have received more attention than reason-based subjects like the arts. Starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the idea that higher test scores translated into a growing economy, better workers, and superior global competiveness (Sacks, 1999), led to the implementation of a teach-test-teach education model (Kirst, 1991). Thus began the practice of teaching testable subjects to breed a better workforce Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 14 that will in turn bolster America's economy, which is still today how Americans view the role of education. In 2009, over 600 groups representing scientists, engineers, technicians, and educators wrote to President-elect Obama encouraging him to "not lose sight of the critical role that STEM education plays in enabling the United States to remain the economic and technological leader of the 21st century global marketplace" (Dickman, Schwabe, Schmidt, & Henken, 2009, p. 1). From Obama's remarks, it is clear the historical belief in the economic benefit in focusing on empirical subjects continues to remain deeply rooted in today's education system. Under the Reagan administration, the precedent was set for standards-based reform (Kuehl, 2012) and the connection between America's students and the nation's economy remained strong. After the release of the 1983 Presidential Commission Report, state governors felt pressure to raise scores in order to help the economy (Duncan & Stevens, 2009). The report blamed schools for the economic recession in the early 1980s, claiming that mediocrity in education was threatening the future of the United States (Hursh, 2007). These claims put pressure on both state governments and schools to focus more on industry, science and technological innovation, which led to a heavier focus on vocation over education. With a consistent focus on math, science and literacy, the political views of the 1980s surrounding education are still reflected in today's system. Students are being educated in testable subjects believed to help them succeed in the workforce (Hursh, 2007). Arts-based curriculum, as opposed to quantifiable, logical knowledge, is not seen as an important tool in training today's students to become contributing members of their communities and society as a whole. Subjects rooted in empiricism are believed to be the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 15 key to America's economic advancement. In 1988, the head of the National Endowment for the Arts, Frank Hodsoll, argued that the arts were not "viewed as serious" when speaking about the state of art in public education (Heilig et al., 2010, p. 138). Despite a 2011 report commissioned by President Obama called "Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools," which called for better art integration in public schools (President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, 2011), today's students from third to eighth grade will be tested on math, literacy and science for periods that span up to 12 weeks and high school students up to 8 weeks (Stephens, 2014). Despite available research on the national implications education reform has had on arts-based curriculum, there is little research available on how these reforms, including those discussed below, have effected art education in Utah. In interviewing participants with expansive knowledge of art education and education reform in Utah, my research provides specific knowledge of how these changes have influenced Utah students. Standardized testing in modern education reform. In recent years, standardized testing has been a continued practice in public education, leaving little or no room for arts-based learning (Ngai, 2006). The implementation of this methodology has led many educational institutions to become what Levin and Clowes (1991) describe as business-like enterprises. In 2002, the adoption of George Bush's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act mandated that each public school meet a required set of goals at each grade level, measured through standardized testing (Peterson & West, 2003). With the creation of NCLB, Duncan and Stevens (2011) note that students in the United States in grades 3- 12 began participating in mandated tests intended to measure whether or not their school Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 16 met newly outlined teaching standards. Between state and district exams, AP exams, and SAT and ACT tests, and NCLB's additional testing mandates, students in the 21st century are currently taking more than two dozen standardized tests by the time they graduate from high school (Duncan & Stevens, 2011). While proponents of NCLB have argued that this testing system will bridge a gap among students (Spohn, 2008), there is a stronger tie to capitalism than NCLB advocates are willing to admit. As outlined by an unnamed educational researcher, education is closely tied to capitalism wherein, "tests have come to serve a function similar to money: they are both a measuring tool and a means of control" (Assessor, 2011, p. 68). In this same article, the author explains capitalism essentially turns human labor into work that makes the accumulation of capital possible and historically schools have been responsible for training and providing these workers. Under NCLB, students' test results reflect their ability to contribute to America's economy and those schools that don't test well face funding repercussions and even closure. The implementation of NCLB provided a way to correct what many thought the public education system had failed at in recent years; provide adequate workers to maintain capitalism in America. Schools whose students perform better on standardized tests receive more funding and those schools deemed "failing" see their budgets cut (Donlevy, 2003). These cuts have mostly affected minority students and students from low-income households, harming the very students NCLB aims to help. From 2002-2005, the Ribbon Valley School District in rural Ohio, a district with schools designated as "low-income," lost nearly $70,000 in funding under NCLB policies (Spohn, 2008). With similar budget cuts taking place all across the nation under NCLB, most schools have little to no money for Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 17 the arts, depriving students who would benefit from art programming the most. Despite a 2003 federal report card indicating that a third of Utah's public schools had failed to meet the standards for math and reading (Brunelle, 2006), I was unable to ascertain how much that failure specifically impacted the state's federal education funding. Despite this lack of specific funding information, Utah Representative Marie Poulson's 2015 proposed bill HCR7 argues that since NCLB's implementation, Utah's focus has shifted from teaching to testing (Jacobsen, 2015) and because of this Utah students are not receiving holistic educations. No Child Left Behind and positivism. As mentioned previously, the positivistic approach to accountability sustained by NCLB has increased high stakes testing, keeping what many consider testable subjects like math, science and reading as the cornerstone of curriculum. Since the adoption of NCLB, arts education in schools has decreased by 16% nationally (Heilig et al., 2010). Empirical knowledge continues to overshadow subjects whose concepts cannot be tested by filling bubble sheets. The danger of focusing entirely on positivism, as outlined by F.W. Lutz (1988) is that it results in a "reductionist, fragmented curriculum taught in a fixed sequence of elements with out any required reference to values" (p. 464). Teaching students to how to test well has prevented reforms that would "promote deeper and more active ways of thinking and learning than multiple-choice tests typically capture (Sacks, 1999, p. 9). The tactics thought to be creating America's future work force are instead teaching them that memorization is the key to academic success. The public education system is creating a society of one-sided thinkers, the implications of which threaten to contradict the goals of America's efforts to breed strong economic contributors. My findings, as outlined in Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 18 Chapter IV, discuss how the lingering consequences of positivism, standardized testing, and NCLB are effecting art education in Utah. Further Barriers to the Arts Today Positivism and STEM. Throughout the history of the United States' public education system, positivism has more prevalent in schools as other countries have threatened to overshadow America's economic dominance (Duncan & Stevens, 2011). This threat has created a greater focus on the role students played in the United States' economic future; a trend still present in the curriculum public education focuses on today. In 2013, the Obama administration committed $3.1 billion to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education across the country (Petty, 2013). The president mentioned this development in his 2013 State of the Union address noting, "Tonight, I'm announcing a new challenge to redesign America's high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy" (Obama, 2013, para. 40). As Obama's remarks reflect, the importance that students have to America's economy has caused an increased support for subjects rooted in science and technology, leaving little time or money left for the arts. STEM is also being ingrained into Utah's public education system, exemplified by the state's recent push for an increase in funding for STEM based curriculum. In March of 2014, Utah lawmakers approved an appropriation of $20 million to the STEM Action Center, furthering Governor Gary Herbert's efforts to increase STEM education to help bolster Utah's economic future (Wood, 2014). Some effort has been made to change STEM to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), an initiative that would make the arts a valued part of this new curriculum (Watson & Watson, 2013). Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 19 Despite these efforts, there is little information on how an increase in STEM is affecting art educators if STEAM is in fact being implemented in Utah. In order to better understand and document the barriers that this legislation is creating for arts education across Utah, I included questions about this initiative in my interviews discussed in Chapter IV. As indicated by Utah's increased STEM funding, today, curriculum continues to cater to subjects believed to prepare students to become successful economic contributors to society, often neglecting the impact the arts could have on these efforts. Instead of working to create well-rounded individuals, public education continues to remain focused on training workers. As part of my own research, I investigated the barriers that this increased focus on STEM has created for art education in Utah, the findings of which I will discuss in Chapter IV. An increased focus on STEM perpetuates the standardized testing mentality in public education. Similar to the idea that empirical subjects will best train students for the work place, relying on these subjects is also believed to be the best way to test the competence of schools across the nation. Arts-based learning is not easily quantifiable and, therefore, is not deemed an acceptable testing subject, often forcing educators to argue for arts' relevance in schools (Sabol, 2013). Because the only subjects for which states are held accountable by the federal government are mathematics and reading, the prevalence of art in schools continues to diminish (Heilig et al., 2010). Although NCLB indicates that art should be a "core academic subject" in public schools, there is no requirement for states or even districts to implement and evaluate student's artistic abilities (LaFee, 2008). Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 20 English as a Second Language curriculum. In recent years, there has been an increased need for English as Second Language1 curriculum to be taught in schools across the United States, including in Utah. The students requiring these classes, known as Limited English Proficient (LEP) students, comprised over 9 percent of the student population in Utah in 2011 giving Utah the eighth fastest growing LEP population in America (Federation for American Education Reform, 2012). This rapid increase has caused schools to find time to fit ESL programs into their curriculum along with finding the money to fund these programs. Along with money from the Utah legislature, local districts are required to provide funding which usually ends up being taken from the general education fund (Federation for American Education Reform, 2012). Although these programs are essential to many of Utah's public schools, funding these programs leaves little or no extra money for the arts. Like other subjects like math and science, research has shown that the arts can also benefit ESL learning. In a 2006 study on the value of arts-based learning for 5th grade ESL students, researchers found that an arts integrated approach "may have facilitated transfer of skills and contributed to the significantly higher test scores" (Urso, 2006, p. 115). Although further research is needed, studies have shown that the arts, including theater and dance, can contribute to the learning of LEP students (Brouillette, 2013). Despite the fact that many LEP students could benefit from this integration are not given adequate access to the arts, there is little research indicating that this integration is taking place. I was unable to find any research indicating whether or art integrated 1 The term for this curriculum has shifted from ESL to English Language Learners (ELL) in recent years but I will refer to it as ESL in this chapter to stay consistent with the cited literature Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 21 ESL programs were being implemented in ESL teaching in the United States as well as specifically in Utah. This gap in the research may provide the art education advocates with an opportunity to integrate the arts more fully into everyday curriculum. I did not anticipate that this topic would be salient to my thesis but it was brought up in many of my interviews. Although somewhat limited, my findings in Chapter IV do contribute to how ESL programs are effecting art education in Utah. Implications for Organizations Providing Arts Education Collaborations between schools and arts organizations. Education reform based in testing has also had repercussions for organizations that provide schools with arts programming. In an attempt to counter art education cuts, both arts and non-arts based organizations have partnered with schools to provide art programs. Despite the best intentions of these organizations, however, unenthusiastic administrators who are more worried about test scores see themselves as "consumers of ‘products' instead of true partners in these programs" (Amrein-Beardsley, 2009, p.11). In a study done researching partnerships between arts organizations and 11 districts in the Los Angeles County Unified School District, Rowe, Castaneda, Kaganoff, and Robyn (2004) found that integrating the arts into their existing curricula was extremely important to schools as they partnered with outside organizations, more important than teaching art for art's sake. In many cases, as exemplified by this study, the arts are seen as being beneficial in helping students succeed in other subjects but not necessarily seen as a core subject. Although NCLB and other education reform is affecting the relationship between organizations who provide art education programming and schools, there is little research available on this topic, especially specifically regarding this issue in Utah. My research Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 22 findings in Chapter IV provide data on the universal barriers to art education, including those barriers created by NCLB, from the perspective of educators, organizations, and individuals working to increase arts education across the state. In many cases, even before NCLB, it had become the role of nonprofit organizations (both arts and non-arts focused) to provide schools and communities with art education programming (Burnaford, 2007). From my experience working in the arts in Utah, I have seen organizations like the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program (BTSALP), the organizations associated with the Utah's Professional Outreach Program to Schools (POPS), and Bad Dog Arts, provide art programming to many students across the state. In the case of BTSALP, which is being implemented across the state, classroom teachers work alongside artists specializing in dance, music, theater, or visual arts to create arts-based lesson plans for their students (The Model, 2014). Although BTSALP has recently secured legislative funding, much of their funding comes from the Beverly Taylor Sorensen estate (Friends of Art Works for Kids!, 2014) and because of time and funding, not all students in Utah are able to have BTSALP in their schools. The Utah POPS program consists of nine arts organizations across the state work together to teach the Utah's fine art core curriculum in the public schools (Leishman & Young, 2012). Despite their efforts to reach every school in the state, according to Cathy Jensen from the USOE, "not every school can participate in POPS and the POPS programs do not necessarily fill the gap left by a cut arts curriculum in schools" (Bowler, 2012). Because arts programming has been cut in many schools across the state, outside Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 23 organizations are needed to help close that gap but despite their best efforts, servicing every school is nearly impossible. Bad Dog Arts provides both weekly to monthly hands on classroom instruction as well as project based programming where students can help create permanent art works for their schools including paintings and murals. In order to benefit from Bad Dog's programs, schools must apply for grants from outside organizations. It is up to a school's principal to decide whether or not teachers can apply for those grants and many who are worried about test scores often pass on this opportunity. Personally working with Bad Dog Arts allowed me to understand some of the barriers that these organizations face, including a lack of financial support and a lack of support from principals and teachers who are worried that taking time for the arts will be detrimental to their school's test scores. Despite the collaborative efforts of these and similar organizations across the state, the average Utah school day still lacks adequate art time. Although I have seen firsthand the barriers these organizations face because of NCLB's mandates, there is little research available specifically looking at the issue from the perspective of outside organizations that provide arts programming to K-12 students. Similar to teacher led art programs, organizations that bring arts programming into schools also face funding hurdles (Amrein-Beardsley, 2009) but there is little research on other barriers these organizations face when trying to create and implement art education programs including whether or not they are similar or different from those faced by schools. Because of the prevalence of these partnerships, further research is needed to understand how organizations and individuals working to increase arts-based learning have been affected by recent education reform. My research sheds light on the barriers Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 24 that education reform has created for organizations in Utah who aim to provide art education programming, both in and out of schools. Current Efforts for Change The Common Core and the arts. Today, the American public education system continues to evolve as forty-five states have decided to adopt the Common Core State Standards Initiative, "a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade" (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014, p. 1) in subjects including English language arts and mathematics. The initiative aims to keep all students on the same educational track by creating common curriculum that will be taught across all participating states, including Utah. Many art education advocates see arts-based curriculums as "perfect vehicles for teaching the kind of capacities that CCSS-ELA uphold" (Franco & Unrath, 2014, p.32). According to David Coleman, one of the Common Core State Standards architects, the arts have a central and important role to the success of the Common Core (Franco & Unrath, 2014). In a blog post for Americans for the Arts Coleman (2012) referred to the arts' place in the Common Core saying, The great news is that the standards call on so many things the arts do well. The tradition of careful observation, attention to evidence and artists' choices, the love of taking an artist's work seriously lies at the heart of these standards. (p. 6) Despite said support, under the Common Core, language arts and mathematics still remain the focus of the public education curriculum and Coleman's comments reflect that the arts are still supplemental to enhancing those subjects. Similar to NCLB, the Common Core penalizes consistently poorly performing schools with restructuring, Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 25 corrective action, and even closure, which in turn jeopardizes their access to the arts, which are often the first to go when funding is tight (Wexler, 2014). Because many states are in the early phases of implementing the Common Core, it is still unclear what effect it will have on arts-based curriculum but many are concerned that it will continue to marginalize the arts (Wexler, 2014). As explained throughout this chapter, research indicates that art education in public schools has continued to become a lower priority as America focuses on economic growth. Art education is not seen as having the same significance as foundational core courses that being tested in schools nationwide (Heilig et al., 2010). The increasing political, economic, and social issues surrounding public education have forced many to forget the well-being of the individual student and see education as a business (McDonald, 2005). Although there have been calls for increased arts programming from policies like NCLB and even more recently from the current presidential administration (President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, 2011), the arts continue to be underrepresented. What is unclear from the research is how these issues are specifically affecting Utah, both within schools and within organizations working to increase art education. Through my findings discussed in Chapter IV, I begin to address these gaps in the research about the barriers that art education faces in Utah. As I interviewed individuals working to increase art education programming across the state of Utah, my research provides a greater understanding of the importance of the arts and the barriers of implementing and maintaining arts programming across the state. It increases the body of research on the effects of high-stakes testing on Utah's arts Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 26 education programming, the arts and the Common Core Curriculum in Utah, and the barriers to arts education programming in general. These findings have the potential to increase understanding, collaboration, and funding for the arts to all students across the state. