What we do
In 1988, the Getty Center for Education in the Arts, based in Los Angeles at the Getty, established six regional institutes in California, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas to research and promote discipline-based visual arts education. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga had the foresight to expand the concept to embrace music and theatre education. This multi-arts approach has made the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts (SCEA) an exemplary model for innovative professional development and education reform. We have had great success with hundreds of schools in positioning the rigorous study of the arts within the core of general education.
The Southeast Center is a think tank and laboratory for creative inquiry in teaching and learning. Professionals from diverse disciplines and institutions collaborate on research and development projects, identifying opportunities and challenges, formulating strategies, and investigating applications in authentic settings.
RESEARCH
SCEA conducts think tanks and researches learning in and through the arts focused on:
Curriculum – dance, music, theatre, visual art, and multi-arts education
Instruction – professional development, teaching methodology
Outcomes – school reform, teacher education, student achievement
Theories, strategies, and materials are field-tested with educators and students in workshops and classrooms. Research findings, curriculum materials, and best practices are published and disseminated through print and electronic media.
WRITING
SCEA's research and experience with standards-based curricula have led to the writing of seminal conceptual frameworks for discipline-based dance, music, theatre, and visual art education. More than 50 units of study with accompanying poster reproductions and CD-ROMS have been developed. Current writing by Center personnel is focusing on multi-arts education, arts integration, inquiry-based teaching, reflective practice and school reform.
Resources
TEACHING
Southeast Center personnel teach classes, seminars, workshops, and institutes at UTC and other universities, in public and private pre-K-12 schools, for arts institutions, and at professional conferences. Distance learning, Web-based instruction, and evolving technology are being explored as integral components of contemporary education and a means of communication with wide-ranging audiences.
CONSULTING
The expertise and achievements of the SCEA directors are nationally recognized as evidenced by their service as consultants and committee members for numerous organizations.
