Performing Arts Education for Democracies

Abstract

The American liberal arts system of higher education historically developed not as job training, but as education of the whole person to sustain a free and open society. Yet, as the 21st century has brought an erosion of public funding, sky-rocketing tuition costs, and precarious job markets, educational institutions are increasingly evaluating academic disciplines based on their economic effects and profitability. Prichard argues that arts educators need to shift the argument from educating for economic profitability to educating to sustain a thriving democracy. Education that focuses on supporting democracy has different values and outcomes than profit, and Prichard contends that performing art education's strongest justification for curricular inclusion lies in its abilities to foster the skills necessary for a self-governing nation. Prichard offers a framework of four critical spheres that the performing arts ought to encompass to foster education for democratic societies. Through an educating citizens perspective, Prichard demonstrates that the performing arts are crucial in our contemporary political climate by creating active, imaginative, and thoughtfully critical citizens in a complex world.