Influence of Cultural Policy on Education in Music and the Other Arts

Today, when we think of policymaking we think first of the nation-state, the world’s foremost political entity, although other types of entities generate policies as well. Regardless of the source, in practice policy-making often represents the interests of political and other special groups. Far too often, policies purported to support aspects of culture such education, music, and the other arts reflect interests that have little or nothing to do with education or the arts. The process of establishing connections across numerous realms of human discourse and activity, called globalization, is increasing at a dizzying rate.

Educational policies increasingly aim toward training people to think independently and creatively and to work productively in small groups, both necessary attributes in an environment that requires the production, marketing, and distribution of new goods and services to individuals and increasingly numerous and diverse niche groups. Arts education is now seen as an effective means for helping students develop their individual creative abilities and for learning to work together in small groups. An additional reason is that unique, diverse experiences in the arts can be linked to standards of excellence applied to the development of the specialized high-quality goods and services demanded by the global economy.