Previous research has explored the specific goals for implementing arts learning programs for children and adolescents during in- and out-of-school environments. These include four, main purposes – develop distinct skills for creating art, “build artistic appreciation and outlook,” increase achievement in other subjects, and strengthen human development (Bodilly, Augustine, and Zakaras, 2008, pp. 12-13). Since the early 1980s, the availability of arts programs has steadily declined; therefore, the latter two purposes, in tandem, have distinctly been of interest as a means to validate the viability of arts education in learning institutions (Rabkin & Hedberg, 2011). Therefore, the current study aims to develop a model, arts education program by uncovering the dynamic relationship between arts participation and academic performance through the cultivation of cognitive, such as motivation and self-efficacy, as well as social-emotional outcomes. In particular, the current study addresses 1) what are the necessary, key components of a model, arts education program that would facilitate academic performance and human development and 2) what are the evaluation measures that are required to assess the validity of such a program.
Bodilly, S., Augustine, C., Zakaras, L. (2009). Revitalizing Arts Education Through Community-Wide Collaboration. RAND: Santa Monica, CA.
Rabkin, N. & Hedberg, E. C. (2011). Arts education in America: What the declines mean for arts participation. National Endowment for the Arts: Washington, D.C.