The records comprise the correspondence and subject files of Stephen M. Dobbs, Senior Program Officer for the Getty Center for Education in the Arts(GCEA), from 1987 to 1989. The records provide insight into the programs of the GCEA and its efforts to shape contemporary arts education in the United States through the development of the K-12 art education theory referred to as "discipline based art-education" (DBAE).

Dr. Stephen Dobbs received his B.A. (1964) and Ph.D. (1972) from Stanford University. He first worked as a university professor in the humanities and, later in life, he became adjunct professor at San Francisco State University and an adjunct faculty member at the Institute for Jewish & Community Research.The Getty Center for Education in the Arts, later known as the Getty Education Institute for the Arts (GEI), was one of the original programs established by the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic organization serving both general audiences and specialized professionals. The Trust is a not-for-profit institution, educational in purpose and character, that focuses on the visual arts in all of their dimensions. As of 2009 the Trust supports and oversees four programs: the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Foundation, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Research Institute. The Trust founded the Getty Center for Education in the Arts in 1982 with the mission of improving the quality and status of arts education in the nation's public schools. The GEI's programs were guided by three premises: the visual arts should be an essential part of every child's education because knowledge of the arts is a principal means of understanding human experiences and transmitting cultural values; art education's content must be broadened to include instruction in art production, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics-an approach known as discipline-based art education (DBAE); and the most effective art education programs are based on partnerships among teachers, administrators, artists, museums, universities, and parents.

10.0 linear feet (24 boxes)

Contact Rights and Reproductions at the Getty Research Institute for copyright information and permission to publish.

The records described in accession 2005.IA.14 are available for use by qualified researchers.