Arts Education: A Fundamental Right for Youth in the United States of America

By: Barb Whitney*

In 2017, I completed my master’s thesis titled, “The Arts: A Fundamental Right for Youth in the United States of America,” and have continued to grapple with the gap that exists between the policies which guarantee the arts to all children and the reality. As advocates for social change in our communities and nations, we must interrogate these ideals and examine the fidelity of our policies and practice. 

The Arts: A Value Proposition

For communities across the globe, the arts serve as inspiration, offer self-expression, and provide an opportunity for human interaction. As a multi-faceted benefit, they can improve academic achievement and drive parental participation within our schools.

The almost unbelievable return on investment – or ROI -  for arts education in the United States is clear: research shows that curricular, sequential arts instruction definitively improves students’ lives. All of this in mind, we are still seeing disproportionate arts access within many rural and inner-city communities across this country.

The ROI

As advocates for the inclusion of arts in education, it has been well documented that that exposure to the arts: 

  • increases students’ success in school and work, and in their lives as citizens. 

  • helps students overcome poverty

  • gives students a reason to stay in school.

However, we also know that when young people engage in arts and cultural education, the benefits transcend these basic principles. Young people with access to learning through arts and culture develop capacities to contribute to their communities, cultures, and future self beyond what is capable through other curricular subjects taught in schools. 

A Vision for the Future

As the Executive Director for Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center in Lansing, Michigan, I actively envision a future for our state’s vibrant communities, in which art is abundant, aesthetics are important, and discourse is encouraged. Each day, our community experiences, discusses, and supports the arts and the creative industries. I see how these experiences, discussions, and acts of support transect other elements of our community, which drive collective prosperity.  Together, we have to brainstorm for smart collaborations and celebrate achievements.  

Disproportionate Access to the Arts

However, this vision is threatened by the systematic disproportionate arts access that exists for students across the country. Despite the government’s recognition of its legal role to educate the nation’s students, a trend of unequal access to the arts disproportionately affects rural and inner-city youth. 

In my opinion, this is both a legal transgression and a social injustice. Schools are jeopardizing the future of the very young people they aim to serve by reducing time, talent, and resources dedicated to the arts as important school subjects, which serve as a pathway towards our collective community benefit. 

Education as a Right, Not a Luxury

Public education and the equal treatment in education is recognized as a legal right for all citizens in the United States of America through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed in 2015. As a civil rights issue, gaps in arts education have been identified as falling along racial and socio-economic lines. In the ESSA, arts education is specifically included within the definition of a well-rounded education guaranteed for all learners. The implementation in both cases does not follow federal law, and neither of these policies are negotiable. 

The Arts for All

As we strive to develop the creative capacities for all people to succeed, we must embrace diversity in all its forms. The arts as a critical opportunity must be made available to all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status or other factors. 

By law, the arts in schools are simply not optional, yet our system continues to create pathways for gaps to exist. While arts and cultural agencies intend to supplement arts participation for students, we must not supplant the critical curricular, sequential instruction that is provided by arts specialists.  

Authentic Advocacy 

As advocates, we must engage stakeholders to collectively improve the lives of students, our communities, and our country through education. Parents, teachers, administrators, legislators, and leaders of community arts agencies (among many stakeholders) can come together to share the benefits of arts education, to offer stories of success, and to combat the categorical elimination of the arts from specific populations. By holding our schools accountable for a well-rounded education that includes the arts, we can collectively benefit from more engaged students now and for generations to come. 

*Barb Whitney

Barb Whitney is a champion for access and equity in the arts. Her research is focused on equitable arts education for youth in the United States from a sociological perspective. Based on the proven benefits of arts instruction, she recognizes the value of the arts in the development of children’s learning, educational experiences, and future prospects as citizens.
As the executive director for Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center, Whitney promotes the mission to provide “public awareness, education, and enjoyment of the visual arts by promoting the works of Michigan artists.” She also serves as an instructor for Michigan State University and fosters students’ learning in arts administration. Whitney earned a BA in Art and Art History from Kalamazoo College and an MA in Arts Administration from the University of Michigan – Flint. 

For more about her research and advocacy, including the study of arts education policy and practice across the country, click here. For more her Master’s Thesis, The Arts: A Fundamental Right for Youth in the United States of America, click here.