Lighting the Way: Contrasting Arguments for the Arts in Education

Overview & Synopsis

This article explores the contrasting arguments for the place of the arts in education made by the two distinguished arts educators--the American Elliot Eisner and British dance and physical education theorist Graham McFee. Both scholars begin with the premise that the arts should be central to a liberal education and then diverge. McFee argues, from his success in seeing dance as part of the National Curriculum in the UK, that a conceptually precise and closely focused philosophical rationale is critical, whereas Eisner takes the opposite path--arguing for the inclusion of the arts because they embody the most profoundly central task of all education--the nuanced development of mind.