Fine Arts Proposal
Jennifer Rohrer
St. Louis University

INTRODUCTION
Before we begin, I would like to introduce a few terms which will be used throughout this paper. First, visual art. In this paper, visual art refers to aesthetic art, such as drawing, painting, and sculpture. Second, “at- risk” youth, this refers to children who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. They are typically a black or Hispanic minority, even though there have been cases of Caucasian children. They are also of low academic standing. Finally, success. Success in this research paper means the completion of high school.
No Child Left Behind was put into place in hopes of closing the achievement gap between high and low socioeconomic children. States have been trying to figure out the best way to achieve this dilemma, but they have been going about it the wrong way. The legislators who are in charge of education are assuming all children learn the same. However, this is not the case. Children have many different ways which they learn. But because of this cookie cutter mold, curriculum is being designed to suit one type of child. This can cause boredom, under achievement, and discipline problems in other children (Lutfi and Repress, 2006). One way legislators have decided to design their curriculum, is to have education based on Math, Science, and English, eliminating other subjects such as Music and Art. This plan is not beneficial to anyone. Art education, especially through critiques, helps a child to think more critically; it also helps the child to be more analytical, rather than emotional. When a student is capable of figuring out how things work and thinking more analytically, they are able to use the skills necessary to help solve problems in other subjects. Their thinking becomes more logical because they have the higher thinking skills which are required for art interpretation. The group of students who would benefit the most from this are the children considered to be “at- risk.” Because they have little to no interest in school, they are not likely to engage in any activities associated with academics or school. They feel the school system has failed them and often times that no one cares about them, especially when it comes to getting an education. This led me to question, given the effects of fine arts on a child’s cognitive development, will a fine arts based education help “at-risk” students achieve not only academically but socially within a school setting? And will these benefits be enough to encourage a child to remain in school until their completion date? Research done on this topic has mainly been on the benefits of fine arts education when it is the core subject for all children, not just those at risk. The research has shown great usefulness in the cognitive development of the students, such as higher level thinking skills and social expression. But not much research has been done on the benefits for “at- risk” youth. I would have believed there would have been more information on this topic considering the goal of our State’s Education department is to make sure all children succeed.
The issue which I will be focusing on, is the benefit visual art has to “at- risk” youth. I will be combining the research done on fine arts and the information on “at-risk” youth to develop the goals and ideals I would like to engage in while doing my research. I have chosen this issue because there is the misconception that fine arts is not an important school subject and is often considered to be a fluff class. There is also great need to try and develop ways to help students with little or no interest in academics. Educators try to “save” these students but many do not have the tools or resources necessary to do so. They are also lost in their understanding of how to accomplish this. Through this qualitative study, I will hope to demonstrate the benefits of having visual art in an “at-risk” student’s core curriculum. In hope that great progress will be shown and an incline in graduation rates.
I will hopefully be able to gain access to a middle school which has recently developed a fine arts based program. If unable to do so, my hope would be to have my location in a school with a strong fine arts program, which is enjoyed by a few students. This school will have to be in an area where a majority of the students come from low income families and can fall into the “at- risk” category. I will be focusing mainly on visual arts because that is my area of interest. I will conduct my research through interviews, observations, and surveys.
I will be doing this study because, even though there is a lack of research which combines the both fine arts and “at-risk” youth, fine arts appears to be the solution to a pretty big problem. This will hopefully help to further explain and demonstrate the benefits to having art in our schools, especially in lower income schools. By having proof of these benefits, States and education departments will hopefully come to understand and value the importance of fine arts education in our school.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Curriculum needs to emphasize the connection between critical education and social change where learners must actively make connections between their world and what is learned. Curriculum is designed for the purpose of learning (Bain, Newton, Kuster, Milbrandt, 2010). This is especially true in art education. Art education is an essential aspect in saving children considered “at- risk.” Evidence is now emerging that shows art education can have powerful effects on student achievement. These effects may be more profound for struggling students (Rabkin and Redmond, 2006). However, in a test which tested eighth grade students in visual art, music, theater, and dance it was determined that black students did poorly when creating and responding to visual arts even though they are the ones to benefit from art education the most (Charland, 2010). Over the years, the arts have assumed the role and promoter of good citizens and accessory to academic subjects (Dickinson, 1997). Repress and Lufti (2006) say those who participate in art education have more achievements academically and are less likely to have social, emotional, or behavior problems. With art, a person’s ability for creative thinking, critical judgment, imagination, and problem solving are a lot higher. Students will become active members of their education if the disciplines are taught with a hands on approach, or a more creative approach. The arts not only contribute richly to the development of human intelligence, but they offer the means to reach the great diversity of human beings in every school today (Dickinson, 1997). David A. Sousa (2005) has even said art has improved test scores and has aided in students attendance in school because art helps to stimulate them, which improves their self- esteem and interest in their learning. This causes them to be more invested in their classes. Walker (as cited in Lutfi and Repress, 2006) says the grade point average for children with an art based education is higher. Fine arts require higher level thinking skills, and individual and group efforts. Without art, children may be losing a component that helps their minds fully develop. Art is about creativity and using imagination. Using creativity and imagination, students use new and unique solutions to address problems; and school if often a combination of problems, whether they are social or academic. The arts are only one way to provide vehicles for capturing aesthetic experiences. If the education of children consists of questions and reflection about what they see, hear, feel and experience, they will learn to answer such questions with insight, sensitivity and intelligence (Heid, 2005). An “at-risk” student may feel overwhelmed by all the pressure they are under, academically or with family. They may feel that they do not have control and are not sure how to gain that control. They feel their only solution is to leave school (West, 2006). Linda Kreger- Silverman (2004) states, “What enables young people at risk for delinquency to choose a more constructive path? Most likely it is finding something they are good at, that they enjoy doing, and that is seen as valuable by others. Art is often the answer.” William Charland (2010) states “the decision to participate in visual arts studies in college and visual arts professions is adult life is the product of multiple factors, including the influences of family, community, peer group, mass culture, and K-12 schooling.” Charland also states that in African American youth, the identity development process plays a significant role in the their commitment to pursue a path of visual arts studies.

