The (Im)possibility of Primary Arts Teacher Education
Abstract
UNESCO strategies, including the 2006 Road Map for Arts Education, the 2010 Seoul Agenda for Arts Education and the 2024 Framework for Culture and Arts Education, highlight a persistent concern regarding the insufficient emphasis on arts education competencies among pre-service teachers and the challenge of allocating adequate curriculum time in education programmes. In Australia, recent government policies have included the arts as a school curriculum learning area with five subjects: Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts. This curriculum aims to ensure that all young Australians experience a comprehensive arts education by providing a framework for teachers to implement sequential learning across the primary school years. Despite these efforts, Australian research tracking the implementation of the arts curriculum within schools and teacher education programmes remains limited, revealing a problematic gap. The present paper examines how an Australian university has attempted to address this gap by providing pre-service teachers with an “Arts Specialism” within a teacher education programme. Using education policy sociology theory, the study explores the contexts of influence, curriculum text production and policy implementation. Critical discourse analysis is used to identify negotiations between influential Australian stakeholders, including university programme leaders who have supported the concept of an arts curriculum specialism. The study addresses themes of arts education content and pedagogy, revealing challenges and opportunities in implementing this specialism and concluding with recommendations for future developments.
Downloads
References
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. (2024). Policy of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. https://www.bunka.go.jp/english/policy/index.html
Alexander, R., Rose, J., & Woodhead, C. (1992). Curriculum organisation and classroom practice in primary schools: A discussion paper. Department of Education and Science of the United Kingdom.
Aliu, J., & Kaçaniku, F. (2023). An exploration of teacher leadership: Are future teachers ready to lead? Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 13(4), 37–62. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1634
Australian Association for Research in Education. (2024). Code of ethics. https://www.aare.edu.au/assets/documents/policies/AARE-Code-of-Ethics.pdf
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2015). The Australian curriculum: The arts. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/
Australian Education Council. (1994). A statement on the arts for Australian schools. Curriculum Corporation.
Australian Government. (2023). Australia’s cultural policy for the next five years: Revive, a place for every story, a story for every place. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.arts.gov.au/culturalpolicy
Australian Government Department of Education (AGDE). (2014). Action now, classroom ready teachers – Report of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) (D14/55716 | D15/55711). https://www.education.gov.au/teaching-and-school-leadership/resources/action-now-classroomready-teachers-report-0
Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2017). Primary specialisation (Program Standard 4.4): Guidelines supporting the accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia: Standards and procedures. https://aitsl.edu.au
Baidak, N., Horvath, A., Sharp, C., & Kearney, C. (2009). Arts and cultural education at school in Europe. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, European Commission.
Ball, S. (1993). What is policy? Texts, trajectories and toolboxes. Discourse: The Australian Journal of Educational Studies, 13(2), 10–17.
Ball, S. J. (2005). Education (2), policy and social class: The selected works of Stephen J. Ball. Routledge.
Bamford, A. (2018). Transforming an environment through arts and culture. In T. Ijdens, B. Bolden, & E. Wagner (Eds.), International yearbook for research in arts education (Vol. 5). Arts education around the world: Comparative research seven years after the Seoul Agenda (pp. 211–220). Waxmann.
Barton, G. M., Baguley, M., & MacDonald, A. (2013). Seeing the bigger picture: Investigating the state of the arts in teacher education programs in Australia. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 38(7), 75–90.
Brennan, M. (2011). National curriculum: A political-educational tangle. Australian Journal of Education, 55(3), 259–280.
Bryce, J., Mendelovits, J., Beavis, A., McQueen, J., & Adams, I. (2004). Evaluation of school-based arts education programmes in Australian schools. Australian Council for Educational Research.
Catterall, J. S. (2012). The arts and achievement in at-risk youth: Findings from four longitudinal studies. Research report (No. 55). National Endowment for the Arts.
Chapman, S., Wright, P., & Pascoe, R. (2018). Arts curriculum implementation: “Adopt and adapt” as policy translation. Arts Education Policy Review, 119(1), 12–24.
Ewing, R. (2020). The Australian Curriculum: The arts. A critical opportunity. Curriculum Perspectives, 40, 75–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-019-00098-w
Fiske, E. (Ed.). (1999). Champions of change – The impact of the arts on children’s learning. The GE Fund, John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. Basic Books.
Garvis, S., Twigg, D., & Pendergast, D. (2011). Breaking the negative cycle: The formation of self-efficacy beliefs in the arts. A focus on professional experience in pre-service teacher education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(2), 36–41.
Gazzaniga, M. S. (2008). The DANA consortium report on arts and cognition. Dana Press.
Gerrard, J., Albright, J., Clarke, D. J., Clarke, D. M., Farell, L., Freebody, P., & Sullivan, P. (2013). Researching the creation of a national curriculum from systems to classrooms. Australian Journal of Education, 57(60), 60–73.
Hill, D., & Kumar, R. (Eds.) (2008). Global neoliberalism and education and its consequences. Routledge.
Ijdens, I., Bolden, B., & Wagner, E. (Eds.). (2018). International yearbook for research in arts education (Vol. 5). Arts education around the world: Comparative research seven years after the Seoul Agenda. Waxmann.
Independent Education Union of Australia. (2013). A response from the Independent Education Union of Australia to the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: Inquiry into the effectiveness of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). https://ieu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/naplan_senate_inquiry_june_2010.pdf
Janks, H. (1997). Critical discourse analysis as a research tool. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 18(3), 329–42.
Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES). (2024). About KACES. http://eng.arte.or.kr/about#presidents-message
Lei, C. (2023, January 23). Do children’s festivals encourage better arts education in schools? ArtsHub. https://www.artshub.com.au/news/education-student-news/do-childrens-festivals-encourage-better-arts-education-in-schools-2606679/
McCarthy, K. F., Ondaatje, E. H., Zakaras, L., & Brooks, A. (2001). Gifts of the muse: Reframing the debate about the benefits of the arts. Rand Corporation.
McCaughtry, N., & Hodges Kulinna, P. (2008). Arts education and the integration of the arts in schools: Perspectives and practices. Journal of Arts Education, 15(2), 89–104.
Meiners, J. (2014). So we can dance! Towards a new inclusive Australian dance curriculum – Power, contestations and settlements. International Journal of Education Through Art, 10(2), 221–234.
Meiners, J. (2017). So we can dance? In pursuit of an inclusive dance curriculum for the primary school years in Australia [Doctoral dissertation, University of South Australia]. https://unisa.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/delivery/61USOUTHAUS_INST:UNISA/12153350880001831?lang=en&viewerServiceCode=DigitalViewer
Meiners, J., & Garrett, R. (2015). An Australian dance curriculum for social justice: Potentials and possibilities. In C. Svendler Nielsen, & S. Burridge (Eds.), Dance education around the world: Perspectives on dance, young people and change (pp. 11–21). Routledge.
Melchior, L. (2011). Culturally responsive dance pedagogy in the primary classroom. Research in Dance Education, 12(2), 119–135.
Mills, S. (2004). Discourse. Routledge.
Mooney, M., Meiners, J., & Munday, J. (2005). With backs to the wall: Working creatively with early years and primary student teachers studying ‘the arts’. In M. Anderson, R. Brown, K. Donelan, D. Forrest, G. Gardiner, W. Imms, N. Jeanneret, A. Lorych, J. Meiners, M. O’Rourke, R. Pascoe, & A. Swainston (Eds.), Backing our creativity: Research, policy, practice. The National Education and the Arts Symposium 2005 - Symposium Proceedings (pp. 96–102). Australia Council for the Arts. https://msa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Backing_our_creativity_final_proceedings.pdf
National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE). (2017). The arts draft AITSL program standard for primary specialisation. National Advocates for Arts Education. https://naae.org.au/evidence-and-research
National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE). (2022). NAAE submission to National Cultural the (im)possibility of primary arts teacher education Policy. National Advocates for Arts Education. https://naae.org.au/news/naae-submission-to-national-cultural-policy
National Arts Council Singapore. (2023). Our SG Arts Plan (2023-2027). https://www.nac.gov.sg/docs/default-source/our-sg-arts-plan-(2023---2027)/our-sg-artsplan-2023---2027.pdf
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. (1994). National core arts standards: A conceptual framework for arts learning. National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. https://www.nationalartsstandards.org/sites/default/files/NCCAS%20%20Conceptual%20Framework_0.pdf
National Curriculum Council. (1990). The arts 5-16, the arts in schools project team. Oliver & Boyd.
O’Toole, J. (2013). A common-wealth of arts? Writing a national curriculum for arts in Australia. In E. Liebau, E. Wagner, & M. Wyman (Eds.), International yearbook for research in arts education (Vol. 1) (pp. 203–210). Waxmann.
Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia. (2021). Malaysian National Cultural Policy (DAKEN). https://www.pmo.gov.my/2019/07/national-culture-policy/
Robinson, K., & Aronica, L. (2009). The element: How finding your passion changes everything. Penguin Books.
Rowlands, K., MacGill, B., & Meiners, J. (2022). First Nations dance in the school curriculum: Perspectives from an Australian university. International Journal of Education and the Arts, 23(1), 1–23.
Saqipi, B., & Vogrinc, J. (2021). Editorial. The contexts and processes of shaping teacher identity. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 11(3), 5–7. https://cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/1274/487
Seidel, S., Tishman, S., Winner, E., Hetland, L., & Palmer, P. (2009). The qualities of quality: Understanding excellence in arts education. Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Sellar, S. (2005). The SACSA framework: Unsettled policy for unsettled times. Curriculum Perspectives, 25(3), 26–36.
Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts Reference Committee. (1995). Arts education: Report by the Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts References Committee. The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Shaw, R. D. (2020). Finding footprints: Analyzing arts education policy implementation. Arts Education Policy Review, 121(1), 1–9.
Snook, B. (2012). Someone like us: Meanings and contexts informing the delivery of dance in New Zealand primary classrooms [Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Auckland]. https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/19824
Taylor, S., Fazal, R., Lingard, B., & Henry, M. (1997). Educational policy and the politics of change. Routledge.
Thomas, S. (2008). Leading for quality: Questions about quality and leadership in Australia. Journal of Education Policy, 23(3), 323–334.
Thomson, P. (2025). Why bother with arts education in schools? The Australian Educational Researcher, 52, 781–801. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00741-0
Thomson, P., Hall, C., & Maloy, L. (2025). Researching the arts in primary schools: The RAPS project. Artsprimary.com. https://artsprimary.com/raps-project/
United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (2006). Road Map for Arts Education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384200
United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (2010). The Seoul Agenda: Goals for the development of arts education. Ministry of culture, Sports and Tourism Republic of Korea; UNESCO Second World Conference on Arts Education, Seoul 2010. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000190692#:~:text=The%20Seoul%20Agenda%20calls%20upon,arts%20education%20to%20positively%20renew
United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). (2024). UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education. https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2024/02/WCCAE_UNESCO%20Framework_EN_0.pdf
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitted article, which will be published online in the Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal (for short: CEPS Journal) by University of Ljubljana Press (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Kardeljeva ploščad 16, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). The Author’s/Authors’ name(s) will be evident in the article in the journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in the hands of the publisher.
- The Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit themselves to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
