An analysis of ARC funding for arts education: 2001 - 2012

The Australian Research Council (ARC) is a statutory agency under the Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education portfolio within the Australian Government. Its mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation globally and benefit the community. As part of its mission the ARC funds research and researchers under the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP). This is part of its commitment to nurturing the creative abilities and skills of Australia's most promising researchers. The two main elements of this funding are termed Discovery and Linkage with various grants connected to these. The ARC was established as an independent agency on the 1 July, 2001. In 2001 the new NCGP replaced the major portion of the ARCs existing programs. During this year the first applications under the grants program in the Discovery and Linkage categories were announced. This paper will focus on grants allocated to the area of arts education from 2001 - 2012. Grants under codes for both arts and education will be considered as a specific code for arts education is unavailable. The extent and impact of funding in this area will be examined in order to ascertain the effectiveness of such grants in enhancing understanding of the value of the arts in people's lives and specifically children and young people in the education system. This study is particularly significant as current Australian government priorities in education are increasingly prioritising areas such as literacy and numeracy evidenced through national external testing, however these do not provide an accurate view of student capabilities. This type of external testing also disadvantages those who are more comfortable expressing themselves creatively (Caldwell & Vaughan, 2012; Robinson, 2011). Gee (2007), found that students who were viewed as ‘successful' learners had extensive experience in arts education and out-performed students who were ‘arts-poor' in almost all academic levels. It is therefore timely that the effectiveness of ARC funded projects in arts education are evaluated to ascertain the extent of projects contextualised against international research and advocacy such as the designation of International Arts Education Week by UNESCO in 2012. References Caldwell, B. & Vaughan, T. (2012). Transforming Education through the Arts. New York: Routledge. Gee, C. B. (2007). Valuing the Arts on Their Own Terms? Arts Education Policy Review, 108(3), 3-12. doi: 10.3200/aepr.108.3.3-12 Robinson, K. (2011). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative. Chinchester, West Sussex: Capstone.