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 27 Chapter III: Methods Although research indicates that participating in arts-based learning can help students excel in other academic areas (Stuht & Gates, 2007), art education programming is often less valued than other subjects including math, science and literacy. For my thesis I researched the universal barriers to arts education in Utah from the perspective of four different groups or individuals working on art education programming. I worked to identify the specific barriers faced by these different groups as well as general barriers that art education faces across the state. My research included interviewing four participants, two of whom agreed to create their own digital story about their work in art education in Utah. Population The population I focused on throughout my research consisted of individuals and organizations working to increase and maintain art education programs for K-12 students throughout Utah. Those I selected from this population have a wide range of experience and knowledge in the art education field. I worked with participants from different areas across the state in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of the barriers faced by those in different regions of Utah. These art educators have experience in both in school and out of school art programs in music, dance, and the performing and visual arts. I interviewed participants who have worked in both urban and rural areas of Utah including larger cities like Salt Lake with populations close to 200,000 and smaller towns like Wendover with populations closer to 1,500 or less. Participants Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 28 The participants in my research have previously been or are now currently involved in some kind of art education programming. Prior to my interviews, each individual or organization received an arts education survey sponsored by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, Brigham Young University, Westminster College, and Utah Valley University. I worked on this survey independent of my thesis work. The survey was approved through UVU's IRB and was only used in my research as a means to select participants for my individual work. At the time of my interviews, all participants were at least eighteen years old and had had at least five years of experience working in the art education programming. Because there are many different organizations and individuals involved in providing art education to Utah students, I conducted my interviews with four individuals who have various backgrounds and perspectives on the subject and live in the state. As outlined in my literature review, many of the obstacles to art education have come about because of education reform like No Child Left Behind, a focus on empirical subjects like math and science, and increased testing measures. To understand this from an educator's perspective, I interviewed James Rees, an art teacher at Provo High School, a public school in Utah County. To understand these issues from an organizational perspective, I also interviewed individuals from both art focused and non-art focused nonprofit organizations that provide arts-based programming to students across the state. These interviewees included Pamela Gee, the director of Utah Festival Opera's "Opera by Children," and Sister Mary Ann Pajakowski of Holy Cross Ministries. Sister Mary Ann's associate, Diego Zegarra participated by creating a digital story for their organization. Little research has been done around the obstacles these organizations face Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 29 with their art education programming and through my thesis; I have provided knowledge in this area. In Utah, many individual artists are also involved in art education programming. Because of this, I interviewed Mary Wells, an artist who participates in artist in residency programs in schools across the state. This interview provided insights about the barriers Utah artists face in implementing arts-based learning without the support of a larger organization. In order to represent a wide range of Utah communities, each participant lives and works in a different region of Utah. Access and Recruitment As previously noted, for this project, I recruited individuals who had been invited to participate in the Utah Division of Arts and Museums' Art Education Survey that I worked on prior to beginning my own research. Before beginning my interviews, I met with my supervisor Jean Irwin from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums (UA&M) to create a list of survey respondents who would positively contribute to my research. With permission from my supervisor, I gained access to their emails and phone numbers through UA&M's contact management software. Using this information I reached out to individuals through email (Appendix A) as a follow up to their participation. I initially contacted five participants but only four were able to participate within my required timeframe. After agreeing to participate, I set up interviews with four participants and provided further details about their involvement. Methods Interviews. For my project, I first conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews, in order to obtain qualitative descriptions of my participants' experiences working in art education (Kvale, 1996). I chose to use semi-structured interviews to Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 30 allow for possible changes to both question form and sequence and so that I could follow up on answers in order to allow participants to fully explain their stories (Kvale, 1996). Although my interviewees also took part in the Utah Division of Arts and Museums Arts Education survey, I chose to interview them as a more personal way to allow "knowledge [to] evolve through a dialogue" (Kvale, 1996, p. 125). This human interaction allowed me to develop trust with participants, helping them feel comfortable freely sharing information (Spradley, 1979). These interviews took place after I received approval for my project from Westminster College's Institutional Review Board (IRB) (Appendix F), which included approval of my interview questions. Participants were also required to sign a consent form (Appendix B) prior to their interview, agreeing to be recorded for their interview and acknowledging the risk involved in their participation. Participants also gave me permission let me use their first and last names when discussing my findings. The interviews lasted about forty-five to sixty minutes and took place either at the participants' place of work or at my office at the Chase Home Museum in Liberty Park. I performed all of my interviews in person with the exception of one follow up phone call with Pamela Gee after we ran out of time during our face to face interview. Upon the consent of each participant, I recorded the individual interviews using both my phone and iPad. Even though I recorded each interview, I also took notes during and after the interviews, writing down such observational information as the participants' body language, dress, and a physical description of the interview setting, all of which contributed to my final analysis. Digital storytelling. Following these interviews, one of the four interviewees agreed to participate in creating their own digital story about the barriers they've faced in Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 31 their experience with art education in Utah. I also created my own digital story outlining an experience I had that helped me understand the importance of art education. Digital storytelling asks participants to create short films (usually 3-5 minutes) using still images, voice recordings, videos, sound or music, and text (Gubrium, Hill, & Flicker, 2014). The digital storytelling method developed by the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkley, California, first became popular in the late 1980s and is an effective tool in helping others express their beliefs, traditions, and knowledge (Suwardy, Pan, & Seow, 2013). As it is almost entirely participant driven, digital story telling "supports a deeper level of understanding and meaning of the story for the listener and audience" (Flottemesch, 2013, p. 54) and is used to create and support community building (Flottemesch, 2013). Through digital storytelling, Holy Cross Ministries and I had the opportunity to creatively express our personal experiences working in art education. This process gave us what Dion Clemons (2014) refers to as "moments of agency" (p. 8), wherein through narrative creation, we could express their own experience and perspectives on the obstacles art education faces in Utah. I decided to make my own digital story so that I could understand the creation process and help my participants with any technological issues they may have faced in making their own digital story. I also wanted to provide a personal example of how I myself came to understand the importance of the arts in a child's education. Including own my digital story helps personally tie me to my research. I will use it in my analysis to exemplify the benefits of arts-based learning. It is my hope that these personal stories will help others, including Utah legislatures and policy makers, understand the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 32 importance of arts education and what can be