Nice but Not Necessary: Educational Leaders' Stories of the Arts in an Era of Accountability

The current era of educational accountability and high-stakes testing in public schools has many in the educational community wondering about curricular limitations as more and more instructional time is devoted to subjects that are tested. If standardized testing has the potential to limit curricular offerings, students are likely experiencing a reduction in exposure to the arts in their education and, therefore, constraints in their development and achievement of mind. This book explores how exposure and participation in the arts in a child?s education are being affected within the current climate of standards and accountability driving public schools. Utilizing the narrative inquiry methodology, stories of educational leaders shed light on the pressures of accountability, important developmental aspects of an arts education and aspects of educational leadership necessary to promote, maintain and grow arts education programs in schools. The analysis of these stories should be especially useful to professionals in the field of educational leadership, as well as arts educators, arts advocates and general education teachers.