Benefits of Arts Education

In This Section

ArtsEdSearch.org

The Arts Education Partnership has newly launched ArtsEdSearch.org, a digital clearinghouse of research and policy information about the educational outcomes of arts learning, both in and out of school. ArtsEdSearch.org contains 200 summaries of high quality research studies that include all arts forms and all levels of education.

Music Matters: How Music Education Helps Students Learn, Achieve, and Succeed

Building on the first release of Music Matters in 2011, the Arts Education Partnership reviewed multiple research studies identified within ArtsEdSearch — the national clearinghouse of rigorous arts education research — to explore the importance of music on student learning outcomes. This updated resource explores the demonstrated effects of music education and how it helps students develop the foundational capacities for lifelong success. Download a free PDF version of this publication and add it to your arsenal of music education advocacy tools today!

The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth (PDF)

The National Endowment for the Arts released a research report indicating several positive outcomes associated with high levels of arts exposure for youth of low socioeconomic status. According to a study led by James S. Catterall of four separate longitudinal studies, at-risk students who have access to the arts in or out of school appear to have better academic results, better workforce opportunities, and more civic engagement than at-risk students who do not.

Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art

In this report, James Catterall presents empirical evidence demonstrating the important role of the arts in student success in school and in life. Examining an additional ten years of data on 12,000 students originally studied in the 1999 AEP publication, Champions of Change, Catterall produces longitudinal data demonstrating the significant impact of an “arts rich” education on underserved students and English language learners.