done to increase arts programming across the state. For the actual digital story creation process, I asked Holy Cross Ministries to write a story about an experience where they faced barriers to their work in art education. Sister Mary Ann enlisted her associate Diego Zegarra to make a digital story on behalf of the organization. Before writing and recording their stories, I provided Diego with worksheets that outlined the process and gave him blank storyboards to organize his narrative and images. I also provided him with resources on how to find non-copyrighted images and music. I asked him to compile pictures to use in his story, either from his own collection or non-copyrighted pictures from the Internet. Diego took responsibility for both recording and compiling the digital story on his own. Although participant Pam Gee initially agreed to create a digital story, she was unable to complete the work in the time provided. As art educators or art program administrators, the individuals I worked with are creative individuals who often express themselves through their art. Asking them to engage in digital storytelling gave those who participated a creative way to think about and express the barriers they face in their programming. Problems and Issues Although the details of my project were straight forward, there were a few logistical and participatory issues that arose during my research. Because my participants were from different areas of the state, I was required to travel for a few of my interviews or schedule interviews when participants would be in Salt Lake. This only became problematic when I ran out of time interviewing Pam Gee who was in Salt Lake from Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 33 Ogden. Because I did not have time to travel to Ogden to finish our interview, I called her the next day on speakerphone and recorded the rest of our interview over the phone. Asking participants to participate in digital storytelling also posed somewhat of a problem because of the time and technological skills it required. Because of this, only two participating organizations agreed to create digital stories. I also ran into some technical issues with the format of Holy Cross Ministries' digital story that I fortunately was able to work out. Initially I could not open the file Diego sent me but after downloading an additional program on my computer and converting the video I was able to view the digital story. Although at least one other participant committed to creating a digital story, the time requirements to write, edit, and send me digital story materials prevented other participants from completing their digital stories on time. Ethical Issues I did not begin my research interviews until Westminster College's Institutional Review Board has approved my project. In order to further ensure that my project posed no harm or risk to my participants, my research was guided by the IRB ethical principles including respect for persons, beneficence, and justice (Cahill, 2007). These principles ensured that participants were treated as autonomous agents, that efforts were made to secure their well-being, and that participants were not selected based on any favor or disdain of specific races, genders, or classes (The Belmont Report, 1979). Participants were not selected by race or gender and represent a range of areas across the state. Participant ethics. In order to participate in my research, each participant read through and signed an IRB approved consent form (Appendix F). This form outlined the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 34 procedures of my research and the risks and benefits individuals undertook by agreeing to participate. They were also informed that their participation was completely voluntary and that they could have withdrawn from participation at any time. In follow up to the consent form, I emailed each participant for permission to use their name while discussing my findings to which each participant readily agreed. Following my interviews, each individual was given the opportunity read his or her interview transcript and participate in member checking in order to insure that they were comfortable with the way they were being portrayed by my research. Member checking involves taking data back to participants to ensure the credibility of the gathered information (Creswell & Miller, 2010). Following my interviews I emailed each participant a transcript of their interview, asking for any clarifications or additional information. Each responded back that his or her transcript was accurate. Researcher subjectivity. Going into my research, I recognized that because of my strong opinions about the importance of the arts in education I could not be completely objective in my research. Prior to my interviews, I disclosed my support for art education to each participant, including any biases or beliefs I have on the topic. In doing this, I employed reflexive subjectivity, or documentation of how my assumptions have been affected by the data (Lather, 1986), and my own experiences may shape my research. Analysis After interviewing my participants and helping them create their own digital stories I personally transcribed each piece of data including interview transcripts, personal field notes that I took during and directly after each interview, and the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 35 participants' digital stories' transcripts. I transcribed the narrative from Diego's digital story and decided only to analyze the text because he chose to use non-copyrighted images from the Internet and not his own original photos. I also created contact summary forms to record an overall summary of each contact (Miles & Huberman, 1994). From this data, I then conducted qualitative coding to find themes and patterns in my data. Qualitative coding includes selecting words or short phrases that assign salient and summative attribution for my language-based data (Saldana, 2013) in order to find common themes and ideas that may emerge. Before deciding on specific codes, I started the coding process by doing an initial read-through of each interview, manually highlighting common themes and ideas that stood out to me. From this initial coding I began to create a coding framework that organized reoccurring themes throughout my data. I used these themes to create labels and tags to assign "units of meaning to the descriptive or inferential information" (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 56) I had collected. I then re-read each piece of data in order to make sure my coding framework represented the most salient and common themes. Following the second read-through, I used colored pencils to manually assign colors to each code and sub-code. I then re-read through my research, using the assigned colored pencils to underline and categorize the content of each individual piece of data. After multiple readings following this same process, I used Microsoft Word to sort my data into my coding framework, matching the color of the highlighted data with its appropriate theme within my coding framework. To do this, I copied and pasted sections from the original data into my coding framework. Once all of the data was sorted, I used this framework to organize my data and to make observations and assertions about the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 36 universal barriers faced by those working in the art education field throughout Utah. My analysis consisted of looking at the amount of data under each code and then the quality of this data in supporting the theme of the code. I then selected the codes with the most salient data to represent the largest barriers that art education faces in Utah. Validity In order to maintain validity throughout my research, I employed both research reflexivity and member checking as outlined by Creswell and Miller (2010). From the outset of my writing and interviewing, I disclosed my personal beliefs about the importance of art education that could have shaped my research. This information was provided to both my readers and those I interviewed. In order to incorporate this reflexivity into my narrative, I included personal experiences that have shaped my views on the importance of art education and included a few of those specific experiences in the first chapter of my thesis. I also used the member checking method to maintain validity throughout my research. Member checking required taking the data and information I collected back to the participants so that they could "confirm the credibility of the information and narrative account" (Creswell & Miller, 2010, p. 127). Each participant was sent a transcript of his or her interview to read through and make any corrections or additional comments. This gave participants the opportunity to validate the information they provided and adds credibility to my research. Conclusion The arts have proven to be an important part of a child's education (Stuht & Gates, 2007), yet arts programming, including dance, theater, music, and visual art, is not Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 37 an integral part of public education in America, including in Utah. By interviewing art educators across the state, analyzing those interviews, and then allowing them to relay their experiences through digital storytelling, I have provided information to the public, members of the state legislature and other government officials about the importance of art education and the barriers art educators face in implementing and maintaining their programs. This research helps fill a gap in literature pertaining specifically to the state of art education in Utah and will also give a voice to those working to help Utah's children through increased exposure to the arts. