The Quest … Research and Inquiry in Arts Education

Citation

Nolan, T. (1998), "The Quest … Research and Inquiry in Arts Education", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 189-189. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijem.1998.12.4.189.3

In the preface the author states:

This book is about the arts and the ways we can understand them. It aims to introduce ideas of research and inquiry about arts education to three groups ‐ those beginning in the field, including thesis students; the supervisors of dissertations who wish to provide their candidates with an introduction to the main issues; the scholars in the field generally.

The book begins by addressing two fundamental questions, namely:

• •

  what is research? and

• •

  what is arts education?

Then it is set out in two parts. Part one deals with theory and is an introductory background to such questions as:

1. 1.

   1What are my assumptions about the arts and arts education?

2. 2.

   2To what goals do these lead?

3. 3.

   3How do they relate to the practice being examined?

4. 4.

   4How do they affect my assessment and/or evaluation?

Part two looks at practical decisions and some examples of arts education projects. Part one examined why, part two examines how and what.

The book has an extensive bibliography and an index. It makes a valuable contribution to the understanding and advancement of arts education.