Education & Training
Arts Access Australia is interested in the implementation of the 2007 National Education and the Arts Statement and whether it will have an impact for students with a disability
The Statement recognises the need for students to have equal access to an arts-rich schooling system irrespective of ability.
Education and training for people with disabilities includes:
students with a disability in mainstream education
students with a disability in ‘special’ schools
building resilience and wellbeing among all students
vocational training and tertiary education
Students with a disability in mainstream education
Some 318,000 or 8% of students, aged 5 to 14, have a disability, with 90% of these students in mainstream schools. Some 63% of school children with disabilities experience difficulty at school with intellectual and learning difficulties, fitting in socially and communication being the most common challenges they face. Most don’t complete Year 12.
Arts Access Australia is advocating for curriculum models that are inclusive of students with a disability to improve learning outcomes and school retention. We are also informed by the work of our USA affiliate VSA Arts, wholly funded by the US Department of Education, and its Living Research International database (LRI). The LRI is a general research tool, a gathering point for education-focused information that spans the fields of arts and disability.
The National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) is currently seeking to include the arts in the work of the National Curriculum Board.
Students with a disability in ‘special’ schools
There is an increasing body of work demonstrating the impact of arts infused curriculum to maximise the potential of students in ‘special’ education. For example Melbourne’s Port Philip Specialist School uses a Fully-Serviced School Model incorporating an Integrated Services approach with curriculum objectives delivered through visual and performing arts. The Port Philip Specialist School has established a Special School Forum to share case studies and curriculum models with other schools.
In July 2008 the Port Phillip Specialist School hosted the inaugural International Re-Imaging Special Education Symposium at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Presenter’s papers are available for download here, including Brian Caldwell’s The Arts in Special Education: In the National Interest.
Building resilience and wellbeing among all students
In addition to the established body of Champions of Change style research that correlates arts participation with a range of educational achievement there is a role for the arts in building resilience, wellbeing and an awareness of mental health.
The Victorian Festival for Healthy Living (FHL) Program is a collaborative strategy developed to promote mental health and emotional wellbeing in primary and secondary schools and their communities.
Supported by professional learning from the FHL Statewide Coordination Team, and a range of community-based services, the strategy is a creative opportunity for schools to review and develop their commitment to student wellbeing policies and programs, and enables students to explore issues associated with mental health and emotional wellbeing. This exploration is achieved through a range of performing and visual arts workshop techniques. Students develop solution-focused performance pieces, artwork and written work facilitated by their teachers in partnership with professional performing artists
The Festival was established by the (Melbourne) Royal Children’s Hospital because:
- One in five children and adolescents experience mental health problems. Half of these show impaired schooling and social developments;
- To remove stigma that can be associated with mental health;
- Research has shown that the performing arts are an effective tool when working with children and adolescents to explore issues that underpin good mental health.
Arts Access Australia is aware of one artist in residence program specifically for people with a disability initiated by Accessible Arts NSW with Bundanon Trust.
Vocational training and tertiary education
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) reports that in 2000 8% of 69,000 students with a disability were studying arts, humanities and social sciences. More recent research by the NCVER does not provide a breakdown of arts, humanities and social sciences as area of study. Anecdotally Arts Access Australia is aware of only one TAFE course in the arts specifically catering for the needs of students with a disability: the Ignition Theatre Training course run by the North Melbourne Institute of TAFE.
Using Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) figures the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADSET) reports that students with disability in university study have more than doubled in the past 10 years from 11,656 in 1995 to 27,661 in 2005. However they are still under represented in Higher Education. DEST does not provide a breakdown of students with a disability by area of study.
A model program in tertiary education is Catalyst-Clemente, led by Mission Australia, which uses higher education in the humanities; history, literature, ethics and the arts, delivered in a community setting, to engage with people who are disadvantaged.
Post School Options/Transition to Work
Post School Options programs are designed to enhance post secondary education, training and employment opportunities for people with a disability. Arts Access Australia is aware of arts based post school options programs like those run by DADAA WA.
Transition to Work is a time-limited program to support and improve employment outcomes for school leavers with a disability. The program assists them to develop skills that help them move into employment, vocational education and training or higher education to transition to work within 1-2 years.
Given the fragmented nature of arts programs provided through Post School Options and Transition To Work funding there is a need to collate what exists nationally and analyse outcomes.
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