ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explains the benefits and importance of the arts for the intellectual development of primary years students. She discusses the role of the arts in learning and across the curriculum. The author illustrates how pedagogies for the arts are inclusive and socially just. Further research reveals how the arts impact on our living environments and are necessary for social and cultural cohesion. In fact, research suggests that without access to the arts, students will be unable to think creatively or innovatively, or to engage in cultural life. In addition, the arts offer a number of unique literacies and numeracies that are not featured in other subject areas, yet these skills tend not to be part of standardised tests, which tend to measure narrow skills. The arts can contribute to a range of opportunities for divergent ways of thinking; increasing the likelihood of intellectual challenge.
