Leveraging Change: Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas


Last Updated: August 04, 2017
 

Leveraging Change: Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural AreasWhile the arts have the potential to boost economic development in rural America, arts education in rural schools faces a number of challenges, including the difficulty of recruiting and retaining arts teachers, inadequate funding, and lack of supportive policies.

A new from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Leveraging Change: Increasing Access to Arts Education in Rural Areas (107 pages, PDF), finds that promising practices and opportunities for expanding access to arts education included implementing placemaking strategies, creating collaborative rural networks, and using technology to span geographic divides.

The report is based on a literature review and interviews with arts education leaders in rural areas. Authors are Dr. Lisa Donovan, Ph.D., currently a Professor in the Fine and Performing Arts Department at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts co-directing the arts management program; and Maren Brown, M.B.A., a national arts management consultant with more than 25 years of experience as an arts management practitioner. 

Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the report also highlights suggestions from a cross-sectoral convening focused on expanding access to arts education in rural Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Click here to view the report online.