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This paper will explore the key findings identified in the five arts discipline-specific papers which comprise this special theme issue. Each of the participant researchers have situated Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts within the context of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts and what they characterise as its social justice imperatives. A narrative phenomenological approach has been adopted to enable the participant researchers to socially co-construct an analysis of their experiences working with the Australian Curriculum: The Arts including challenges, implications and the future for their respective discipline areas and the Arts overall. The three key themes from these collective voices revealed a quality arts education is an entitlement for every child and young person; the Arts provide important opportunities for children and young people from diverse backgrounds and cultures to demonstrate their learning, express themselves and participate; and arts educators and the Arts industry need to work together to strengthen community understanding about the value of the Arts in education. This process provided important insights into how exposure and engagement with the Arts shape the ways in which children and young people make meaning in their lives, enhance their overall wellbeing, increase their sense of social responsibility and contribute to a socially-just society.

Being literate in the twenty-first century means being an empowered receiver, user and creator of diverse text types communicated across multiple and rapidly changing modalities. English and Literacies: Learning to make meaning in primary classrooms is an accessible resource that introduces pre-service teachers to the many facets of literacies and English education for primary students. Addressing the requirements of the Australian Curriculum and the Early Years Learning Framework, English and Literacies explores how students develop oracy and literacy. Reading, viewing and writing are discussed alongside the importance of children's literature. Taking an inclusive and positive approach to teaching and learning for all students, it explores the creation of texts using spelling, grammar in context and handwriting/keyboarding skills, as well as the need for authentic assessment and reporting. Finally, the text explores the importance of literacy partnerships and how teachers can address literacy challenges across the curriculum.

There is unequivocal research evidence that quality arts processes and experiences engender a distinctive and critical set of understandings and skills that all young people need to navigate twenty-first century living. Yet the potential for the Arts and arts education to transform the curriculum coupled with the ongoing paucity of Australia’s arts storylines threaten the actualisation of The Australian Curriculum: The Arts. While the document asserts that all Australian children are entitled to a quality arts education in dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts, realising this aspiration continues to be threatened by a number of issues including the ongoing marginalisation of education in and through the Arts, a dearth of teacher professional learning in the Arts and an emphasis on reductive definitions of what it means to be literate. This article considers what must happen if an arts curriculum with rigour and integrity for all young Australians is to become a reality including an investment in pre-service teacher education, ongoing teacher professional learning and the equitable provision of arts experiences and resources. Changes in thinking by governments, policy makers and educational leaders across all education sectors will be needed to ensure that cultivating imagination and creativity through the Arts become a reality for all Australian children and young people.

