The themes of the chapters in this section suggest that school–university partnerships are a key structure for the preparation of new teachers and the ongoing professional development of veteran teachers. School–university partnerships value the expertise of all stakeholders including P-12 teachers, university- and school-based teacher educators, P-12 and university administrators, and teacher candidates. The chapters in this section focus on fully developed partnerships between universities and P-12 schools, the pedagogy of racial and social justice, effective teacher professional development, and community engagement.

Schools and universities have a long history of collaboration to address educational goals, but at present these partnerships find themselves at a crossroads navigating myriad contextual factors influencing both teacher education and PK-12 schools. In reviewing the evolution of the Mason Elementary PDS program, as well as the historical phases of School–University partnerships (Catelli, 2021), we identified partnership elements and ultimately designed a program framework that facilitated responsiveness in challenging times. Through examples, we demonstrate how our framework sustains partnership efforts in our context. In closing we recommend school and universities create supporting frameworks for adapting flexibly in their unique settings.

Publications about practitioner inquiry in professional development schools (PDSs) tend to emphasize localized descriptions. This has led to a tension in the scholarship between valuing knowledge generated through reports of practitioner inquiry and valuing the generation of methodologically rigorous, potentially transferable knowledge about practitioner inquiry. This chapter addresses that tension by highlighting localized descriptions while aiming to produce new knowledge about practitioner inquiry within the PDS movement. The chapter’s purpose is to construct an up-to-date perspective on practitioner inquiry as a distinctive PDS practice. The authors conducted a systematic review of descriptions of practitioner inquiry in PDS literature published between 2008–2022. The chapter begins with an overview of the foundations of practitioner inquiry in PDSs. The review’s method is described, then its findings are presented through a five-part typology of ways practitioner inquiry was commonly positioned. The chapter concludes by discussing future directions for research about inquiry in PDSs.

Dance – often left to specialists outside the classroom – is a means by which children can explore the world through their whole bodies. For many learners who feel they lack the ability or the interest to pursue more academic subjects, this is where they need to be given opportunities to demonstrate their potential for success. This chapter focuses on forms and skills of dance and movement, methods for engaging children and the theoretical knowledge behind dance, as well as practical activities to use in the early childhood and primary classrooms. Linking to other Knowledge Learning Areas, as well as to wider school and curricular issues, this chapter aims to equip both the novice and the experienced educator in dance to confidently and knowledgably facilitate the learning and development of children. Personal and environmental health and safety issues will also be explored.

Wherever we are in society, we are surrounded by the Arts. This text has been designed by artists, and the words you read are just visual artworks representing the oral storytelling foundation of all societies. Its layout was designed by artists, using multiple media forms. You are reading it in an environment where the soundscape will hopefully allow you to concentrate. Your body is probably positioned to minimise discomfort and maximise efficiency, while communicating your current state of thought to all those around you (whether consciously or not). Surrounding you may be posters, objects, noises, people interacting with facial expressions, probably some communicating via Facebook, Instagram or other social media using increasingly advanced technologies. The Arts power our lives, yet too often we power down children as they enter formal education (preschool and upwards), stifle their natural forms of communication and interaction, and slowly destroy their ability to be creative and to think diversely.

This chapter explores much of the current research about the value and effect of the Arts in education and assists you to develop your own thinking about the importance of Arts education. This research is framed by an understanding of developing modes of engagement in Arts education, and a discussion of the importance of personal agency and Arts education as ‘praxis’. Finally, the notions of learning ‘in’ and ‘through’ the Arts are explored to enable you to understand the types of learning in which your students can engage.

Throughout this book, you have been challenged to look at the role the Arts play in society and in education. Various methodologies have been suggested and each specific Arts area has been broken down for you. The tools are now in place for you to organise Arts learning and teaching in your classroom. You also have reflective tools to apply to the learning and teaching you undertake. In this final chapter, we challenge you to imagine your Arts-rich classroom. What do you want the Arts to look like and how do you want your students to engage in them? These decisions will reflect your vision and rationale for teaching the Arts and your many experiences in working with the Arts as you have progressed through this book. These decisions are best made by the person who decides the ‘what’ and ‘how’ for their students every day: you.

If we approach Arts education as we might approach literacy, we would aim to develop Arts literacy in students. We would teach students the tools of language, ways of constructing meaning, vocabulary, structures, forms, genres and shaping cultural and social contexts. In literacy we allow children freedom to gain confidence and experiment with creative writing, but we also intervene when necessary to correct, guide and teach them explicit skills and knowledge. If we apply this approach to the Arts, rather than stand back and ‘let the child be free’, we can focus on developing proficiency in knowledge and skills as well as fostering creativity and imagination right from the start. As with any other Learning Area, child engagement and achievement in the Arts are determined by exposure to ongoing, sequential learning experiences. This chapter suggests ways in which teachers can achieve this in a way that is respectful of the needs and interests of the child.

In this chapter, we introduce and explain the key principles of integrated learning and outline ways in which it can be put into practice to provide quality Arts experiences, as well as quality learning in other areas. We suggest ways to achieve integrated learning that you can adapt to construct your own successful program. We also move beyond the concept of curriculum integration to look at child integration as it should be applied in the classroom. Schools do exclude, both intentionally and otherwise. We explore the justifications offered for, and ways to remove, these barriers to engagement in the Arts by all. We argue that everyone needs to experience the Arts equally, no matter what their background or what form of diverse learning is brought to the classroom. For some children, this is the only pathway to success. In the Arts, anyone can engage; everyone gets to live them.

The Australian Curriculum’s three cross-curriculum priorities are intended to give global, national, and local perspectives, providing students with the tools and language to be able to understand the world in which they live and to consider the future world they could inhabit.Within the Australian Curriculum, three cross-curriculum priorities have been defined: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures; Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia; and Sustainability. These three cross-curriculum priorities are not intended to be taught as separate Learning Areas; instead, they are about exploring relationships between subjects. They offer learning opportunities to add depth and richness to student learning in specific discipline content at the same time as developing knowledge, understanding and skills relating to the three priorities.