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THE PEDAGOGIC AND PHILOSOPHIC PRINCIPLES OF THE NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DANCE EDUCATION by Rima Faber submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration C h a i r : Or. Frederic la Prevots _ lly Smith Dean of the College U Date J 1997 American University -, , Washington, D.C. 20016 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Nwnber: 9834109 Copyright 1997 by Faber, Rima All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9834109 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT by RIMA FABER 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. I dedicate this dissertation to my mentor and friend. Dr. Naima Prevots. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE PEDAGOGIC AND PHILOSOPHIC PRINCIPLES OF THE NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DANCE EDUCATION BY Rima Faber ABSTRACT On March 26, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law Goals 2000; The Educate America Act, which established voluntary national educational standards. Developed by a grassroots consensus process led by the Department of Education, they were intended to provide guidelines for student achievement for grades K-12 in the core subjects of English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history, geography, and the arts, including dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. For the first time in American history, dance is included as basic to education. Chapter I of this dissertation clarifies the importance of The National Standards for Arts Education in bringing the arts to attention in the national education agenda. Chapter II is a review of pertinent literature: (1) the work of philosopher John Dewey and cognitive scientists Jean Piaget and Howard Gardner, work that theoretically ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. supports dance as an active learning experience; (2) accounts of the historical development of dance in education; (3) literature by people influential in promoting arts education: Eliot Eisner, Charles Fowler, and Diane Ravitch; (4) three major documents leading to the National Standards : A Nation at Risk. Toward Civilization, and America 2000: An Educational Strateov. Chapter III is an analysis of the debate leading to the creation of the Standards involving the National Committee for Standards in the Arts, the committee responsible for authorizing the document, and the Dance Task Force. Chapter IV focuses on the final document. It explains the pedagogic and philosophic principles underlying the National Standards, their structure, what the standards are designed to accomplish, and the results. Background information is also provided for the National Assessment Frameworks and Specifications and the "Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Dance Education.” Chapter V addresses the future: issues of dissemination, implementation, advocacy, and a vision for dance education. It discusses issues faced by the National Committee for Standards in the Arts, the Clinton Administration, and the U.S. Department of Education concerning implementation and advocacy. It further investigates issues for the stakeholders: political legislatures, school boards and administrators, arts iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. agencies, the business community, arts specialists, teachers, parents and students. Finally, it proposes future possibilities. XV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I was privileged to be a very small player in creating the assessment exercises for the NAEP 1996 Assessment. This gave me a glimpse of the scale of the undertaking to develop national standards and assessments for arts education, and the importance of this occurrence in the annals of dance education and history. My interest was sparked when Dr. Frank Philip, Coordinator for the NAEP Assessment Consensus Project, was invited by Dr. Naima Prevots as a guest lecturer at American University. He encouraged me to become involved by sending in my annotated draft of the standards when they were distributed in the grassroots effort to obtain public opinion. This inspired me to further participation. I sincerely thank Dr. Frank Philip for absorbing me into the assessment process so I could join a committee and work with the Educational Testing Service to help develop assessment exercises. I also thank Dr. Richard Pioli, Regional Supervisor for the NAEP 1995 Field Test, for selecting me as his "Dance Facilitator," making me one of the worker bees while serving as a missionary for dance education in schools. When, during delivery of the NAEP performance exercises, students remarked, "This is fun!" I agreed and replied, "Why don't V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. you ask your principal for a dance program? " I was hoping this was happening across the breadth of the United States. The creation of the National Standards and Assessments was a grassroots effort led by dedicated visionaries. Some of the major players, who devoted their time, energy, and effort in the consensus process, showed me great generosity in the creation of this account. Mary Maitland Kimball, President of the National Dance Association from 1991-1993 and Chair of the Dance Task Force, tirelessly held lengthy conversations on the telephone explaining the intricacies of the process involved in creating the Dance Standards and relating the committee's verbal "choreography." She then laboriously scoured my account for accuracy. Dr. Frank Philip once again helped, by elaborating at length on the historical organizational processes. He also opened his office for me to thump through documents and cart out a carload; then thoughtfully reviewed the outcome of his generosity. The Music Educators National Conference opened its archives to me as well. Peggy Senko, Director of Publications and Administrator for the project to create National Standards for Arts Education, was an angel. While I ensconced myself in the library, moving in for two weeks, she organized documents for me, answered my myriad questions, scouted for information, reviewed my work for accuracy, and introduced me to Dr. John Mahlmann, who vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. generously spent an hour relating perceptive information about what is needed for successful implementation of the Standards. The staff also absorbed me into their fold, sharing chocolates, coffee, and delightful conversation. They made my research at MENC seem a relaxing vacation rather than work. I cim gratefully indebted to Dr. Clare Wolfowitz, a blessing undisguised as an experienced dissertation writer who volunteered long hours to format and formalize the text. Many others devoted time and effort as well. Much appreciation goes to Eugenia Kemble, Director of the Albert Shanker Institute of the American Teachers Federation, for meeting with me to discuss the attitudes of teachers toward the National Standards for Arts Education; Jane Bonbright, current Interim Executive Director of the National Dance Association, who skillfully steered me toward people

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