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 38 Chapter IV This chapter will consist of the analysis of my collected data including semi-structured interviews, digital story transcripts, field notes, and contact summary forms. Using the coding framework I established during my research, I have organized my data into common themes that answer my research question regarding the barriers to art education in Utah both for schools and organizations. Unlike Chapter II which was organized chronologically, I will first introduce the benefits to arts-based curriculum and will then discuss specific barriers to art education for K-12 students in Utah schools as identified by the collected data. Participants Before analyzing the collected data, I will begin by introducing the research participants. All of my participants agreed to let me use their actual names so I will not be using pseudonyms in my analysis. James Rees is an artist, art advocate, and high school art teacher at Provo High School. He has a BFA in drawing and an MFA in printmaking and has served in the leadership of Utah Art Education Association. He is currently the secondary division director for the National Art Education Association. Mary Wells is a retired public school teacher, a calligrapher, and book artist. She currently works for the Utah Division of Arts and Museums as an artist-in-residence, providing arts programming for elementary schools across the state. She is also the Utah consultant for Crayola's school art programs. Sister Mary Ann Pajakowski is the Education Director at Holy Cross Ministries and helps oversee the organizations after school programs in Park City. She is a strong Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 39 advocate for the arts and has helped bring arts programming and funding to underserved students in both Park City and Wendover. Diego Zegarra is an After School Program Coordinator at Holy Cross Ministries and an associate of Sister Mary Ann's. Working with Sister Mary Ann, Diego was responsible for compiling the information and creating the digital story for their organization. Lastly, Pamela Gee is the Opera by Children Supervisor for Utah Festival Opera in Logan. Pam's responsibilities include working with schools to provide training for teachers and in-class mentoring for students to create their own operas in a school setting. She is a strong advocate for the arts and works along side members of other POPS organizations to provide programming for students across the state. Benefits of the Arts in Utah Schools Literature indicates that early involvement in the arts promotes cognitive gains, improves learning, and aids in overall development (Armistead, 1996). Before outlining the barriers to art education in Utah, it is important to note that although there is little previous research on the benefits of the arts in Utah schools specifically, as indicated in my interview field notes, all five of my participants consistently identified the benefits the arts can play in a child's development and learning. The data in this section aligns strongly with national data indicating the importance of the arts to a child's education and development (Perrin, 2008; Stuht & Gates, 2007) The arts create well-rounded students. The data consistently revealed the importance of the arts in developing well-rounded students who are exposed to a variety of subjects not limited to math, science, and literacy. Despite this, there continues to be Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 40 an intense focus on ‘testable' subjects like science, literacy, and math in today's public education system (Duncan & Stevens, 2011; Petty, 2013). Sister Mary Ann Pajakowski sees the arts "as just part of education." She thinks "for a well-rounded education that needs to be." As Sister Mary Ann stated, the arts are essential for students to have a holistic educational experience. She also added that the arts "really do broaden children's world and attitude toward learning." The arts help students recognize that learning is more than just taking tests and opens their minds to what it means to truly be educated. When children are exposed to the arts, they are able to use those skills to improve their entire educational experience. In his digital story for Holy Cross Ministries, Diego Zegarra selected stock photos that to him and his organization portray what a well-rounded education could look like. In one photo, students are surrounded by paints and art supplies as they watch their teacher create his own rubber stamp. The next few photos include a student's math homework and calculator are spread out on a desk and a child reading a book. All of the photos are well lit and include bright, warm colors, which adds to the idyllic visual aspect of Zegarra's digital story. By including images that create a picture of an idealized education, he portrays what a well-rounded education can look like. When the arts are incorporated with math, reading, and other subjects, students are more likely to succeed. James Rees explained during his interview, through the arts, students are able to become visually literate and make deeper connections to the world around them, which increases their overall development. According Rees, "the arts are really about social, political personal things that impact lives," and that the arts "shape our lives and the decisions [his students] make." As stated in Chapter II, the arts help students learn how Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 41 to engage with and shape their communities and society at large (Malin, 2012). Rees's experience has taught him the arts help students, both in and outside of Utah, understand the world around them, including their place in it and the decisions they make every day. The arts are more than just images, words, and songs, they can teach students about the history of society, politics, and why these things are important in their lives. The arts are beneficial to integrated learning. As outlined in Chapter II, participation in the arts can help students in their overall academic achievement, providing them with skills they need to succeed in other subjects (Stuht & Gates, 2007). Likewise in Utah, the arts can be tools to help students understand and master skills in subjects like math, science and language arts. Throughout my interviews and digital story transcripts, each participant discussed the role the arts can play in cognitive development when integrated with other subjects like math, science, or language arts. According to Pam Gee, "helps with math, it helps with science, it helps with technology." As Gee indicates, the arts can help Utah students increase their knowledge and capabilities in other subjects. As will be discussed later in this chapter, although the arts can help students succeed in other subjects, there is still a lack of integrated learning with the arts happening in Utah schools. Mary Wells, a former Utah elementary school teacher and current artist-in - residence in Utah schools, has found that the arts have helped her students increase their knowledge in other areas. When discussing her teaching experience she said, "I've used art as a way of teaching math and reading," and that in her current work she is tying the arts into literacy and science. As recorded in my field notes, Wells lit up when discussing a project she is working on with elementary students where they are making their own Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 42 books and then using them to write stories about microorganisms. According to Wells' statement, the arts are a tool to help Utah students make sense of and succeed in other subjects. Like Wells, Sister Mary Ann sees that the arts "really do broaden children's world and attitude toward learning." She did not give a specific example but said that as her students have been exposed to arts she has seen their confidence grow in other subjects. In the experience of all three women, the arts provide greater understanding of other subjects that students study throughout the school day. In my own experience as recorded in my digital story, I saw firsthand how the arts could help students understand other subjects. A few years ago I had the opportunity to work with students in Salt Lake on a mask-making project in their sixth grade classroom. Connecting the arts to language arts, the students were creating masks based on myths they had written previously. As described in my digital story, I was able to see how this project enhanced the learning of one young boy. When I walked over to him, he excitedly waved a single sheet of paper towards my face, wanting me to read his myth. As I tried to decipher the scribbles of his sixth grade boy handwriting, I immediately recognized the monster he had described on paper sitting in front of me in mask form. He looked up at me and smiled, and as our eyes connected I realized the difference this experience was making in his learning. That experience as described in my digital story helped me recognize how vital the arts can be in helping students succeed in other subjects. The Barriers the Arts Face in Utah Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 43 Many of the barriers that arts educators and organizations face nation-wide and in Utah come from educational decisions made on a national, state, district, and school level. As discussed in Chapter II, the focus on empirical subjects like math and science as well as the testing culture perpetuated by No Child Left Behind continue to create barriers for arts in Utah schools. Other barriers that will be discussed in this section include unwilling administrators, restrictive curriculum mandates, and funding barriers. Barriers to art education within schools. A continued focus on math, science, and literacy and the growing need for ESL curriculum has decreased arts programming in Utah schools. Much of the curriculum taught in today's schools is centered on empirical subjects like math and science, which has led to a decline in arts-based learning (Perrin, 2008). After conducting interviews on art education in Utah, my collected data suggests that these barriers are also felt in Utah. The little a. The increased support for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education keeps curriculum grounded in positivism and takes time and money from the arts. In recent years, the focus on empirical subjects like science, literacy, and math has become prevalent in curriculum leading to a decrease in arts programming during the school day (Heilig et al., 2010). This decrease is being felt nationally and in Utah, as described by my participants. According to Pam Gee, although some have tried to incorporate the arts into STEM curriculum, when placed within the acronym, the arts literally and figuratively become a "little a." Discussing an experience she had with an elementary school in Logan she said, Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 44 They started to be a STEM school and their art people said, ‘What? What about us?' so they put in a little a. They put up a whole big banner and they put STEaM and they kind of squoze in this little a. This incident Gee describes reflects a larger trend in Utah curriculum. Even when the arts are included in STEM, their importance is discounted. Using a "little a" in STEaM is a clear message to the public that the arts are just an afterthought and not vital to this new curriculum. Mary Well's described the importance the arts have to STEM noting that in an art educator's conference she attended, the keynote speaker described a few of the initiatives to move STEM to STEAM. She said she noticed, "how much better it was. It just enriched the whole thing." Wells' experience mirrors literature indicating that incorporating the arts into STEM can help students understand STEM subjects on a deeper level (Watson & Watson, 2013). Despite her experience, there is still pushback to adding the arts to make STEM, STEAM. Many opponents to STEAM claim that STEM already incorporates the arts, that there is not a need to change the acronym, (Bertram, 2014) and that adding other subjects may "water down the focus on the core STEM competencies