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Equity, the Arts, and Urban Education: A Review

DOI:10.1007/s11256-016-0352-2
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Amelia M. Kraehe
Amelia M. Kraehe
Amelia M. Kraehe
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Joni Acuff at The Ohio State University
Joni Acuff
Sarah Travis
Sarah Travis
Sarah Travis
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This review examines empirical studies of educational equity in and through the arts with broad implications for urban education. It extends the literature by (a) describing the interrelated spaces of urban education and the arts, (b) integrating knowledge of arts education across formal and informal learning environments, and (c) examining the arts as a proximal measure of justice in education. The review pursued two questions: What is known about equity in arts education in the United States? And what role does arts education play in maintaining and challenging educational disparities? Findings suggest widespread macro- and micro-inequities produced in and through the arts. Additionally, arts equity research is scattered into silos, disconnected by methodological camps and sites of inquiry. This review brings greater coherence and recognition to an emerging knowledge base and models a multidimensional framework for research and evaluation of arts education policies and programs, particularly those targeting underserved urban communities.
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Equity, the Arts, and Urban Education: A Review
Amelia M. Kraehe
1
•Joni B. Acuff
2
•Sarah Travis
1
Published online: 14 January 2016
Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract This review examines empirical studies of educational equity in and
through the arts with broad implications for urban education. It extends the literature
by (a) describing the interrelated spaces of urban education and the arts, (b) inte-
grating knowledge of arts education across formal and informal learning environ-
ments, and (c) examining the arts as a proximal measure of justice in education. The
review pursued two questions: What is known about equity in arts education in the
United States? And what role does arts education play in maintaining and challenging
educational disparities? Findings suggest widespread macro- and micro-inequities
produced in and through the arts. Additionally, arts equity research is scattered into
silos, disconnected by methodological camps and sites of inquiry. This review brings
greater coherence and recognition to an emerging knowledge base and models a
multidimensional framework for research and evaluation of arts education policies
and programs, particularly those targeting underserved urban communities.
Keywords Arts education Equity Urban education Social justice Race
The arts are among the oldest and most significant modes of human communicative
activity and intellectual achievement (Efland 1990; Heath and Wollach 2008). In
previous surveys of the literature, scholars described the remarkable potential that
arts education holds for enhancing children’s learning, youth development, and
positive identity formation in the contexts of racial, linguistic, and economic
&Amelia M. Kraehe
amelia.kraehe@unt.edu
1
Department of Art Education and Art History, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle
#305100, Denton, TX 76203, USA
2
Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH, USA
123
Urban Rev (2016) 48:220–244
DOI 10.1007/s11256-016-0352-2
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... A thorough examination of equity in education includes recognition of diverse cultural perspectives in addition to an analysis of the distribution of resources (Kraehe et al., 2016). ...
... However, when formalist aesthetics and modernism are overly emphasized in art curriculum, teachers tend to implement lessons focused on forms, materials, and techniques with an overall goal of producing well-crafted work rather than fostering students' meaning-making skills (Anderson & Milbrandt, 2005). Such a narrow focus on objectives related to Western formalism can become particularly problematic in situations where instructors fail to recognize the assets and aesthetic values of diverse populations from socially, economically, and culturally marginalized backgrounds (Kraehe et al., 2016). ...
Same Standards, Different Classes: A Comparative Case Study of Two Art Classes Within Communities of Contrasting Socioeconomic Status
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... Against the background of these legal regulations and administrative structures, the question of implementation inevitably arises. Kraehe's [14] multidimensional framework for educational equity provides a theoretical foundation for the following considerations. Kraehe conceptualises educational justice along six different dimensions: distribution of resources (allocation of material and human assets), access (existence of available experiences and pathways), participation (attendance and non-attendance), recognition (valuing of diverse cultural perspectives), effects (output of educational structures) and transformation (dynamic processes of change). ...
... In the context of our study, we will mainly explore questions of resource distribution, access and participation. However, it is important to understand that all results should be interpreted within the broader framework and related to the other dimensions: "Not a single lens can, by itself, adequately render the complex forces that maintain educational disparities" [14]. This perspective becomes particularly relevant with respect to the demographic developments and the German efforts to achieve nationwide equivalent living conditions. ...
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(1) Background: The equality of life chances in Germany is often assessed along the lines of a west/east and urban/rural differentiation in which the latter usually perform worse. One currently popular proposal for addressing these inequalities is to strengthen cultural and arts education. The question arises to what extent regional characteristics genuinely influence participation opportunities and to what extent individual resources still play a decisive role. (2) Methods: Using descriptive analyses and multilevel logistic regression modelling, we investigate the distribution of and participation in non-formal cultural education amongst German youth. (3) Results: We find that differences are more complex than a simple west/east or urban/rural divides. Rather, cultural activities must be considered in terms of their character in order to assess the mechanisms at play. There seem to be differences in the dependency on district funding between very peripheral and very central districts that frame the cultural infrastructure. (4) Conclusions: Regional discrepancies are not uniformly distributed across different fields of education or infrastructure. Simplifying statements that classify peripheral regions the general losers can be refuted here. Simultaneously, more comprehensive data could yield significantly more results than we are currently able to produce.
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... This strategy was introduced in an effort to provide rural students with equal access to high-quality art education. Promoting local culture through art education is at the core of this effort, as high-quality art education should be culturally responsive in a way that promotes contextual learning about art (Barnhardt 2014; Kraehe et al. 2016). ...
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