Art Makes You Smart
October 8, 2014Fight the Stress of Urban Education with the Arts
October 8, 2014The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies
Catterall, J.S., Dumais, S.A., Thompson, G. ( 2012, March). The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies. National Endowment for the Arts.
This report examines the academic and behavior of students who engaged in the arts. Students who tend to participate in the arts have shown more positive academic and social outcomes compared to students who did not participate in art programs. This report attempts to focus on longitudinal studies following the same population over time.
After focusing on this study, three main conclusions arise:
- Socially and economically disadvantaged children and teenagers who have high levels of arts engagement show more positive outcomes in a variety of areas than their low-arts-engaged peers.
- At-risk teenagers or young adults with a history of intensive arts experiences show achievement levels closer to, and in some cases exceeding the levels shown by the general population studied.
Most of the positive relationships between arts involvement and academic outcomes apply early to at-risk populations. But positive relationships between arts and civic engagement are noted in high-SES groups as well.