METHODOLOGY
For this project, I will be doing a qualitative study. I will submerge myself into a school setting for one whole year. I will participate in the art programs with the children and try to create relationships and bonds with them. I will also, attempt to develop a relationship with the teacher.
Being immersed in their daily life, I will be able to more fully understand issues which may arise, predictors which may or may not lead to a student’s success, and a hands on learning experience for myself which will hopefully help me to identify with the students.
For the first few weeks, I hope to do observations. My participants for this will be the Visual Arts teacher, the students, and myself. I will spend the first couple weeks focusing mainly on the teacher. I have chosen to focus on the Visual Arts teacher because her goal in teaching is to encourage and engage the children. She needs to keep them interested in learning. I will watch how she conveys the information to the students and how she helps them. I will observe how she tries to relate to each student, does she individually make them feel special? Does she make art fun so that they want to come back? A few weeks after observing mainly her, I will switch my focus to both her and the students. I will include the students as participants because they are the people who will benefit from this research the most. While observing both the teacher and the students, I will watch their interactions with each other, the level of eye contact between the two and also the body language. Eye contact and body language are clear indicators of any form of relationship. Developing a relationship with a teacher helps boast a child’s enjoyment of the subject. Also, eye contact and body language are good indicators of a student’s comprehension of the subject matter. When I watch just the children, I will watch to see if they are engaged in the subject, how they react to the lesson they are being taught, and if they are participating in the lessons. As a participant, myself, I will take not of my feelings and expectations. I believe this research project will be a lesson even for me. Even though an ethnography is from a third person perspective, I will be able to use the knowledge gained in my report. It will also help me develop questions for further research on this topic. I feel by using the actual art class, I will get a better understanding of how the student’s react to visual arts, as opposed to observing another subjects use of art in the classroom, for instance using the Science teacher to see how she incorporates art into her lesson. I may, however, out of curiosity and if time permits, do such a thing. It would be interesting and also useful to see if and how other subjects are utilized art in their classroom. If I do chose to include this in my research project then this project will turn from an ethnography to an ethnography and case study. The case study would be the use of visual arts in other subjects, as I will not have the full amount of time or the will to immerse myself into the culture of other subjects. To gain contact with the people I want to be my participants, I will make contact by first asking the school’s main administration if it is okay to observe and interview a Visual Arts class, both teacher and students, for a year. When given permission, I will then ask the Visual Arts teacher for the okay to sit in on her classes. I will explain it is for a qualitative research project. That I will remain as unobtrusive as possible, except for when I conduct interviews, and participate in the class projects, which I will not plan on doing until the middle to end of the school year, possibly after the new semester has begun. I will tell her this project will only occur for a full school year. When I receive permission from her, I will explain I might occasionally have to get some information from the students and will ask her for the okay to send permission slips to the parents of her students so the students will be allowed to participate in this project. In my letter, I will first introduce myself, explain my purpose and reasoning for doing this project, and then allow any concerned parent the opportunity meet me.
The setting I will choose will be an inner city middle school. I will do my research to hopefully be able to find a school which has recently implemented a fine arts based curriculum. I have chosen a middle school because of that transitional period students are in. Even though research has shown that early age and grade school is best to catch “at- risk” youth young, I feel, for this project, a preteen/teen will benefit from this more. During this period, children are in a sense of self-discovery. They are trying to identify with the world around them along with their peers. Many at this age, begin to lose interest in school or find it uncool to show interest in school. Even though the research has shown “at-risk” behaviors starting at a younger age, this is the time where what is perceived might actually occur. It is a danger zone for children who are likely to drop out. Middle school is the time to catch this and hopefully resolve it. Using information from a from the Riverview Gardens school district teacher, the school I would chose would mainly be minorities, have a high percentage of free and reduced lunch, have a high level of behavior and discipline problems throughout the day, and also have low parent involvement (Interview December 2, 2011). This school will be located in an area or district many are afraid to go to. It will be in a high crime area. I will try to conduct my research in an area where help is needed the most. However, because I want a school which has just implemented an arts based program, I may have to compromise and go to a school which is not as detrimental. This fits my project because these are the schools where most of the low achieving students are, and they are the ones we are trying help to succeed. My number on choice for a school will be one as mentioned before, one with low socioeconomic status who has just implemented a fine arts program. My second choice, which I feel will be where I’ll end up, is a low socioeconomic schools with a fine arts, especially Visual Arts, program. I will not choose a school without a fine arts program or one that is of high or medium socioeconomic status. To obtain permission I will go through the school’s main administration. If they inform me that I need to go to someone who is higher up, I will follow their instruction. I will schedule and appointment to meet with whoever I need to talk to. From there, I will explain my reasoning for doing this project through a short presentation showing and explaining the research I have gathered on the benefits of an arts based curriculum. I will explain that their research has piqued my interest and that I am curious in exploring the effects this would have on a school population, such as theirs. I will inform them that I will allow input from them anytime during this process. I will follow any set guidelines they may have for me. I will also keep them up to date on what kind and any research I am conducting. I will tell them they can observe me at any point, so they will know I am not doing anything unethical or wrong. Even though this is my project I will allow input and cooperation from others to avoid any ethical dilemmas.
To keep record of my accounts, I will have a notebook where I will obtain all pertinent information. Within this notebook, I will have the basic observations I witness. I will not record any observations. During the last project, I wish I had had a place to record my thoughts and assumptions. Because of this the margins will also be a place for my assumptions, experience, and feelings. I will also write in a different color in the margins. At the end of each day, I will write my analyzations of what occurred that day. This will help me to further understand the information, especially as the project progresses. To conduct interviews, I will do both formal and informal interviews. Formal interviews will be with the Visual Arts teacher, and a couple of students. I will try to use students who I observe to be getting the most out of their art experience and also the ones who do not appreciative of the arts, in hopes of finding out what to get them engaged and enjoying art. For informal interviews, I will create a survey for the children, but seeing as how, many surveys are either not filled out or returned, especially with this age group, I will focus mainly on the interviews. I will do a couple at the beginning of the year. I will ask the teacher her expectations for the year and what she hopes to get out of teaching. I will ask the students about their level of enjoyment in Visual Arts, what they hope to accomplish and if art is a subject they are likely to continue with once the reach high school. In the middle of the year, I will conduct interviews with the teacher and the same students I talked to at the beginning of the year; I will also do the same for the end of the year. I will compare the interviews to see if there is any progression in enjoyment or regression. The data I plan to gather will be information about the school. Knowing and understanding my setting is very important in this study. I will need to know how it applies to other schools that are similar to the one I am researching. The information I gather at an inner city school, more than likely will not correlate with the needs of a private school. I will also gather the teacher’s lesson plans. I will do this before each lesson, especially during the observation phase. Having a lesson plan during the observational phase will help me to further follow along and have sort of a check list to see if the teacher is accomplishing the tasks she has set. I will also collect some of the student art work. I will have my own but having some of the student’s will be beneficial because it not only shows their progress, but creates a sense of pride knowing that someone else wants their work.
To transcribe, I will spend as much time as needed, especially on the weekends, listening to my tapes and comparing what is stated with what is written in my notes. I will only be typing the pertinent information I hear. By not using everything that was said, I will be able to focus mainly on the important aspects of the research. To analyze this information, I will use a system of coding. While coding, I will use a color coding system to compare like items, in both my notes and interviews, hopefully developing themes, such as, discovering certain aspects that help the students and those which do not. I will interpret the data with an understanding of what took place in the classroom, especially since I will be an active participant in the process, and use it to create a system that will be useful for educators and teachers.

