In recent Issues the Road Map for Arts Education was examined. Links between arts education and early childhood music education were considered. A case study of one private-public partnership school founded on arts education, starting at preschool was presented. This Issues will look at some of the research findings that highlight the importance of arts education, particularly music education, in learning. In the following Issues the proposed Botswana National School of the Arts will be considered.
It is asserted that people who do well in school in both arts and academic studies are gifted and thus the link claimed between music and arts is an artifact, that learning and cognitive functions may not have really been improved. The issues have been summarised by Jeffrey Lott in his article "It's getting better all the time" (Swarthmore College Bulletin on-line). In 2008, the Dana Foundation supported research by seven universities into this topic-"Are smart people drawn to the arts, or does arts training make people smarter?"
The findings of this study are fascinating as they support the second side of the question.
