ABSTRACT
Arts educationalists challenge the continued dominance of cognitive domains of learning within education, citing the importance of creative and cultural pedagogy to empower diverse learners with the holistic knowledge and skills required to contribute to contemporary global political, economic and cultural shifts. This chapter explores the potential of expressive arts in empowering learners, building key interdisciplinary skills to support holistic learning agendas of equity, pluralism and citizenship. It discusses the key policies and literature impacting on the role of expressive arts education within contemporary curricula. Case-study evidence based on interdisciplinary cultural partnerships models creative pedagogical strategies for inclusion and empowerment within an international context. The chapter examines the advocacy of creative and cultural aspects of education encapsulated through expressive arts, highlighting a range of key policy documents within the UK. Partnership is a unifying factor within the policies and projects, and is widely regarded as a valuable attribute in challenging limitations and prejudice, restricting learners’ potential.
