Introduction

This section provides an overview of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of arts integration (AI) in general and special education, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to addressing learners’ individual needs within classroom contexts. Thorough examination of the background and historical context of AI is presented, as well as the interdisciplinary language, educational psychology, and special education research and practice that support its use in educational settings. Arts integration research and practice, from its foundations to its current status as a multidisciplinary learning approach, is described in relation to the book’s theoretical framework on student engagement. Notably, this volume explores the question of whether arts integration may in fact be a response to the disintegration of education over two decades due to reform education movements, beginning in the late 1990s to the present, that have focused primarily on achievement outcomes rather than students’ acquisition or mastery of concepts.