Responses to editors. Many thanks. Reviewer A: Overall the article reads well and I believe it will be a valuable addition to the journal and its readers. There are still a few grammatical and sentence structure issues that if addressed will make reading the article easier. Please see comments throughout the attached document. Once these are addressed I believe the submission can be accepted for publication. Comments are pasted here as well and I suggest they be addressed before final publication Abstract – children’s identity and government policy - This sentence doesn’t make sense to me. How can children’s identity be addressed through policy? It has been changed to: children’s roles and learning as designated in official documents on early childhood education. (Please see page 1) page 1 - You use plural for teachers and singular for children. Just checking that is what you meant to do (if single for child why not say child's?) Changes are made for consistency, e.g. teachers’ beliefs and children’s perceptions. page 10 - You need a comma here NSW, Australia;and comma after ECE sector Thanks for the feedback. It is revised accordingly. page 11 - Music curriculum in two preschools were investgated: COLON here Change has been made. Thanks. page 12 -check the use of image and images throughout paper for consistency The word “image” has been changed to “images” throughout the paper. page 13 - clarity needed - practice of ? The sentence has been revised to: capture the practice of music curriculum. page 16 - check use of AND in this sentence This word has been deleted for clarity. page 18 - check use of word advcoates This word has been changed to “proposals”. page 18 - check sentence structure page 19 - this sentence doesn't make sense to me - In order to facilitate theses (Chinese MOE, 2012, p.41-46). The sentence has been deleted for clarity. This paragraph meant to focus on the children’s learning outcomes addressed in the official guidebook. page 19 next paragraph - check sentence structure The paragraph has been refined for clarity. Thanks. page 20 - use 'on the other hand' a few times, suggest changing one of these The paragraph has been re-organised, and the overuse of this phrase has been omitted. page 21 - check revealed what/ - gaps between the children’s expectation and teachers’ provision revealed as well. This part has been revised to: A difference between the expectations of the children and what the teachers ultimately provided was discovered. For example, children expressed their unfulfilled wishes, which included a desire to explore instruments and having more time to play. page 21 - check - It was observed, however, children’s access to other kinds of musical instruments or free musical play was rarely seen at Spring Willow - add that children's? Thanks for the suggestion. The sentence has been changed as: It was observed, however, children’s access to other kinds of musical instruments and their free musical play was rarely seen at Spring Willow. page 23 - check use of word critique The word “critique” has been changed to “is criticised as being…” page 23 - check sentence - Accordingly, the ECTs need to develop critical thinking viewing the policies (Waniganayake et al., 2017 The sentence has been revised to: Accordingly, the ECTs need to engage in critical thinking to perceive and properly implement the policies (Waniganayake et al., 2017). Recommendation: Revisions Required------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Reviewer B: The revisions have adequately addressed most of this reviewer’s concerns. A couple of other comments: p.3 - “Moreover, a socio-cultural perspective views children as active and capable learners with Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) highlighting the role of social interaction in children’s learning, which leads to a calming, relaxing “meditation music” approach to learning music (Klopper & Dachs, 2008).” This sentence does not make any sense to this reviewer. How does a socio-cultural perspective lead on to “a calming, relaxing ‘meditation music’ approach to learning music’? And what is a ‘meditation music’ approach? For clarity, this sentence has been removed. p.5 – “First the confirmed relevance of Confucian philosophy…” The use of ‘confirmed relevance’ seems awkward. This sentence has been changed to: it is argued that Confucian philosophy remains relevant to early childhood education and has shaped the general perception of children’s learning (Shi, 2013). Please do a thorough language check. There are still a number of grammatical flaws throughout the manuscript. Many thanks for the advice. The paper has been proofread and edited. Recommendation: Revisions Required

This chapter explores how quality arts processes and experiences enable students to develop core capabilities that will promote confidence, self-understanding, agency and personal identity as they learn to view today’s world from multiple perspectives. While there are many lists of core skills/capabilities/dispositions cited as much needed to cope with today’s accelerated change, these capabilities are not new or century-specific—all have been mentioned as important capacities for learners throughout our education careers. Initially the history of the twenty-first-century skill movement in the United States is reviewed followed by a consideration of the National Education Association’s (Preparing 21st century students for a global society: An educator’s guide to the “Four Cs”, 2013) distillation of these as the 4Cs (communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking). An interesting arts exemplar requires all four for successful completion follows before we present our exploratory work on four additional C’s (curiosity, compassion, connection and courage) that we believe are also vital. Some initial work on these in primary classrooms is shared. The chapter concludes with an interdisciplinary arts unit that provides another opportunity to explore how these capabilities can be developed.

This chapter initially provides a definition and rationale for integration of the curriculum with integrity in contrast to the traditional academic curriculum so prevalent in western education. A brief historical overview of this area in education and discussion of the numerous ways in which integration can be effected authentically follows using The four Cs (NEA, Preparing 21st century students for a global society: An educator’s guide to the “Four Cs”, 2013) and a further 4Cs we have proposed as core to twenty-first century learning. Specific examples of integration with integrity conclude the chapter.

This chapter initially defines how we understand and have used the term ‘the Arts’ to represent discrete but interrelated creative disciplines that include dance, drama, literature, visual arts, music, film and other media. We argue that each art form is a distinctive discipline in its own right, with particular knowledges, language and skills. At the same time, all art forms involve play, experimentation, exploration, provocation, expression, and the artistic or aesthetic shaping of the body or other media to bring together emotions as well as personal, sensory and intellectual experiences (Ewing, Curriculum and assessment: Storylines. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2013). We draw on relevant research and literature to explain why we believe so passionately in the role that quality Arts processes and experiences can and should play in children’s learning from birth throughout their lives and learning journeys. Finally, we discuss the current educational context in many western education systems and introduce the potential that creative interdisciplinary approaches to curriculum may hold for bringing the Arts and education together in exciting ways.

