At-risk students who have access to the arts in or out of school also tend to have better academic results, better workforce opportunities, and more civic engagement, reports the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Released on March 30, 2012, the NEA study, The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth, focuses on the positive outcomes associated with high levels of arts engagement for youth from the lowest quarter of socioeconomic status. Although most of the arts-related benefits in this report applied only to these at-risk youth, some findings also suggest benefits for youth from advantaged backgrounds.
The study uses four separate longitudinal studies (three from the U.S. Department of Education) to track children, teenagers, and young adults who had high or low levels of arts engagement in or out of school. Those activities included coursework in music, dance, theater, or the visual arts; out-of-school arts lessons; or membership, participation, and leadership in arts organizations and activities, such as band or theater.
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Read responses to the report:
- Washington Post: NEA Study Finds Arts Engagement Helps Low-Income Youth Read
- Education Week: Arts Engagement Linked to Academic, Civic Benefits Read