Arts education is being squeezed out, inequitably funded and delivered by underqualified teachers in schools across Ontario, according to a new report released Tuesday. It’s a system where schools’ arts budgets can range from a luxurious $100,000 per year to a meagre $500 — with those budgets often determined by parents’ ability to fundraise — according to the 2018 arts education report from People for Education. Principals who participated in the People for Education report “frequently cited” a lack of specialized space as a barrier to providing arts education. Rural schools, they wrote, are also less likely to have specialized arts teachers and arts learning spaces. “We did feel that despite the widely recognized importance of arts education, that there is not necessarily equitable access to arts programs and resources, and arts enrichment,” Kidder said.

Source: thestar April 03, 2018 09:56 UTC