Arts education has been linked to growth in academics, such as gains in math, critical reading, problem solving and more. It is also linked to higher motivation, emotional development, and equitable opportunity. If we want to improve test scores, we should be increasing arts education, not getting rid of it.
There are countless reports and studies supporting and confirming the effects of arts education. Some information provides by these studies include:
There are countless reports and studies supporting and confirming the effects of arts education. Some information provides by these studies include:
- In a study by Judith Burton, Columbia University, research showed that subjects such as mathematics, science, and language require complex cognitive and creative capacities “typical of arts learning” (Burton, Horowitz, & Abeles, 1999). “The arts enhance the process of learning. The systems they nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities, are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning” (Jensen, 2001)
- The Burton study of more than 2000 children found that those in the arts curriculum were far superior in creative thinking, self-concept, problem-solving, self-expression, risk-taking, and cooperation than those who were not (Burton et al., 1999).
- A 2005 report by the Rand Corporation about the visual arts argues that the instinctive joys of art do more than brighten a person's life -- according to the report, they "can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing," creating the support to initiate social bonding and community coherence.