02 August, 2023
Call for Chapter Proposals
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Arts and Arts-Integrated Learning for Middle Level Education
Stephanie Cronenberg, Editor
Book Description:
Scholars in the field of middle level education advocate for developmentally and culturally responsive learning for young adolescents, emphasizing the needs of “autonomy, belonging, competence, and identity” (Bishop & Harrison, 2021, p. 6). In particular, Bishop and Harrison (2021) contend that “an effective middle grades curriculum must be challenging, exploratory, integrative, and diverse, from both the student’s and the teacher’s perspective” (p. 27). This vision for middle level education encompasses all forms of learning available to middle level students, including the arts.
Globally, fifth through eighth grade students (aged approx. 10–15) attend schools of various grade configurations and with varying access to or requirements for arts education (Morrison et al., 2022). However, Winsler et al. (2019) suggest that the middle level years may be pivotal in a students’ lifelong engagement with the arts because the middle level “is the first-time students [in the US] can choose to take full elective arts courses, and they can still enroll in these arts-related classes with limited [knowledge and] skills” (p. 415). In addition, neuroscientists have demonstrated that young adolescence is a significant period in brain development where students develop the capacity and interest to engage, or not, in a particular topic of inquiry throughout their lives (Kuhn, 2009). Thus, arts education that is developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive is essential for the holistic development of young adolescents and their disposition toward lifelong arts engagement (see Cronenberg, 2022).
The purpose of this edited volume is to bring together the latest scholarship in arts education focused on the middle level, particularly studies which respond to aspects of the vision described above and further articulated by the field of middle level education in publications such as The Successful Middle School: This We Believe (Bishop & Harrison, 2021). As an interdisciplinary and collaborative text, this edited volume seeks to unite new and existing arts education scholarship, understood broadly, and begin to articulate vision(s) for middle level arts and arts-integrated education. Scholars interested in contributing to this text may address questions such as but not limited to:
- What does arts education (in any art form) look like when it values young adolescents’ autonomy, competence, and identity or when it strives to be developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive?
- How does an arts educator develop a classroom community focused on motivation through autonomy, belonging, and competence?
- How can arts educators strive to develop curricular and pedagogical approaches that are responsive, challenging, empowering, equitable, and engaging?
- What does it mean for middle level students to be actively and purposefully engaged in arts or arts-integrated learning?
- How are vision(s) for middle level arts education enacted in traditional and non-traditional learning spaces (e.g., schools, museums, performing venues, informal spaces, etc.)?
- How does the vision of middle level education intersect with current discourse and advocacy in arts education, including but not limited to preexisting frameworks for arts education such as the US National Core Arts Standards, international arts education standards, or non-standards-based frameworks?
- What is the role of democracy, student-directed curriculum and pedagogy, and/or digital technology in middle level arts education?
- What does scholarship in arts education have to contribute to the middle level education community or middle level administrators?
- How do arts educators develop authentic and intentional assessments that involve teachers, peers, and the student-creator in evaluation?
- How do teacher educators in the arts prepare preservice educators or provide inservice support for middle level specific learning contexts?
All chapter proposals should address arts or arts-integrated learning at the middle level. Chapters should focus on learning in or through at least one art form including, but not limited to, music, visual art, theatre arts, dance, media arts, creative writing, or other culturally specific arts practices. Chapter proposals addressing middle level arts education globally are encouraged. This volume welcomes qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, philosophical, or historical scholarly inquiry. All research designs and forms of representation are welcome.
For the purposes of this project, the middle level is defined as fifth through eighth grade (in the US) or students between the ages of 10 and 15. Projects do not need to involve a school that calls itself a “middle school.” Rather, it is the emphasis on developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive pedagogy for young adolescents that defines the “middle level” in this text. For consistency, authors are encouraged to use the phrases “middle level” and “young adolescent.” Authors may also choose to reference the specific grade level(s) under study, but country-specific context should be provided (where appropriate).
Editor has obtained interest from Routledge as the planned publisher. The book proposal will be submitted to the AMLE Innovations in Middle Level Education series published by Routledge.
Collaborative Nature of Project:
This project is intended to embrace the collaborative, interdisciplinary, and democratic nature of both arts education and middle level education. As such, contributing authors must be willing to review two chapters submitted to the volume (see anticipated timeline). This collaborative step in the review process is designed to ensure a more cohesive edited volume celebrating the interdisciplinary nature of arts education at the middle level. All reviewing authors will be provided with review guidelines by the editor.
Anticipated Timeline:
October 1, 2023 Chapter proposals due from authors
November 15, 2023 Authors notified of status of chapters
March 1, 2024 Full chapters (6,000–7,000 words, including references) due from authors
April 15, 2024 Authors receive two chapters for peer review
June 1, 2024 Peer review of chapters due to editor
July 15, 2024 Peer and editorial review notes returned to authors
October 1, 2024 Revised and edited chapters due from authors
December 1, 2024 Second round of editorial review to authors (as necessary)
February 1, 2025 Final collection submitted to publisher
Submission Procedures:
Interested authors should submit a chapter proposal in the form of an abstract of no more than 500 words. Abstracts should include a summary of the chapter’s focus, reference to art form(s) addressed, theoretical framing, form(s) of research inquiry employed, results/preliminary conclusions, implications for middle level arts learning, and clear connection to middle level principles as described herein. On the submission form, authors will be asked to submit the chapter title, author(s) and affiliation(s), 3–5 keywords for their chapter, 3–5 APA-formatted references supporting their abstract, and a 50-word bio for each author. All selected authors will also be asked to commit to reviewing two additional chapters from the volume.
Authors should submit the above via https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8uY62t8bWrb1BPgno later than October 1, 2023.
For questions, please contact Dr. Stephanie Cronenberg, Associate Professor of Music, Rutgers University, scronenberg@mgsa.rutgers.edu
References:
Bishop, P. A., & Harrison, L. M. (2021). The successful middle school: This we believe. Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE).
Cronenberg, S. (2022). Fertile ground in middle level general music. Routledge.
Kuhn, D. (2009). Adolescent thinking. In R. M. Lerner, & L. D. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., volume 1, pp. 152–186). John Wiley & Sons.
Morrison, R. B., McCormick, P., Shepherd, J. L., & Cirillo, P. (2022). National Arts Education Status Report 2019. Arts Education Data Project, Quadrant Research, State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education.
Winsler, A., Gara, T. V., Alegrado, A., Castro, S., & Tavassolie, T. (2020). Selection into, and academic benefits from, arts-related courses in middle school among low-income, ethnically diverse youth. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14(4), 415–432. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000222