and weaken the initiative" (Jolly, 2013, para. 6). For many in education, science, technology, math and engineering are still seen as the most important subjects in a student's education. STEM is also a hotbed for funding for Utah schools. With a $20 million appropriation given to the cause in March of 2014 due to its potential future economic payoff for the state (Wood, 2014), teachers in Utah have turned their focus further from the arts. As indicated in my field notes and contact summary form, James Rees became Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 45 especially animated and somewhat agitated when I brought up STEM during our interview. According to Rees, "there's a lot of money in STEM, and so there's a lot of financial incentive in it for both administrators and teachers to go after STEM." Because the state has put so much money into STEM, teachers and administrators know that if they want money, focusing on STEM-based curriculum is a sure way to increase funds. Similar to Gee's experience he added, "There's a whole movement about STEAM not STEM, but the reality is it's STEM." Although some in Utah claim to see the benefit of adding the arts to STEM, as evidenced by Rees's experience, the arts are still being excluded. As indicated by literature, students continue to be educated in empirical subjects believed to help them succeed in the workforce (Hursh, 2007). The support and funding for STEM in Utah has taken both time and money from art education. ESL and the arts. ESL has become an important part of Utah's curriculum as the numbers of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students has increased to include over nine percent of Utah students (Federation for American Education Reform, 2012). While research indicates there may be a positive correlation between the arts and ESL learning (Urso Spina, 2006), there is little evidence that these two curriculums have been integrated at all. Instead, art programming has been decreased in order to meet ESL needs in Utah schools. According to James Rees, his school has "a 47% Latino population and a large percent of English as Second Language Learners and now I have, you saw, one student that speaks no English." With a large number of these students requiring ESL curriculum, most of whom speak limited English, many students don't have time for the arts in their schedules. Despite this, Rees tries to use the universal language of art to help Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 46 them succeed. In his experience, he has found that ESL students at his school continue to struggle with English as well as their native language. He mentioned that even with ESL classes available, his students are still behind, especially when it comes to meeting the standard requirements they are being tested on. Sometimes there are grammatical things in their own language [which] are not good, so try and expect them to learn a new language to a super structure…and if their own knowledge of their own language is not very good then it's hard to build on that in a second language and then to test them, uh, is just, is a recipe for failure. When students are not proficient in their own language, teachers have to spend even more time trying to prepare them to be tested in English, leaving little time for the arts. As mentioned above, in many cases, ESL curriculum on its own is not preparing Utah LEP students to meet the standards expected of them. In Park City, Holy Cross Ministries has found that the time spent helping their students master English has taken away from arts-based learning. In the narrative of his digital story on behalf of Sister Mary Ann and their organization, Diego Zegarra describes the students he works with saying, With no mastery of their first language, and struggling to comprehend a second, most end up in classes that support English Language Learning. In there, they would receive extra support in reading and writing in the language they would be using for most of their academic careers. One thing that was not immediately evident to me was what the students were giving up in order to satisfy the Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 47 school's need for them to learn the language. Arts and humanities were on the chopping block first. As schools require more and more time dedicated to ESL curriculum, the arts continue to be one of the first subjects Utah schools reduce. Later in his digital story, Zegarra mentioned the desire their program has to engage in "more enrichment based activities" like the arts in order to help their ESL students but often do not have time to do so. Because many do not recognize the art as tools that can actually help Utah LEP students succeed, ESL and the arts are rarely integrated. This separation leaves little extra time for arts programming among these students. Similarly, artist Mary Wells has found that despite her experience of seeing the arts help students succeed in other subjects including ESL, curriculum remains segregated in most schools, leaving teachers little time for the arts. "They're really tightly scheduled and then they've got all these extra teachers in there teaching, well, English, that's a lot of, English as a Second Language in a lot of the schools." Instead of incorporating the arts into ESL learning, which may increase understanding (Urso Spina, 2006), the two subjects are forced to compete for time and resources. Wells further stated that Utah schools are missing a great opportunity to integrate the arts into ESL learning explaining, But they may be just so focused on teaching them English and just some of the basic things but you know it would be nice, those children, I think would really respond [to art], they respond well, most of them respond pretty well. As indicated by the above quote, the arts may actually assist Utah teachers trying to help their students master English and other basic skills. Wells' experience that the arts Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 48 can benefit ESL students in their learning is consistent with research that suggests the arts may contribute to the learning of LEP students (Brouillette, 2013). Despite this research, the data collected from Rees and Zegarra indicates that art education continues to become less important in Utah schools as ESL numbers increase. Utah schools have less time and limited support for the arts which in turn gives organizations and individuals like Wells, who are trying to provide arts-based programs, fewer opportunities to increase or even maintain their programs. High-stakes testing. Over the last ten years, exacerbated by the implementation of NCLB, testing students in subjects like math, science, and literacy has become commonplace and has left little time for the arts (Ngai, 2006). Despite seemingly moving past the federal mandates of NCLB, this testing mentality remains throughout Utah's public education system and has been detrimental to arts education. A review of relevant literature acknowledges that in Utah, the focus has shifted from teaching to testing (Jacobsen, 2015). This has become a major barrier to subjects like the arts where progress is not easily quantifiable. James Rees addressed this issue when discussing testing and the arts saying, "High stakes testing is problematic in that in the visual arts, it is very hard to quantify when someone is learning something creative." Because the arts cannot be measured using standardized tests already in place, they are often not seen as unimportant curriculum in Utah schools. Rees also addressed the consequences still felt by NCLB saying, "we don't want any child left behind, but the testing did exactly that, excluded a large number of our students." As noted by Rees, NCLB did exactly the opposite of what it was created to Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 49 do, taking funding and opportunities away from schools where students did not meet the law's standards (Donlevy, 2003). In Rees's experience as an art teacher, his students were negatively affected by the standards created by NCLB. Despite this consequence, testing continues to be a major focus of education both in Utah and nationally. In his digital story, Diego Zegarra described how the arts are hurt by a continued focus on testing post NCLB. He said, "even though we would like to engage in more enrichment based activities and we are slowly shifting towards that, we still need to fulfill the school's need for the students to complete their educational benchmarks." Utah schools are still focused on passing benchmarks and meeting educational mandates. Attention remains on helping students pass tests, which takes away from, as Diego describes, "enrichment based activities," including the arts. This creates a barrier for organizations like Holy Cross Ministries in implementing art curriculum in their afterschool programs because their focus must remain on helping students learn how to pass tests. According Duncan & Stevens (2011), testing is still a mainstay in public schools and students in the U.S. are currently taking more than two dozen standardized tests by the time they graduate from high school. Along with taking time away from non-testable subjects like the arts, these tests also put pressure on teachers for their students to succeed. In her experience, Mary Wells has found that teachers in Utah are "getting pressure from the districts to get those scores up" and that "those tests they go for, see if I can recall, they're at least a week. There's a lot of them in there and there's even more different ones now." With experience as both a teacher and an artist-in-residence providing arts programming in various Utah schools, Wells has seen firsthand what a Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 50 detriment testing has been to the arts. With an increase in testing, the school day remains focused on testable subjects to the disadvantage of students, teachers, and organizations and individuals providing arts programming. The Common Core in Utah. As outlined by the Utah State Office of Education, the new Utah Core Standards "define what students should know and be able to do to as they move on to post-secondary training, college, or a career" (Utah Core Standards Home, 2010). Although the Utah Common Core was meant to give teachers more flexibility, districts and administrators have misinterpreted its purpose, leaving little to no room for the arts in everyday curriculum. In addition, the art standards created for the Utah Common Core are not a required part of curriculum making it easy for districts and schools to exclude arts-based learning in the classroom (Wexler, 2014). These factors have kept the arts from playing a significant role in the Utah Common Core. Pam Gee describes the Utah Common Core as "really unique and wonderful" and my field notes indicate that she became very animated when discussing the possibilities of the Common Core. She added that the standards match up well with arts