Dennie Wilson PhD Candidate, MA BA(Hons) Accredited Coach’s Post

The Urgent Challenge of Keeping Arts Education Alive 🌟 Artistic Decline: A Critical Concern - As we conclude International Arts Education Week, we face a sobering reality: arts in education and communities are increasingly at risk. Once the bedrock of cultural and personal development, artistic expression is now often neglected. 🔍 The Vanishing of a Vital Resource - Daily, we see arts programs cut and budgets reduced, leading to a loss of creativity and community engagement. The erosion of arts education isn't just about the disappearance of paintings or performances; it’s about losing crucial ways to think, express, and connect. 📉 Why This Matters - Arts education is essential for fostering creativity, building community, and enhancing cultural awareness. As access to the arts diminishes, we risk losing these fundamental aspects of our human experience. 👥 Join Our Network - Share your experiences and ideas on how to maintain the arts in your professional and personal environments. Let's discuss why the arts are vital and how they shape our communities and professional lives. 💬 Need Tailored Support? - If you are looking for specific advice on keeping arts education alive in your setting, contact BHVA today - https://lnkd.in/eDdbn2pp We are ready to assist and collaborate to ensure the arts continue to thrive in our communities. #ArtsEducationMatters #KeepArtsAlive #WAAE

From the perspective of Reggio Emilia educators, the atelier is place of research for both children and teachers. It is a space in which children encounter interesting and attractive contexts, materials and techniques that enable them to explore and express their ideas and theories through the language of visual arts. It is also a space in which educators gain insights into children’s motivations, meaning making, and learning. Read my post to learn more. https://smpl.is/9o4q2

#LWAITips – Thinking of a career in Art education? Whatever level, art education is a rewarding path where you can inspire and shape future generations of artists and art professionals.

Unless the government choose to radically reform education's accountabililty system, the arts will continue to be squeezed out of schools regardless of funding. We treasure what we measure, and the Ebacc performance measure (Gove, 2010) prioritised core subjects, meaning schools focused on this at the expense of creative arts. Art GCSE entries have dropped by around 42% since then. Let's hope this current government curriculum and assessment review is a genuine attempt to make change #education #arts

Just gonna keep on highlighting this issue… it’s not going away. The impact is now hitting education - FE particularly very hard indeed.Senior management play a numbers game and it’s all about money not success of our young creatives. Low numbers and they will and are closing courses. Once closed these provisions rarely start up again. The outcome? FE will become creative wastelands. The industry will not be able to recruit the new generation. Industry.. this is happening now. It’s time to wake up. Be woke. Protect our industry’s future.

Wow. This is, at the same time, a brilliant statement about an essential issue and totally depressing and boring that we are even still debating the matter. Art is vital. Our culture is what makes us human. The short-sightedness of cutting arts funding anywhere, but ESPECIALLY in education is mind-blowingly stupid. Want a happy population, constructive society and thriving economy? Throw money at culture. Want a sad, stale, stagnant situation? Cut arts education. Read my recent articles for Sceptical Scot (which cite the excellent work by Campaign for the Arts) for my proposed solution. Cutting arts funding is like a business facing financial difficulty cutting marketing spend, stupid. Local, national and federal governments take note: sort this out now or watch our future spiral down the drain.

Art is essential to teach from the earliest stages of education because it nurtures creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving—foundational skills across all subjects. Art cultivates a unique approach to learning that connects deeply with subjects like math, science, and literature, reinforcing concepts through visual and hands-on experiences. For example, geometry finds practical application in sculpture, physics in painting techniques, and storytelling in visual compositions. Beyond academia, art education fosters innovation and adaptability, aligning with demands in the evolving job market. Fields like design, technology, and engineering increasingly rely on creative minds, highlighting how art provides skills and a mindset prepared for future challenges and opportunities. https://lnkd.in/eJQFP4qs

Totally agree Emma. Wish I'd followed a creative route sometimes however, I try to bring it to every aspect of my personal and professional life. As a science teacher, I see so much scope for engaging and enriching pupils learning experiences with art. Sadly a very structured and assessment-focussed curriculum leaves little time for exploration and creativity and this saddens me. Surely science and art go hand in hand? I'm certain if we had a little more time for curious minds and artistic flair combined into the subject, pupils would totally run with it and produce some memorable and exciting and innovative work that would enhance their learning! Kaleidoscopes - physics and art Flowers-biology and art Dissection- biology and art Chromatography-chemistry and art The list is endless!

So short sighted to lose these subjects. They feed into every exciting thing in society. Design is within so many industries. Imagination and spontaneity’s a must in all careers. Self confidence, ideas, blue sky thinking, communication, storytelling of huge importance whatever you do! A world without music, theatre, film, TV or radio - doesn’t bear thinking about? Creative writing and storytelling is also part of more job roles than you can imagine. What about the Games Industry which uses Science and the Arts? Stop dumbing down or cutting out The Arts!

Exam results published today reveal a continuing downward trend in enrolment to arts subjects at A-level. New analysis by the Campaign for the Arts shows that arts subjects now account for a smaller proportion of A-level entries than at any time since 2010. Over that period there has been a 31% drop, from 15.3% of entries in 2010 to only 10.5% this year. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dNtrq77v