Announcements

Issue 6 of JREA/JRAE

Arts education as a pillar of human resilience

Deadline for submitting articles in accordance with the Guidelines for Authors: 15 October 2026

Submission address: journal.jrea@gmail.com

 Editors (in alphabetical order): Sabine Chatelain, HEP Vaud / John Didier, HEP Vaud / Hélène Duval, UQAM / François Joliat, HEP-BEJUNE / Pascal Terrien, Aix-Marseille University

Arts education as a pillar of human resilience

A reminder of the JREA’s objectives

The Journal of Research in Arts Education (JREA) – Journal of Research in Arts Education (JRAE) publishes academic articles that shed light on ways of designing, implementing and delivering arts-based practices (Music, Visual Arts, Applied Arts/Design, Dance, Theatre, Circus Arts) in university teacher training institutions and in schools. Researchers draw upon epistemological, socio-historical, theoretical and methodological frameworks, particularly those derived from the sciences of education and training, to formulate research questions and provide findings capable of advancing knowledge in the didactics of the arts as scientific fields.

The themes of the issues published in the JREA/JRAE

Issue No. 1 was devoted to the epistemological issues that underpin arts education with a view to developing its didactics. Issue No. 2 examined the role of the body in the teaching of music and dance. Issue No. 3 provided an overview of the current state of design education. Issue No. 4 explored the challenges of the body in education for artistic creation. Issue No. 5 linked the teaching of visual arts and theatre with sensory experience.

Evolution of research interests in the JREA/JRAE

Today, the urgency of the pressing issues facing our democratic societies is having a profound impact on educational policy. Schools must redefine their educational mission and their training programmes to enable pupils to become agents of social transformation (Roy et al., 2025).

On reading the introductory editorials of the first five issues of the JREA/JRAE, the following observation stands out: a new shift in education is prompting researchers to question the value of the arts within the education system and is beginning to alter the initial focus, which was to explore the field of arts education and its pedagogical impact using scientific tools.

Initiated in the field of education and training sciences by earlier work on professional ethos (Jorro, 2013) and the evaluation of teaching practice (Calmettes and Maizières, 2014), this new development reveals that, in the arts, teaching practice is no longer sufficient to foster learners’ ability to mobilise knowledge, skills and cultural artefacts useful for their overall development. By capitalising on the transformative potential (Barthes, 2023) of teaching the arts (Joliat & Terrien, 2021), teaching must, moreover, prepare pupils to address both the state of the world (OECD, 2019, 2025) and their place in the world (Fancourt & Finn, 2019).

The arts to ensure a healthy life in the face of an uncertain future

The OECD report (2025) entitled Trends that will shape education in 2025 offers tools for reflection to renew school curricula in a flexible and inclusive manner so that pupils are able to create new values, reconcile tensions and dilemmas, and become aware of their responsibilities.

Do arts education encourage pupils :

  • to ask questions, innovate and think ‘outside the box’ to find original solutions to complex problems ?
  • to navigate ambiguity and complexity by fostering empathy and an understanding of multiple perspectives ?
  • to develop their capacity for action by teaching them to think critically about the consequences of their actions on society and the planet ?
  • to achieve well-being in contemporary contexts marked by complexity and uncertainty ?
  • to develop forms of individual and collective resilience through artistic and creative experience ?
  • to develop relational, critical, and creative skills enabling them to cope with current social transformations ?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the deterioration in young people’s mental health has become a priority concern for OECD member countries (OECD, 2025). They are urging education policymakers to redefine their strategic objectives in relation to maintaining pupils’ mental well-being as a prerequisite for a successful educational journey :

  1. by re-defining educational provision to develop pupils’ capacity for sustainable resilience ;
  2. by re-defining teachers’ professional roles to include the care of pupils whilst implementing this educational provision in the classroom.

Highlighting arts education as a pillar of human resilience

This 6th issue of the JREA/JRAE focuses on the question of arts education as a pillar of human resilience (Urke, et al., 2021; Zbranca et al., 2022).

The editorial board of this issue poses the following questions to researchers, PhD students and specialists in arts education within university teacher training institutions and university health training institutions.

How can arts education be characterized in its contribution to building resilient communities facing multifaceted crises, and to sustaining individual health and holistic well-being ? Specifically, this lines of inquiry explores the potential of artistic engagement through :

  • the creative and performance process ;
  • aesthetic engagement (arts appreciation and the articulation of aesthetic values) ;
  • relational and community dynamics: (a) socio-emotional development, (b) group cohesion, and (c) relational pedagogy ;
  • cognitive frameworks : (a) structured thought and (b) the activation of imagination.

Furthermore, he also questions its potential for implementation :

  • how are these practices pedagogically structured to unlock this potential ?
  • what care-based teaching strategies are deployed to support individuals ?
  • how can teacher training adapt to these increasingly uncertain contexts ?

Références/References

Barthes, A. (2023). Évolution des éducations environnementales au prisme des finalités sociales égalitaires. Éducation, Santé, Sociétés, 9(2), 147‑164.

Calmettes, B. et Maizières, F. (2014). Sens des actions didactiques de l’enseignant en classe. Approche compréhensive par la valuation. Congrès international de l’AREF d’août 2013, Université de Montpelier, France. https://hal.science/hal-01090721v1

Fancourt, D., & Finn, S. (2019). What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? : a scoping review. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, & Health Evidence Network, 67. WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Jorro, A. (2013). Éthos professionnel. Dans A. Jorro (dir.), Dictionnaire des concepts de la professionnalisation (p. 109-112). De Boeck.

Joliat, F. et Terrien, P. (2021). Musique à l’école : des projets affiliatifs et interculturels au service du Projet Éducation 2030 de l’OCDE. Questions vives, 35, 6-44. https://doi.org/10.4000/questionsvives.5584

Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE). (2019). L’avenir de l’éducation et des compétences à l’horizon 2030 (OCDE). Compas de l’OCDE pour l’apprentissage 2030. Une série de notes conceptuelles. OCDE.

Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE). (2025). Les tendances qui façonneront l’éducation en 2025. OCDE.

Roy, P., Hindryckx, M.-N. et Jeziorski, A. (dir.). (2025). Former des citoyens·nes émancipés·es à l’ère de l’Anthropocène : Quels dispositifs pour l’enseignement et la formation des enseignant∙es ? Éducation et socialisation. Les Cahiers du CERFEE, 76. https://doi.org/10.4000/148n6

Urke, H. B., Hennessy, E. A., Sanmartino, M., & Corbin J. H. (2021). Exploring the potential for the arts to promote health and social justice. In J.H. Corbin, M. Sanmatrino, Hennessy, E. A., & Urke, H. B. (Eds.), Arts and health promotion : Tools and bridges for practice, resarch, an social transformation (Chapter 1). Spriinger. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56417-9_1

Zbranca, R., Dâmaso, M., Blaga, O., Kiss, K., Dascșl, M. D., Yakobson, D., & Pop, O. (2022). CultureForHealth Report. Culture's contribution to health and well‑being: A report on evidence and policy recommendations for Europe. CultureForHealth Report. https://www.cultureforhealth.eu/app/uploads/2023/02/Final_C4H_FullReport_small.pdf

Sitographie/sitography

  • https://news.un.org/fr/story/2019/11/1055841
  • https://acsmmontreal.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ACSM_Adap-t_moduleART_Fr-w.pdf