When considering this question, I reflected firstly on the school I work in and thought about the tangible measures that we all use; attendance, enrolment numbers, staff turn-over and satisfaction, parent involvement and satisfaction, NAP results, literacy outcomes, and so on. Success or failure can be easily measured in this way. A question that is harder to measure and much more important to me is: ‘How do we reform the education systems in our schools to prepare young people for the complex and challenging demands of the 21st century?’.
Dr Ken Robinson, who is an internationally recognised expert in the development of creativity and human resources, talks about the concept of capable people failing in our current education system and blames academicism for this waste of human talent and resources; ‘the preoccupation with developing certain sorts of academic ability to the exclusion of others, and its confusion with general intelligence . . . has led to an incalculable waste of human talent and resources. As a result many highly intelligent people have passed through education feeling they aren’t. To move forward we need a fresh understanding of intelligence, of human capacity and of the nature of creativity’.
The case for creativity being given priority in education has been building momentum over the years. In 2005 the Australian Government joined forces with every State and Territory arts and education minister to develop a National Education and Arts Statement for Australia. This recognizes that social and economic progress in Australia is increasingly dependent on a ‘well informed and active citizenry, consisting of individuals able to communicate well; think originally and critically; adapt to change; work cooperatively; remain motivated when faced with difficult circumstances; connect with both people and ideas and find solutions to problems as they occur’. As a classroom teacher focusing on Arts and Science in secondary and primary schools over the years, I have experienced firsthand the benefits of a creative approach to teaching. When I started teaching an integrated science, art and learning technology NCT program at Ross Park, my main aim was to fully engage every student in the school. The program was very successful because I believed that every student could achieve and was passionate about the subject. Parents reported that even when students were sick, they wanted to be dropped at school for ‘Art & Tech’ and be picked up after. When I moved into another role in the school, the program finished, but students still request ‘Art & Tech’ and we are looking at ways of being able to revive the program. The integration of visual arts, music, drama and dance with science and technology, the humanities and social sciences, has a profound impact on child development, as evidenced in research commissioned by the Australia Council for the Arts. There is also much evidence that points to Arts participation in school enhancing literacy and numeracy and improving competency in writing, problem solving, planning organizing and perseverance. Participation in high quality arts experiences, both in and out of school, also enhances feelings of empathy and personal confidence. Gillian Gardiner, in her article ‘Backing Australia’s Creativity’, also extols the arts as helping young people to foster relationships of trust and a sense of belonging and leading to a sense of great satisfaction with personal achievement, improving their quality of life.
The school I work in, Ross Park Primary School, has as a priority ‘to actively seek opportunities for involvement in the creative arts’. We are a school that fosters creativity in many aspects of our teaching and are striving to build on our successes.
One of our early successes was staging a Whole School Musical for our school community. A small group of ‘risk takers’ and slightly mad teachers decided it was possible and made it happen. It was fun; it was uplifting and inspired more creative thinking across the school. One of the most powerful ways to engage students, parents and staff is to bring them together to share emotional experiences that unleash their creative potential. Knowing this we proceeded with after school art and drama classes, culminating in exhibitions of students work where ‘arts patrons’ had the opportunity to purchase rare art works, and students had opportunities to showcase and perform to an audience. As a school we seek out opportunities to participate in community arts events such as Eisteddfods, Wearable Arts, Alice Festival, Tournament of Minds, Wakkakirri, Choir performances at public events, in school music lessons from private tutors. We try to engage parents and experts from our community as often as possible.
The Australian Council for the Arts research has found that over 85% of parents believe the arts are ‘an important part of the education of every Australian kid’ and want to see more opportunities in education and the arts.
Worldwide research has indicated that children benefit greatly from having music and arts as part of their learning experience. ‘Wide-ranging positive educational and personal outcomes can be achieved. Long lasting outcomes include improved self esteem; participation in teamwork; academic results and communication skills resulting in increased opportunities and more productive contributions. Participation in music and the arts can level the playing field for disadvantaged students and prevent some young people from going down the precipice of drugs, crime, depression and unemployment. Educational leaders need to be aware of the power of music and the arts for unleashing potential across many areas of a student’s life’
Tania De Jong, founder of Music Theatre Australia and The Song Room, believes that the arts invite new thought and bear witness to fresh perspective. They challenge society to evolve. Creativity is not a skill bound within the arts, but a wider ability to question, make connections and take an innovative and imaginative approach to problem solving. These are skills demanded by today’s employers.
Research from ‘Champions of Change, The Impact of the Arts on Learning’ (USA Report, 1999) provides compelling evidence that the arts can and do serve as the champions of change in learning and create profound long-term effect on communities.
A successful school, in my opinion, is one that gives the creative arts a high priority within their school and believe that it is paramount to educating students into the 21st century and beyond.
Discuss presentationReferences
De Jong, Tania 2008, ‘It’s All About the ‘Goose Bumps’. In The Australian Educational Leader. Volume 30, No. 2, 2008. p.10.
Champions of Change, The Impact of the Arts on Learning (USA Report, 1999).
Trends in School Music Provision in Australia (The Stevens Report, 2003).
Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development (Edited by Richard J. Deasy, 2002 Arts Education Partnership).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ms Elizabeth Verstappen is Assistant Principal at Ross Park Primary School, in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.