Arts education matters, what are we waiting for? Perceptions of initial teacher education students in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7169459 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Diana Joseph (0000-0002-6320-900X, Deakin University, corresponding author), Brad Merrick (0000-0002-0409-4994, The University of Melbourne), William Baker (0000-0003-0215-1104, University of Tasmania) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 120-139 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Teachers and Teaching (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1354-0602 • E-ISSN: 1470-1278 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13540602.2024.2438167 |
| OpenAlex | W4406255335 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 59 |
The Arts are known to foster creativity, empathy, self-efficacy, social awareness, and critical thinking skills. Engagement in and through the Arts contributes to building social cohesion while supporting wellbeing. This research takes place in Australia were the Arts (Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, and Visual Arts) play an important role in society, and across school curriculum. This paper forms part of a wider study (name to be inserted). We explore student perceptions in relation to ‘Why Arts Education is important in primary schools?’. Students undertaking initial teacher education (ITE) primary programmes participated (September– December 2023, n = 120) by completing an online survey. Qualtrics Stats IQ were used to statistically analyse quantitative data, and Reflexive Thematic Analysis was employed for qualitative data analysis. Given the sample size, generalisations cannot be made to all Australian universities. The two themes (valuing Arts Education, and opportunities and implications) highlight student perceptions of Arts Education. Whilst recommendations are offered, further investigation into the benefits of teaching the Arts across all areas of the curriculum is needed. If Arts Education matters, then why are we waiting to include it in all schools and ITE programmes
Arts in education · Creativity · Curriculum · Dance · Dance education · Drama · Mathematics education · Music education · Pedagogy · Perception · Performing arts education · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · The arts · Thematic analysis · Visual arts · Visual arts education · Art Education and Development · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Diverse Music Education Insights · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |