A STUDY OF MAJOR ISSUES, ALTERNATIVES, AND SOLUTIONS FACING SPECIAL SCHOOLS FOR THE FINE ARTS USING A DELPHI METHOD FOR INVESTIGATION (ADMINISTRATION, DANCE, SECONDARY, MUSIC, DRAMA)

High schools specialized in intensive arts training increased from fewer than 15 in 1976 to more than 80 in 1984. This form of secondary education has a significant impact upon the training of young artists. Before this study, very few researchers had focused their attention on special schools for the arts. Few people knew how many schools existed, how they functioned, what their problems were, or how they handled them. Since there was little empirical literature on high school arts education, this study employed a Delphi technique to discover the current situation of special arts schools. The chief administrators of all known arts school in the country were contacted and given the opportunity to participate. Approximately 45 percent of the administrators participated in the study, representing every geographic area and every demographic variable. The Delphi technique used a series of questionnaires with feedback in which participants saw the responses made by others, reassessed their responses, and argued in favor of or against a particular item. Included in Chapter II are descriptive analyses of special arts schools representative of full-day schools, half-day schools, residential schools, specialized arts schools, and public and private schools. The primary objective of this research was to define the major issues facing special arts schools in the United States and to determine the most effective means of dealing with the issues. The Delphi study provided the opportunity for a national dialogue among arts administrators. The first step of the Delphi process revealed 36 issues that were major concerns of arts administrators. The second step forced a ranking of the issues, which determined the six most significant issues: student recruitment, basic education, traditional school personnel's jealousy, high-quality arts instruction, strong academic programs, and outstanding teaching facilities. In the final step of the Delphi study, administrators discussed the ways they dealt with each of the six issues. The resulting information should be valuable in many aspects of arts school planning.