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In order to assess the impact of arts-rich programmes, the qualitative and quantitative
information gathered from the extensive survey distributed in November 2004
was analysed. <strong>The</strong> following questions guided the analysis:
How was the teaching of arts-rich programmes organised?
Who are responsible for curriculum development and implementation of artsrich
programmes?
What are the differences between the arts-rich programmes taught in the different
countries?
What determines the differences in content from country to country?
What can be expected or recommended of arts-rich programmes in the future?
Methods
To address these broad <strong>research</strong> questions, the study focused on two main aspects:
1. Establishing a knowledge-base about the organisational frameworks and other
conditions which regulate and structure the teaching of arts-rich programmes,
and;
2. Application of qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis aimed at drawing
conclusions about the role of arts-rich programmes in different countries.
Carrying out this <strong>research</strong> presented methodological challenges. On the one hand, it
was necessary to use a relatively tight definition of the arts in order to gather overall
comparable information about the extent, content, and impact of the different
programmes. On the other hand, these definitions were often too narrow to capture
the full extend of the programmes.
Arts education – as defined in the quantitative part of the project – aim:
To pass on cultural heritage to young people, and;
To enable them to create their own artistic language and to contribute to their
global development (emotional and cognitive).
<strong>The</strong>se definitions, as stated above, cannot stand alone. A work of art is an object
that embodies a meaning. As Arthur Danto has said “nothing is an artwork without
an interpretation that constitutes it as such” 1 . What is seen as art in one culture is
not defined as such in another.
Given this, quantitative findings were interpreted through direct reference to qualitative
case studies. Respondents of the survey were also provided with opportunities
for citing examples of pertinent case studies and, in general, invited to give
examples of programmes that fall outside the definition of arts employed in this
study.
1 Danto quoted in Cynthia Freeland (2001) Art <strong>The</strong>ory, Oxford, Oxford University Press, p. 38.
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