A Snapshot of Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 2009-10. First Look. NCES 2011-078
Author: Parsad, Basmat
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Art Education,Music Education,Dance Education,Theater Arts,Public Schools,Elementary Schools,Secondary Schools,Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Teaching Load,Art Teachers,Music Teachers,Access to Education,Teacher Surveys,Questionnaires

This report provides selected national data on the status of arts education in public elementary and secondary schools. The findings are based on information collected through a set of seven surveys. Using its Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) conducted the surveys during the 2009-10 school year. This study is the third of its kind to be conducted by NCES to provide national data on arts education. Selected findings on elementary schools and teachers include: (1) In 2009-10, most of the nation's public elementary schools offered instruction that was designated specifically for music and visual arts (94 and 83 percent, respectively) (table 1). In comparison, 3 percent of elementary schools offered instruction that was designated specifically for dance, and 4 percent offered instruction that was designated specifically for drama/theatre; (2) Of the elementary schools that offered music, 93 percent offered instruction in that subject at least once a week, and 91 percent employed arts specialists to teach the subject in 2009-10 (table 1). Of the elementary schools that offered visual arts, 85 percent offered instruction in that subject at least once a week, and 84 percent had arts specialists teaching the subject. In elementary schools that offered dance, 53 percent offered instruction in that subject at least once a week, and 57 percent employed arts specialists to teach the subject. In elementary schools that offered drama/theatre, 58 percent offered instruction in that subject at least once a week, and 42 percent had arts specialists teaching the subject; (3) Music specialists and visual arts specialists in elementary schools reported their teaching load for all schools at which they taught during the most recent full week of teaching in the 2009-10 school year (table 2). On average, full-time music specialists spent 22 hours per week teaching 25 different music classes (i.e., different groups of students), with a class size of 19 students. On average, full-time visual arts specialists spent 22 hours per week teaching 24 different visual arts classes, with a class size of 22 students; and (4) Eighty-eight percent of classroom teachers (i.e., teachers of self-contained classrooms) in elementary schools indicated that they included arts instruction in some aspect of their classroom instructional programs in 2009-10 (table 3). Of these teachers, 6 percent taught music as a separate subject, 14 percent taught visual arts as a separate subject, 3 percent taught dance as a separate subject, and 8 percent taught drama/theatre as a separate subject. In addition, among the 88 percent of classroom teachers who included arts instruction in their classroom instructional programs, 92 percent incorporated music instruction in other subject areas, 97 percent incorporated visual arts instruction in other subject areas, 87 percent incorporated dance instruction in other subject areas, and 53 percent incorporated drama/theatre instruction in other subject areas. Selected findings on secondary schools and teachers include: (1)  Ninety-one percent of public secondary schools reported that they offered music in the 2008-09 school year, 89 percent offered visual arts, 12 percent offered dance, and 45 percent offered drama/theatre (table 4); (2) Public secondary schools reported that arts specialists accounted for 97 percent of the teachers who taught music in the 2008-09 school year (table 4). In addition, arts specialists were reported to account for 94 percent of the teachers who taught visual arts, 69 percent of the teachers who taught dance, and 73 percent of the teachers who taught drama/theatre in 2008-09; and (3) Music specialists and visual arts specialists in secondary schools reported their teaching load for all schools at which they taught during the most recent full week of teaching in the 2009-10 school year (table 5). On average, full-time music specialists spent 22 hours per week teaching 8 different music classes (i.e., different groups of students), with a class size of 24 students. On average, full-time visual arts specialists spent 23 hours per week teaching 7 different visual arts classes, with a class size of 22 students. Appendices include: (1) Standard Error Tables; (2) Technical Notes; and (3) Questionnaires. (Contains 14 tables and 4 footnotes.)