The pedagogic and philosophic principles of the national standards for dance education

On March 26, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law Goals 2000: The Educate America Act, which established voluntary national educational standards. Developed by a grassroots consensus process led by the Department of Education, they were intended to provide guidelines for student achievement for grades K-12 in the core subjects of English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography, and the arts, including dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. For the first time in American history, dance is included as basic to education. Chapter I of this dissertation clarifies the importance of The National Standards for Arts Education in bringing the arts to attention in the national education agenda. Chapter II is a review of pertinent literature: (1) the work of philosopher John Dewey and cognitive scientists Jean Piaget and Howard Gardner, work that theoretically supports dance as an active learning experience; (2) accounts of the historical development of dance in education; (3) literature by people influential in promoting arts education: Eliot Eisner, Charles Fowler, and Diane Ravitch; (4) three major documents leading to the National Standards: A Nation at Risk, Toward Civilization, and America 2000: An Educational Strategy. Chapter III is an analysis of the debate leading to the creation of the Standards involving the National Committee for Standards in the Arts, the committee responsible for authorizing the document, and the Dance Task Force. Chapter IV focuses on the final document. It explains the pedagogic and philosophic principles underlying the National Standards, their structure, what the standards are designed to accomplish, and the results. Background information is also provided for the National Assessment Frameworks and Specifications and the "Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Dance Education.". Chapter V addresses the future: issues of dissemination, implementation, advocacy, and a vision for dance education. It discusses issues faced by the National Committee for Standards in the Arts, the Clinton Administration, and the U.S. Department of Education concerning implementation and advocacy. It further investigates issues for the stakeholders: political legislatures, school boards and administrators, arts agencies, the business community, arts specialists, teachers, parents and students. Finally, it proposes future possibilities.