The Australian Curriculum: The Arts. A critical opportunity

There is unequivocal research evidence that quality arts processes and experiences engender a distinctive and critical set of understandings and skills that all young people need to navigate twenty-first century living. Yet the potential for the Arts and arts education to transform the curriculum coupled with the ongoing paucity of Australia’s arts storylines threaten the actualisation of The Australian Curriculum: The Arts. While the document asserts that all Australian children are entitled to a quality arts education in dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts, realising this aspiration continues to be threatened by a number of issues including the ongoing marginalisation of education in and through the Arts, a dearth of teacher professional learning in the Arts and an emphasis on reductive definitions of what it means to be literate. This article considers what must happen if an arts curriculum with rigour and integrity for all young Australians is to become a reality including an investment in pre-service teacher education, ongoing teacher professional learning and the equitable provision of arts experiences and resources. Changes in thinking by governments, policy makers and educational leaders across all education sectors will be needed to ensure that cultivating imagination and creativity through the Arts become a reality for all Australian children and young people.