REFERENCES
Bain, C; Newton, C, Kuster, D; Milbrandt, M. (2010). How do novice art teachers define and implement meaningful curriculum? Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research in Art Education, 51(3) p233-247.

Charland, W. (2010). African American youth and the artist’s identitiy: Cultural models and aspirational foreclosure. Student Art Education, 51(2), 115-133.

Dickinson, D. (1997). Learning through the arts. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/startegies/arts/dickinson Irnarts.htm

Heid, K. (2005). Aesthetic development: A cognitive experience. Art Education, 58(5). 48-53.

Kreger- Silverman, L. (2004). Presentation for the ARTernatives for At- Risk Youth Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Lutfi, G. and Repress, T. (2006). Whole brain learning: the fine arts with students at risk.” Reclaiming Children and Youth, 15(1), 24-31.

Rabkin, N. and Redmond, R. (2006). The arts makes a difference. Educational Leadership, 63, 60-64.

Scheuler, L (2010, March 1). Art education makes a difference. Retrieved from https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/graphics/assets/documents/b657d9f1adfc.pdf

Sousa, D.A (2005). How the arts develop the young brain: neuroscience is revealing the impressive impact of arts instruction on students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. School Administrator, 63(11), 26-32.

West, D. (2006). An arts education: a necessary component to building the whole child. Educational Horizons, 78(4), 176-178.

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