Arts Education Touted as Key to U.S. Innovation Agenda

A majority of U.S. voters agree that building students’ imaginations to equip young people with the ability to innovate is as important as teaching them the academic basics, according to a poll commissioned by an advocacy coalition for education in the arts.

The Washington-based Arts Education Partnership cited the results, released today, in urging that the arts not be overlooked as policymakers emphasize the so-called STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as the keys to boosting innovation and U.S. competitiveness in the world economy.

“We’re finding that the public is seeing that if you don’t have a capacity to imagine, you’re not going to make anything anyway,” said Richard J. Deasy, the director of the partnership, a coalition of about 140 organizations, including the U.S. Department of Education and the National...