The Impact of Declining Arts Education Funding.

A theatre arts education is very important for our youth. However, within the last decade there has been a decrease in funding to support arts education from kindergarten through high school. This decrease negatively impacts the entire education system and subsequently it also has the potential to impact our society. A successful theatre arts education program teaches creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, discipline, and a strong work ethic. It is the binding agent that brings all the elements of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics together. What happens when these programs are no longer funded and disappear? What can today’s theatre artists and educators do to support a continuation of arts education while in the midst of budget cuts in our schools? This thesis, The Impact of Declining Arts Education Funding, will investigate these questions and will look into the cause of these budget cuts in order to find different solutions to combat this growing problem which will support a more productive society.