Drama can be thought of as a metaphor for bending time and space to create a place for exploratory interactions, dialogues and representations out of which new thoughts, ideas, possibilities and ways of looking/seeing the world emerge. Drama-rich pedagogy fosters students’ already rich imaginations and encourages the ongoing development of twenty-first century skills and capabilities including collaboration, creativity and critical thinking and reflection. This chapter establishes why drama can and should play a central role in all Key Learning Areas (KLAs): it enables children to explore a range of meanings, concepts, cultural assumptions, social dilemmas and issues while developing confidence in their own identities. A relevant definition of drama-rich pedagogy and the central elements of drama are considered alongside some central drama strategies and devices. Several units of work across the Arts and other KLAs illustrate the power of enactment and embodiment in becoming compassionate, capable and deeply literate learners.

Creative dance is not easily defined but involves using our whole bodies to express and enhance our inner thoughts and feelings using different techniques and sometimes incorporating aspects of different dance forms. This chapter suggests a range of creative ways to embed dance and movement in the early childhood, primary and middle years curriculum. It explores how dance can enable self-expression while improving our physical skills and flexibility. The activities and units demonstrate that the elements of creative dance including action, dynamics, structure as well as organising or choreographing movement and appreciation lend themselves quite naturally to the other Arts disciplines. The resonances with drama, visual arts and music are explored but other Key Learning Areas are also considered.

Empathy is an attribute many aspire to possess in large quantities. We use the word often, usually in a positive way and assume others know and understand just what we mean. We take for granted tha...

Research documenting the effectiveness of educational or process drama as critical, quality pedagogy particularly in enhancing English and literacy (e.g., Winner, Goldstein, & Vincent-Lancrin, 2013; Saunders, 2015; Ewing 2010b; Ewing, Simons with Campbell & Hertzberg, 2004; Miller Saxton, 2004, 2016; Baldwin & Fleming, 2003) has not impacted in many Australian primary classrooms. Further, Australian teachers report feeling pressured to concentrate on the more technical aspects of the teaching of literacy (and numeracy) as measured in increasingly high stakes tests. It is within this educational context that the School DramaTM program was conceived initially in 2008 and developed over the last decade. This chapter first focuses on the relationship developed between a leading Australian theatre company, Sydney Theatre Company (STC) and the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Education and Social Work (FESW) in order to use one artform, drama, as a lens to interrogate another, contemporary literary texts for children, to enhance literacy learning in its deepest sense. It pays particular attention to the role of the teaching artists in the program and their work with participating primary teachers. The outcomes of the project, from their perspectives and the development of what we have described as a collaborative zone of proximal development (Vygotsky 1978; Ewing, 2015; Moll, Whitmore, 1993) are then discussed. The final act explores some of the outcomes and implications for the ongoing sustainability of the program.

The conversation about poetry is enriched by a conversation that a Prep 2 teacher had with her Prep to Year 2 class just before Christmas at the end of 2016. In various ways we consider what poetry might be, its importance to us and why and how we can encourage teachers and children to enjoy it and share it more often in classrooms.

The centrality of story in our lives and learning has been a major theme in our discussions. It is a truism that human beings are storytelling creatures. The following three conversations particularly focus on oral storytelling and its importance for teachers and children to be storytellers.

How do we go about re-imagining literacy learning as parents and as teachers? This conversation explores the importance of learning from the past with our eye on the future and how engaging in reflective practice can foster this direction. The conversation also explores the important role of parents in effective change and challenges parents and teachers to recognise and interrogate the view of the world that they are presenting, particularly through the questions they ask and the stories they choose for close study.

These next two conversations examine the teacher’s varied roles in generative classroom discussions around stories and storytelling and reading. What are the mindsets, knowledge and expertise required to foster and deepen classroom conversations? The conversations discuss ways to foster curiosity, play, surprise and wonder. In particular they attend to deep listening, risk-taking and the asking of exploratory questions and critical reflection.

This conversation celebrates the imagination and its vital importance in our lives and in our learning. It also celebrates children’s voices and the voices of adults and their expressions of imagination through their drawings and words and how these expressions informed and transformed our thinking.

The next two conversations and postscript focus on two art forms (drama and literature) and how, as important disciplines in their own right, they can also work together to foster rich language learning experiences for children. The first conversation introduces the role that educational or process drama has played in the authors’ lives and can play in all teachers’ and children’s lives deepening understanding about literature and life and so enhance literacy outcomes. The second conversation provides a specific example from a drama and literature programme undertaken in a suburban Sydney school. And this is followed by a postscript with some of the teachers’ and children’s responses to the drama.