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This dissertation examines the intersection of race, urban development, and arts policy in Chicago between 1935 and 1987. Maintaining a focus at the city level, it considers how activists, politicians, civic leaders, and bureaucrats operated within three policy environments presented by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (1935-­‐1943), an interregnum period of dispersed domestic cultural policymaking (1944-­‐1963), and the early years of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities (1965-­‐1985). In the interplay between cultural activism, federal policy implementation, and the arc of urban development in Chicago, recognition of the arts as a key component of the local economy deepened, an extensive infrastructure formed, and refinements of the meaning of cultural democracy advanced. Chapters focus on the development of Work Progress Administration community art centers as a component of the relief policy framework; the implications for municipal arts policy of Mayor Richard J. Daley’s concern for stimulating the local economy and attracting affluent whites to the city; the extension of a state-­‐wide system of support for the arts in Illinois; and the Harold Washington administration’s efforts to institutionalize the arts as a part of city government via a vision of cultural democracy that emphasized multiculturalism, access, and free exchange. The dissertation considers the role of government in supporting the arts sector’s orientation towards cultural democracy, defined by valued diversity, open participation, and the right to be heard regardless of race and class background.

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The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of theater teachers and arts leaders regarding the necessary components to cultivate and sustain a district theater education program, as well as the indicators of success and quality in theater education programs in public schools. The researcher's hypothesis was that the primary components include: 1) theater learning standards and curricular resources that impact the delivery of meaningful instruction and student assessment (Bennett, 2001; National Endowment for the Arts, 1988); 2) qualified teachers who demonstrate effective pedagogy and practices (Catterall, 2009; National Endowment for the Arts, 1988); 3) Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and professional development opportunities specific to theater education (Catterall, 2009); and 4) district leadership, representation, and advocacy specific to theater education and teachers (Project Zero, 2001). The research was implemented through a case study in a selected school district that exhibited all components. It was conducted in three phases and included district theater teachers and arts leaders. The essential findings, from the perceptions of theater teachers and arts leaders, confirmed the importance of the four components the researcher identified as necessary to cultivate and sustain theater education programs. The identified components also emerged as the primary indicators of success and quality of district and school theater education programs in public schools. However, the research also showed that indicators of the success of theater education programs do not always lead to quality, and quality does not always lead to success. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of theater teachers and arts leaders regarding the necessary components to cultivate and sustain a district theater education program, as well as the indicators of success and quality in theater education programs in public schools. The researcher's hypothesis was that the primary components include 1) curriculum and instruction (Bennett, 2001; National Endowment for the Arts, 1988); 2) qualified teachers (Catterall, 2009; National Endowment for the Arts, 1988); 3) teacher learning communities and professional development opportunities specific to theater education (Catterall, 2009); and 4) leadership specific to theater education (Project Zero, 2001). The research was implemented through a case study in a selected school district that exhibited all components. It was conducted in three phases and included district theater teachers and arts leaders. The essential findings, from the perceptions of theater teachers and arts leaders, confirmed the importance of the four components the researcher identified as necessary to cultivate and sustain theater education programs. The identified components also emerged as the primary indicators of success and quality of district and school theater education programs in public schools.

This dissertation investigates the role of public higher education institutions in state-level arts policy in the state of Virginia. The strength of public support for the arts historically has been measured by per capita arts spending, as determined by appropriations to state arts agencies. However, this is a very thin measure that misses an increasingly important contributor to the arts policy landscape - higher education institutions. As direct sources of funding for the arts decline, universities increasingly are contributing to the state arts landscape with the construction and operation of performing arts centers. Framed by resource dependency theory and rational choice institutionalism, this research sheds light on the motivations of actors contributing to the arts policy field in a resource-scarce environment. Evidence suggests that public higher education institutions invest in the co-curricular arts to capitalize on and acquire resources, including image and prestige, and to fulfill their public service missions. Although higher education institution performing arts centers are contributing to the state's arts landscape, they are only informally participating in arts policy formulation and implementation. These findings have financial and decision-making implications for arts policymakers, university administrators, and arts agencies as the inclusion of public higher education institutions in the arts policy field affords new opportunities and challenges for the state encouragement of the arts. / Ph. D.

Arts education must continually provide justification for its inclusion in the K-12 curriculum. This dissertation utilizes philosophical and conceptual analysis to probe the tensions, ironies, and contradictions that permeate the arts education advocacy discourse. Using evidence from advocacy materials published online, scholarly critiques of themes in the advocacy discourse, and research reports describing school-based arts programs, I construct an argument that posits generative consequences for student learning when arts-centered inquiry is reimagined as pragmatic instrumentalism. Such a reimagining of arts-centered inquiry seeks to draw a distinction between utilitarian justifications for the arts and instrumental benefits the arts provide individual students in mediating complex and connected learning. In reclaiming the term “instrumental” for arts-centered inquiry, I offer a way to restore the notion of generativity to arts learning and a means to promote greater understanding among practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and advocates.

This is a concurrent, mixed methods study of the impacts of Austin, Texas’s cultural plan, CreateAustin. In the study, trend analysis and a t-test were used to examine variables before and after the cultural plan was in place. At the same time, interviews with cultural planners were used to uncover other effects. My research addresses a gap in the literature between understanding the desired and actual outcomes of a cultural plan. Cultural plans are being developed by many communities in an effort to attract creative workers but they are rarely evaluated. Evaluation using a mixed methods approach is necessary to capture all the outcomes of a cultural plan, rather than the limited scope of impacts that are captured by qualitative or quantitative analyses alone. My analysis of the quantitative variables showed some significant differences between when the plan was in place and the years prior to its creation. Interviews with key stakeholders revealed the formation of new networks as a powerful outcome of the planning process. The results allowed me to gauge the overall impact of CreateAustin and make some observations about the cultural planning process in general, as well as uncover new directions for future research.

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