learning. "It's an open, creative way because those standards aren't telling a teacher ‘this is how you teach or even what you teach, but these are the results of your teaching.'" Instead of mandating that certain subjects be taught in a certain way at a certain time, the Utah Common Core is meant to give teachers flexibility in how they present curriculum. Despite this, Pam said that many administrators, who are ultimately responsible for how the Core is implemented, are misinterpreting the curriculum's purpose. According to Gee, many schools and districts across Utah are mandating that teachers teach specific curriculum at specific times and that all teachers in the same grade follow the same Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 51 schedule. Although the flexible and creative nature of the Common Core is the perfect structure for art education, the arts are still not a required subject meaning they are often excluded from curriculum (Wexler, 2014). In her experience, Gee has already seen her organization suffer as teachers have less time for Utah Festival Opera's programs in their classrooms. State Core Standards are not mandating that curriculum be taught all at the same time or even that way. That's not how those standards are. That's the way the school or district has chosen how to ensure that it's utilized in their school, that all teachers will do it. This interpretation of the Utah Core that Gee described has led many schools to require teachers to teach the same thing at the same time across all classrooms of the same grade. It also has kept curriculum focused on subjects like math, science, and literacy. In her experience, Gee has found that in an effort to keep up with the Core's requirements, Utah teachers now have even less time for the arts in their classrooms. Because districts and administrators are mandating the way the Utah Core is being implemented, many teachers are struggling to support the new curriculum. Mary Wells has found many teachers who are unhappy with the change. In her interview she said simply, "I've just overheard most of the teachers don't care for it." In her experience, Utah teachers are not supportive of how the Utah Core is being implemented by schools and districts. Instead of promoting flexibility and creativity in the classroom, school and district level choices have in some cases actually made the Utah Core restrictive. A disconnect has been created between the Core's original intentions and what is actually being implemented. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 52 Speaking on a national level, David Coleman, one of the Common Core State Standards architects, said that the arts have a central and important role to the success of the Common Core (Franco & Unrath, 2014). Rees's perspective on the Common Core supports this idea. In describing the Utah Core curriculum James Rees said, We want students not only to create, but also to think about how those works are presented and then want to respond to creative ideas of other people, you know, and have that dialogue, and then also connect these experiences to a larger world. According to Rees, the new art curriculum developed for both the national and the Utah Core have the potential to help students understand concepts and develop critical thinking skills beyond the arts. Despite this potential, the arts standards are not actually a required part of the national or Utah Common Core. Rees added that when it comes to the Core standards, both nationally and locally, the arts are, "kind of that ‘lower cased a,'" and he admitted, "there's no political teeth behind the National Art Core Standards…they're suggested." Research strongly suggests that many are concerned that the Core will continue to marginalize the arts nationwide (Wexler, 2014). As indicated by the data presented above, the arts are not considered an important part of the Utah Core. The way the Utah Core is being implemented is becoming detrimental to both teachers' ability to include art in their curriculum and to organizations trying to provide art to Utah students. Issues with administrators and teachers. Administrators and the arts. Historically, teachers and administrators in the U.S. have felt pressure to support curriculum that their schools will be held accountable for through standardized testing (Sacks, 1999). This issue is still relevant in Utah schools Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 53 today as many school administrators are unwilling to spend time and/or money on arts programming. This unwillingness stems from a lack of understanding of the power the arts can have in a child's education and the continued pressure for schools to meet mandated standards. According to Mary Wells, There are some principals that will almost punish a teacher if there's any art…and that's who you have to deal with. You've got to get permission, even if you're going to do a grant, it has to be approved by your supervisors and I think that's where it starts. If Utah teachers cannot get the support of their principals, organizations are unable to provide the programs and trainings for teachers and students do not receive adequate exposure to the arts. In regards to a specific principal Mary admitted, "I really don't understand that one at all, other than she's trying to make her school A+ in the district." In recent years as standardized test scores have become tied more directly to funding, budget cuts have become a reality for many schools (Spohn, 2008). This has made administrators more conscious of the need for their schools to do well on these tests. Mary's experience supports the idea that administrators are cutting the arts to focus on subjects they see as more important. Although Sister Mary Ann has found that administrators are basically supportive of her efforts, she also remarked that, It's not the first thing on their plate…but at the same time there's such pressure, I think, about getting everybody up to speed with basic skills. That comes first. I Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 54 think the other pressure is, especially as kids get older, is to be competent in technology and how to use that. Even when Utah administrators are supportive, because of pressure for their students to meet the mandated standards, that support does not often turn into action. Administrators continue to focus on the subjects that they feel pressure for their students to succeed in. Pam Gee's experience has been different from Sister Mary Ann's in that many Utah administrators she works with see the arts as "fluff" and do not understand the powerful role arts-based curriculum can play in a child's learning. Gee understands that schools have mandates and goals they have to maintain and that to many administrators these mandates "don't seem to be supported by the arts." In her experience, Pam has found that those in power often do not understand how beneficial the arts can be to those mandates. She continued that unless they have had experience with the arts, she understands how administrators may see the arts as "fluff." To her, this lack of understanding or fear is "the biggest inhibitor of the arts in education. It's because they don't know or understand the power of the arts." Utah administrators are so focused on students doing well in testable subjects that they do not understand how integrating the arts into those subjects can actually benefit learning and therefore testing. As indicated by the data, with Utah administrators, the lack of understanding of the power of the arts is common barrier to the arts for teachers and organizations working to provide arts programming. Despite research suggesting that increasing a child's access to art helps overall academic achievement and raises graduation rates (Israels, 2009), the data shows administrators and principals in Utah are often still resistant to support these programs. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 55 Old guard teachers and the arts. Many seasoned Utah teachers see the arts as fluff and are more comfortable focusing solely on mandated subjects like math and science without incorporating arts-based learning in their classrooms. According to my participants this is because those who have been teaching longer are not comfortable teaching a subject like the arts; subjects that do not that allow them to provide students with definitive, quantifiable answers. These same teachers also focus on these subjects because they believe their students will have better testing results. This is reflected in national research indicating since NCLB's implementation, arts education in schools has decreased by as much as 16% across the country (Heilig et al., 2010). This teaching style is often reinforced by wider education reform. Because the arts are seen as open-ended and evaluation difficult, there is no requirement for states, districts, or even teachers to implement arts-based curriculum in schools (LaFee, 2008). According to my collected data, there is little pressure for Utah teachers to overcome their uncertainties about teaching art, which often prevents them from incorporating arts curriculum in their classrooms. In his experience, James Rees has found that "staring down the face of uncertainty is scary for teachers and students, so you can see that sometimes teachers are not that much different than their students in being nervous about not knowing the right answer." Oftentimes, this fear of the unknown leads to a fear of introducing the arts into everyday teaching. Before retiring as a teacher, Mary Wells found that many of her incoming students had difficulty drawing and that, "a lot of those lower grade teachers just weren't comfortable in teaching any of those drawing skills whatsoever." Teachers are so Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 56 focused on preparing students in testable subjects that they do not feel comfortable spending time with the arts. This focus is reinforced by national statistics showing that today's students from third to eighth grade will be tested on math, literacy and science for periods that span up to 12 weeks and high school students up to 8 weeks (Stephens, 2014). Because the arts are not included in these testing requirements, many Utah teachers do not feel obligated to become more comfortable teaching the arts in their classrooms. According to Pam Gee, this mentality is one of the biggest inhibitors of arts education in Utah classrooms. In our interview she explained, "I think that fear is the biggest inhibitor of the arts in education. It's because they [teachers] don't know or understand the power of the arts." Many experienced Utah teachers do not understand how the arts can benefit their teaching in other subjects. Later on she expounded, And again, it's just fear of the power of the arts or a fear that they won't be able to accomplish what they need to, because they don't understand the power of the arts. I think those two types of fear inhibit more than