The purpose of this project is to undertake a review and synthesis of international and New Zealand literature in the area of arts education for the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. The review focuses on the arguments made, and evidence for, the contribution of participation and/or formal learning in arts disciplines, to educational, social/cultural, and economic outcomes.

The review focuses on all the arts disciplines included in the Arts learning areas of The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007)and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (Ministry of Education, 2008), with a particular focus on music education as requested by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. The two stages are described below.

Part 1: Literature review

This literature review explores the international evidence and arguments made for the contribution of participation and/or formal learning in arts disciplines to educational, social/cultural, and economic outcomes.  It provides an overview of the nature of research in this area undertaken in the past ten years, and the kinds of evidence available, with a focus on the following questions:

·         What skills, knowledge, values, and modes of thinking are foregrounded in arts education, in comparison/contrast to other curriculum areas?

·         What evidence links the knowledge, skills, values, and modes of thinking fostered in arts education to specific educational, social, and economics outcomes?

·         What are the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the research literature?

Part 2: Literature synthesis

Part 2 includes  review and synthesis of the information gathered in part 1, along with a review of a range of relevant New Zealand and international literature (including a review of relevant high-level New Zealand policy documents), to address the following questions:

·         What knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values are seen as necessary for young people to be successful in New Zealand and in a global economy, and what is the theoretical and evidential basis for this advocacy?

·         How does this advocacy align with the educational, social, and economic outcomes of schooling specified in The New Zealand Curriculum and other high-level policy documents?

What arguments and evidence link participation in arts education with the achievement of these desired outcomes?