Arts education and teacher growth, the reflective practitioner in search of a song

grantor: University of Toronto'Arts Education and Teacher Growth: The Reflective Practitioner in Search of A Song', reviews the experiences of teachers in a large metropolitan Board of Education in southern Ontario who are participants in an arts education initiative. This five year project is intended to develop, implement and institutionalize the way in which curriculum is approached. This study explores whether and to what extent, if any, this arts initiative has influenced teachers' beliefs and practices in regards to the value of arts experiences as pathways to learning in the classroom and across the disciplines. Within frameworks suggested by relevant research and emergent theory in the literature of arts education, teacher development and educational change, the influence of this arts initiative was found to be significant. The findings presented here may provide useful information for those who are interested in advocating for arts education and those who desire improving classroom practices through teacher education.M.A