anything else. Teachers are uncomfortable spending time on arts-based curriculum because they lack an understanding of how powerful this curriculum can be in a child's development. Because math, science, and literacy have been such a vital part of education for so many years, many teachers are unwilling to spend time on other subjects. This way of thinking is seen as a barrier by all of my research participants as it inhibits teachers, organizations, and individual artists from maintaining and increasing arts programming across the state. In my own digital story previously mentioned in this chapter, I relate an experience I had working with sixth grade students on a mask-making art project. The Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 57 images I selected for this digital story included photos of smiling students, hard at work painting their masks. The narrative describes how excited they were to participate in the arts. I relate this saying, "As soon as we stepped into the class and the kids realized it was art time, there was almost a visible joy that spread among the students." Although not included in the images or script of my digital story, this project was only possible because of the support from the sixth grade teachers at the school. I recently found out that the teacher responsible for applying for the grant that made this project possible had left the school. Because the other, more seasoned teachers at the school were not supportive of the arts, the organization I was working with had to pull their program entirely. Although my digital story demonstrates the benefits that arts-based learning provides this experience also exemplifies the barrier that unsupportive teachers can be to the arts. Without the continued support of outside organizations, many old guard teachers are not comfortable reproducing these kinds of experiences on their own. Collaboration in the arts. Statewide efforts. Although there are impressive statewide collaborations working to increase arts programming for Utah students, these programs do not have the physical resources or time to provide consistent art education across the entire state. Collaborations like the BTSALP and POPS programs (described previously in Chapter II) are working hard to increase art education in Utah, not every school can participate in these programs (Bowler, 2012). Pam Gee, whose organization Utah Festival Opera is part of POPS, said that despite their best efforts, art education collaborations in Utah lack the ability to reach every student. Talking about the collaboration between schools and POPS organizations she explained these organizations are mandated to service every Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 58 school in the state every three to seven years, acknowledging, "it's impossible to actually fulfill our mandate." Although the POPS program is a great resource for art education in Utah, they have been given an assignment that they recognize is impossible to fulfill. Gee added that the barriers to this mandate include "physical resources of our companies, financial resources of our companies, the school's time, and some schools, some administrations don't want to have any arts in their schools at all." The barriers these organizations face have made fulfilling their mandate unmanageable. Despite the hard work of these organizations, these barriers mean that many schools have no interaction with POPS organizations and for those who do it's often only once every few years. The Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program (BTSALP) operated by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, Art Works for Kids!, the Utah State Office of Education, and the Utah Parent Teacher Association is also collaborating with schools to increase art education for K-12 students across the state by providing schools and districts with BTSALP arts specialists. Although this program continues to expand and is doing great work in art education in Utah, they are currently only able to service 130 (Business Wire, 2013) of the 531 (Utah State Office of Education, 2014) elementary schools across the state. According to Mary Wells, many of the BTS specialists are shared across a number of schools within a district, making it hard for schools to receive adequate and consistent exposure to the arts. Speaking about her experience she said, Well like Beacon Heights has visual arts…and she [the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Art Specialist] only gets to see them once every two weeks I think. It's not a lot but they're getting something and they're dealing with the basic skills, and so you hope that that's enough to get some kids going on their own too. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 59 Even when school has their own BTSALP specialist, students are still often underserved. Although the efforts of these organizations are making a huge difference many of Utah's students are still not participating in the arts on a daily basis. Smaller collaborations. Schools and smaller organizations are in constant need of meaningful collaborations to support their programming but often lack opportunities and funding for these efforts. Schools are relying more and more on collaborations with outside organizations (Castaneda & Rowe, 2006), which can create barriers for both the schools and the organizations. Despite these efforts for collaboration within schools, student access to the arts is still limited (Amrein-Beardsley, 2009). As stated throughout my interviews, these limitations also apply in Utah. According to Sister Mary Ann, Holy Cross Ministries' arts programs often rely on collaborations with artists but often times the organization is unable to find artists with time to provide arts programming. "So right now our frustration is finding teachers in Park City who can participate in the afterschool program on a regular basis." She continued, "It's a very spotty thing. It's frustrating because we do have some funding, you know, that we can use. It's just finding people, and it's hard." Even when funding is available, organizations looking to collaborate do not always know where to turn to make those collaborations a reality. Many smaller organizations in Utah also have limited access to larger state collaboration funds. According to Pam Gee, some organizations outside of the POPS group see their collaboration as a closed or elite group. Pam explained that, "they are right in many ways, where the funding simply can't support all arts organizations that are around the state, it's not going to happen." Although POPS is doing great work, the legislative funding for the initiative cannot reach every organization in the state. Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 60 Research confirms the importance of adequate and reliable funding to sustainable arts partnerships (Castaneda & Rowe, 2006) but because smaller Utah organizations don't have access to these state funds, they are often limited in their collaborations with districts and teachers. Teachers also face barriers when trying to bring in outside organizations to provide arts programming for their students. According to Mary Wells, teachers are required to fill out grant applications to pay for programs from these organizations and must first receive permission from their administration before applying. She also added that when she was teaching the grant process took a lot of effort. In her own experience applying for grants as a teacher she explained, "when I was still teaching, [I remember] thinking oh man, there's just no way, I have time to do all this." With today's teachers finding it hard to even cover the mandated everyday curriculum in their classrooms, it's often hard to find time, funding, and administrative support to work with outside organizations on arts programming. Funding barriers to art education School budgets. In recent years, cuts to education funding across the country have caused increases in class size and the termination of art, music programs in schools (Bryant, 2012). According to those I interviewed for my research, this issue is also relevant to Utah schools. My collected data suggests that schools in Utah are often unwilling to use their yearly budgets to fund arts programs, making it hard for teachers and outside organizations to provide students with access to the arts. In his own experience, James Rees has found that Utah schools don't allocate funds for the arts in their yearly budgets. In our interview he said, Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 61 I've seen an increase in requests for afterschool programs to fund the arts. So they're giving students arts but they're not using any of their money during the normal school hours to fund arts. They're seeking for national funding to support those because, in my view, and this may be a little harsh, they're just not finding the money and don't find it's a critical thing for students to learn. According to Rees, many Utah districts and schools do not see funding the arts as a fundamental expense and do not factor the arts into their yearly budgets. Research from the Utah State Office of Education confirms that districts across the state lack the funding for elementary art or music teachers (Tracy, 2013). Many students have little to no interaction with the arts because their schools lack to funds to provide arts programming. Sister Mary Ann has found that in her experience, "when people look at scores and see how dismal the reading and the science, and the math scores are, you know, it's like that's what people might want to fund." Many who see lower scores often think more money is the solution. Instead of funding the arts, which could actually improve testing scores, schools put more and more money into empirical subjects. In Utah, support for these subjects became even greater in 2014 when state lawmakers approved a $20 million appropriation for STEM education initiatives (Wood, 2014). Despite educational research that indicates the arts can expand students' understanding in science and engineering (Wynn & Harris, 2012), the arts continue to be underfunded on both a state and district level. As mentioned previously, Diego Zegarra incorporated stock images into his digital story that painted a picture of an idyllic education wherein students are exposed to a number of different subjects and experiences. These images include but are not limited Running head: THE ARTS ARE NOT FLUFF: UNDERSTANDING BARRIERS 62 to a school bus driving students to school through the beautiful fall leaves, bright stacks of notebooks and calculators, and large clusters of colored pencils and art supplies. The photos Zegarra selected paint a picture of what an ideal education could look like. Unfortunately, this idyllic representation, which includes the arts, requires proper funding and support from school budgets. According to Zegarra, "Even though we would like to engage in more enrichment based activities and we are slowly shift