Integrating what research shows us about arts education

How much impact does art have in classrooms?

Here’s what the research shows us:

· The more arts integration that students receive in their classes, the greater their test score gains (Ingram & Riedel, 2003), the higher their school attendance (Catterall, 2002), and the higher they score in verbal and math on the SAT (The College Board, Profile of College-Bound Seniors, 2003).

· Students who are engaged in art gain a strong identity and improved self concept (Catterall, 2002; Stevenson & Deasy, 2005).

· Arts education helps students develop cognitive and social capacities in critical thinking, problem solving, spatial reasoning, empathy, tolerance, reflection, and collaboration. (Deasy, 2002; Catterall, 2002; Eisner, 2002)

· Arts integration may have an even stronger effect on student achievement for groups that are often considered disnfranchised: students receiving free and reduced-price lunch (Ingram & Riedel, 2003) and English language learners (Wested, 2003).

· Art can develop a student’s skills of envisioning, observation, reflection, exploration, and persistence. (President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2003).

· Drama creates opportunities for students to understand characters’ perspectives and emotions while improving their own grasp on the significance and process of language. (Third Space, 2005)

· Schools with a robust presence of art in their curriculum help create student communities that are characterized by a climate conducive to learning (Bresler, 2005), positive and supportive social relationships (Smuth & Stevenson, 2005), and respect for differences (Davis, 2005).

· The arts help students connect their new knowledge to prior experiences, which can help the new information they’ve learned to be deep and long lasting. (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking; 1999)

· Art projects can help teachers gain a better understanding of each student’s capabilities, allowing for instructional approaches to be adjusted accordingly so students will learn better. (Third Space, 2005)

· Arts help students nurture their self esteem and confidence by exposing personal creations to the public, develop a feeling that they can be agents of their own learning, and expand their problem solving and critical thinking skills that will guide them into becoming lifelong learners. (Third Space, 2005)