The Sociological Implications of Arts Education Being Offered by Outside Influences: A Case Study of an Arts Advocacy Group and Its Educational Efforts

This study explores the concept of "outside influences" to Arts education as a legitimate and important area of research in Arts education. In this study "outside influences" is defined, generally, as those groups that choose to contribute to public school Arts education, but are not a part of the institutional system of public schooling. Specifically, this study focuses on one community Arts advocacy group, Arts Collaborators, Inc. (ACI, a pseudonym), which has as part of its mission statement a focus and desire to contribute to Arts education in the schools. The paper presents an argument for a sociological examination of the actions of ACI, the relationships between Artist and audience, and examined ACI's educative actions within this framework. It analyzes the actions of ACI from Eisner's principles of Arts education, looking for a broad Arts education purpose. It examines the idea of audience development, and what the definition of "taste" might have to do with ACI's actions. These analyses are offered in the belief that schooling, specifically Arts education, is highly contextual--that is, Arts education as enacted is dependent upon many outside influences, who may shape and or contribute to the curriculum as designed and enacted in the classroom. (Contains 1 footnote.)