The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

notion of a core curriculum had run into significant opposition. Nevertheless,the Government has issued curriculum guidelines which have little to sayabout the arts. It has become clear, too, that the continuing cuts are havingeffects on the quality and range of education as well as on its provision. Inshort, the context of the Inquiry has changed.We are faced now with central questions about the purposes of schooling,the balance of the curriculum and about the whole character of educationin Britain. These have become our concerns in this report. It is addressedto Members of Parliament and to education committees, education administrators,school governors, head teachers and employers — those withpower of executive action. We also seek through our arguments to influenceteachers and parents so as to create a groundswell of informed public"opinion.Underlying our approach is a consciousness of the new world of socialrelations, of work and non-work, now being brought about by many factors:advances in technology, new forms of communication, the evolution ofBritain as a multi-cultural society, economic recession, long-term structuralunemployment and so on. Our conviction is that we must develop broadernot narrower curricula in our schools, and that the arts have an importantplace within this broad approach. We present our case for this and considerthe many implications and conclusions which follow from it.Many people have contributed to this study with help in many ways. Thebest acknowledgement will be if this report helps to sustain and developtheir work. The Foundation's particular thanks, however, are due to thedistinguished committee which has advised the writing of the report; tothe drafting committee — Dr. Ken Robinson, Professor David Aspin andProfessor John Allen — who assisted Nicholas Usherwood and me; to Dr.Ken Robinson for the final draft; to Sir Toby Weaver and Professor LouisArnaud Reid for special advice; to all the many organisations and individualswho gave us their time and from whom we took evidence; to MillicentBowerman, the Foundation's literary editor; to Hilary Crampton, who gavevaluable assistance, and to Claire Seignior who became secretary of theproject. Without their generous collaboration, this report would not havebeen completed.Peter Brinson1982