This peer-reviewed academic yearbook stems from the inaugural meeting of the newly formed UNESCO UNITWIN network on Arts Education Research for Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Development, held at the National Institute of Education, Singapore in April 2017. It presents international scholarly perspectives on issues related to arts education and cultural diversity in terms of: i) national and international policies; ii) terms, concepts and vocabularies; iii) current and ongoing research; and iv) best practices. The UNESCO UNITWIN is an arts education research think tank that gathers and leverages original research and critical commentaries on the arts and sustainable development from UNITWIN member states and beyond (Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, Kenya, Korea, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, the Netherlands and the United States of America).

This volume gathers, analyses, discusses and evaluates results of current research on arts and cultural education in Europe, focusing on the challenges of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is an increasingly characteristic feature of contemporary societies. Groups with different ethnic, social or cultural backgrounds coexist, interact and merge. The challenges of cultural diversity – its innovative potential as well as tensions and conflicts – are reflected in transnational discourses on education, culture, democracy, and citizenship. Transcultural approaches, multicultural education, and intercultural learning are key concepts. The same challenges are reflected in arts and cultural education within and outside schools, in teachers’ and artists’ training, cultural and educational policies, and research. The thirteen chapters in this book report on nine countries represented in the European Network of Observatories in the Field of Arts and Cultural Education (ENO). They showcase good practices in research and teaching, foster the exchange of experiences, stimulate researchers and stakeholders and give insights into their professional practices.

Providing a distillation of knowledge in the various disciplines of arts education (dance, drama, music, literature and poetry and visual arts), this essential handbook synthesizes existing research literature, reflects on the past, and contributes to shaping the future of the respective and integrated disciplines of arts education. While research can at times seem distant from practice, the Handbook aims to maintain connection with the live practice of art and of education, capturing the vibrancy and best thinking in the field of theory and practice. The Handbook is organized into 13 sections, each focusing on a major area or issue in arts education research.

This report analyses all aspects of cultural diversity, which has emerged as a key concern of the international community in recent decades, and maps out new approaches to monitoring and shaping the changes that are taking place. It highlights, in particular, the interrelated challenges of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue and the way in which strong homogenizing forces are matched by persistent diversifying trends. The report proposes a series of ten policy-oriented recommendations, to the attention of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international and regional bodies, national institutions and the private sector on how to invest in cultural diversity. Emphasizing the importance of cultural diversity in different areas (languages, education, communication and new media development, and creativity and the marketplace) based on data and examples collected from around the world, the report is also intended for the general public. It proposes a coherent vision of cultural diversity and clarifies how, far from being a threat, it can become beneficial to the action of the international community.

Multiculturalism is a term that has been much used in educational texts in recent years. Its usage is frequently taken for granted in the rhetoric of curriculum literature. However, it has recently become clear that there are significant variations of interpretations of multiculturalism in different world regions. This book takes a new and deeper look at the notion of multiculturalism through the lens of art education. In educational terms art is a unique tool for the investigation of cultural values because it transcends the barrier of language and provides visceral and tacit insights into cultural change. In order to address the educational interpretations and methods of implementing multiculturalism in different regios of the world, this book contains discussion and analysis of perspectives on art education theory and practice from thirteen countries. The authors of each chapter are respected multicultural experts in their geographic locations who are well equipped to provide unique insights into the particular issues of multiculturalism viewed from the perspective of art in educational contexts. The book as a whole provides tools for the conceptual analysis of contemporary notions linked with multiculturalism, such as interculturalism, internationalism and globalisation. It also provides strategies for art teaching in relation to these ideas. While the term 'multicultural education' is problematic, this book presents conceptual frameworks that should assist educators to examine their own teaching on issues of equity and diversity that are central to the multicultural education debate. ©́

This collection of Ralph Smith's writings provides a comprehensive overview of his extraordinary contributions to understanding the importance of aesthetics in education. These essays record his lifelong efforts to construct a defensible rationale for the arts in general education and a workable curriculum for art education in our public schools (K-16). The topics covered range from liberal education to arts education, the relationship of art, aesthetics, and aesthetic education to teaching and curriculum, the arts and the humanities, and cultural diversity.

Contemporary art and multicultural education is the first book of its kind to address the role of art within today's multicultural education. Co-published with the New Museum of Contemporary Art, this beautifully illustrated book provides both theoretical foundations and practical resources for art educators and students, combining exquisite color reproductions, statements from contemporary artists and interviews with notable educators. Absent from multicultural art education is an approach which connects everyday experience, social critique and creative expression with classroom learning; for students from widely-varied backgrounds and differing levels of English comprehension, art becomes a vital means of reflecting upon the nature of society and social existence. To this end, this volume features both works of art and artists' personal statements in English and Spanish with lesson plans which explore topics that connect what students learn in school to what life experiences might reveal.

This work provides an overview of the progress that has characterized the field of research and policy in art education. It profiles and integrates history, policy, learning, curriculum and instruction, assessment, and competing perspectives.

The Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education was unanimously endorsed by all UNESCO Member States in 2011. It is the only existent policy paper of global relevance on arts education. It provided the frame of reference for an international inquiry into arts education experts' perceptions of key issues in the field: access and participation, quality, and the benefits of arts education. Nearly 400 experts from 61 countries around the world participated in this research. The book presents findings, commentaries, and reflections contributed by 51 international scholars and expert practitioners.

This book is based on the topics, questions and results of the international conference "Aesthetics of Transformation - Arts Education Research and the Challenge of Cultural Sustainability". It aims to foster and sharpen the understanding of the potential role of arts education and arts education research for cultural sustainability. In an ever more complex and interconnected world, culture is a valuable resource for sustainable development. Based on the thesis that the change towards sustainability has to be a change that starts with cultural practices of perception and knowledge, this book makes an important contribution to the broad discourse on cultural sustainability, which has begun to emerge in recent years. In this context, the volume first deals with Intangible Cultural Heritage and how aesthetic practices and certain forms of art are changing through cultural transformation processes. Subsequently, it focuses on issues such as arts and cultural education in times of neoliberalism, (post-)migration and post-coloniality as well as on arts and cultural education under conditions of digital transformation. These theoretical and empirical contributions are complemented by insights into field trips to institutions and exemplary places of practice, showing different representations of educational art practices, cultural heritage, and cultural sustainability. Against this background the book finally offers responses and commentaries that can form the starting point for a far reaching interactive dialogical process on the utmost importance of cultural, aesthetic and arts education as part of a global endeavor for sustainable development.