Arts and Education

Domain D: Arts and Education describes the extent to which students at elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education levels learn to create and appreciate art. The domain includes an indicator on the supply and demand of art teachers.

For more information on Domain D, view our infographic and access short papers and data for each indicator below. New indicators and updated statistics for current indicators will be released as data become available.

Key Findings

Post-secondary Degrees:

• In 2021–2022, postsecondary institutions in the U.S. awarded 4.1 million associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. Of those, 127,160 (3 percent) were in visual and performing arts fields of study and 161,320 (4 percent) in other arts-related fields of study.
• The number of degrees awarded in other arts-related fields of study, and visual and performing arts, grew over the last decade. The increase was more modest (4 and 5 percent respectively), compared to the overall increase in post-secondary degrees (16 percent). 
• Bachelor’s degrees accounted for the vast majority of postsecondary degrees awarded in visual and performing arts and other arts-related fields of study in 2021–2022. 
• Fine arts made up the largest number of bachelor’s degrees within visual and performing arts fields of study in 2021–2022 (22,960), followed by design and visual communications (19,340), and music (14,420). 

Primary and Secondary School Teachers:

• Approximately 251,000 arts teachers were employed in public elementary and secondary schools in school year 2020–2021. The number of arts teachers in public elementary and secondary schools grew over the last decade, reflecting an overall increase in the number of public school teachers.
• Arts teachers tended to be White, and relatively young, compared with teachers as a whole.

Arts Faculty:

• About 1.3 million persons were employed as faculty in postsecondary institutions in 2021, and about 83,000 of these faculty were teaching in the arts. 
• The number of arts faculty was lower than that of faculty teaching such fields as social sciences (233,000), health (193,000), or biological, earth, or physical sciences (172,000), but higher than the number of faculty teaching computer science (36,000).

Explore the Indicators

D.1 Who majors in the arts?

This indicator analyzes trends in the number of postsecondary degrees awarded in arts and cultural fields of study over time, by degree level and key demographic characteristics of graduates. (See D.1 Tables for related data). This indicator is annually updated in November.

D.2 Who teaches the arts in schools?

This indicator reports the number of art teachers in elementary and secondary education and arts faculty in postsecondary institutions. (See D.2 Tables for related data).

Additional Resources 

• Arts Education Partnership: Resource Library and ArtsEdSearch
• Line by Line: Transforming Student Lives and Learning with the Art of Poetry: This report presents findings from an evaluation of Poetry Out Loud, a national arts education program supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
• The Arts in Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Benefits of Arts Participation: This report is a literature review and gap-analysis of recent research about the arts’ relationship to social-emotional benefits in early childhood.
• The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies: This report examines arts-related variables from four large datasets to understand the relationship between arts engagement and positive academic and social outcomes in children and young adults of low socioeconomic status.
• Improving the Assessment of Student Learning in the Arts – State of the Field and Recommendations
• Datasets at the National Archive of Data on Arts & Culture (NADAC): 
  • Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (ICPSR 39134)
  • Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (ICPSR 39141)
  • Longitudinal Study of American Youth, 1988-1994, 2007-2014 (ICPSR 37336)
  • Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), Seventh Grade Data, 1987-1988; 2015-2016 (ICPSR 37287)
  • Early Childhood Longitudinal Program (ECLS), Including Arts and Cultural Variables (ICPSR 37235)

Questions? Please contact NASERChelpdesk@air.org to receive expert support.