The Arts & the Creation of Mind, Elliot W. Eisner (Yale University Press, 2004) – A leader in arts education, Elliot Eisner believes that learning in and through the arts can help develop the mind. This very readable book explores different approaches to teaching the arts and looks at how the arts are an essential part of our lives.

Critical Links, Richard J. Deasy (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2002) – A summary of over 50 research studies by one of the leaders in the arts education field that looks at the impact the arts have on learning and student development. In this book, Richard Deasy makes the case for learning through the arts that is rigorous, academic and comprehensive.

The Heart of Art Education: Holistic Approaches to Creativity, Integration, and Transformation, Edited by Laurel H. Campell and Seymour Simmons III (National Art Education Association, 2012) – Highlights a range of philosophies, models and lessons for integrating meaning-making art into core academic subjects—a great resource for pre-K-12 educators, community arts educators and museum arts educators.

Strong Arts, Strong Schools: The Promising Potential and Shortsighted Disregard of the Arts in American Schooling, Charles Fowler (Oxford University Press, USA, 2001) – This book advocates for the arts as a critical component of education and shows how the arts, through an interdisciplinary approach, can benefit the entire school.

Why Our Schools Need the Arts, Jessica Hoffmann Davis (Teachers College Press, 2007) – ”In this book, Jessica Davis equips educators and advocates alike with a rich vocabulary and clear examples of how to teach and how to make the case for the essential and unique place of the arts in the school curriculum.” Richard J. Deasy, Director, Arts Education Partnership