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The Arts and Socioemotional Development: Evaluating a New Mandate for Arts Education
Abstract
In this chapter, we present the results of an evaluation that assesses whether an education in the arts may contribute to the development of socioemotional skills. To address this question, data were collected from N = 892 students (77.3% of color) participating in one of 11 programs in visual arts, music, theater, or dance. While our analyses revealed trend-level effects for programs on growth mindset and artistic goal orientation for the sample as a whole, significant effects were observed among younger students for growth mindset and for school engagement among students with high levels of engagement prior to program participation. We discuss the implications of these findings, which, given the composition of our sample, can be generalized to low-income students of color.
... For a variety of reasons, SEL may be a more appropriate area of exploration for researchers seeking to understand and explain the impact of arts-integrated learning (Holochwost, et al., 2018). Specifically, SEL may be more proximate to arts-based learning than academic outcomes, and therefore more likely to be affected. ...
... Brown and Sax (2013) found greater emotional regulation and positive emotional expression among students of an artsintegrated Head Start program in comparison with students at a comparable preschool. In a quasi-experimental evaluation study of multiple arts education programs, Holochwost, et al. (2018) also found a positive effect on engagement among a subset of students: treatment students who were engaged in school before the programs began maintained engagement, while previously engaged comparison students became less engaged in school. ...
... These mechanisms, or causal pathways, tell us how artsintegrated activities prompt changes in skills, attitudes, or behaviors, and how these changes in turn prompt student learning. Identifying these mechanisms is not simply an academic exercise, but is crucial if the field is going to identify best practices in arts integration and attempt to implement these practices at scale (Holochwost, et al., 2018). ...
... Attempting to document current practices and contribute to the body of knowledge on music teaching and learning in Brazil, in this article we describe the experiences of violin players who were learning music in a project that involved a partnership between a community-based orchestra and two public schools from underserved areas of Erechim, Southern Brazil. Grounded on the central tenets of popular education (Jara, 2010;Quintal de Freitas, 2007), the writings of Paulo Freire (1974Freire ( /2005Freire ( , 2011, and earlier research on music education and Freirean theory (e.g., Abrahams, 2005Abrahams, , 2007Feichas & Narita, 2016) and on string education in underserved communities (e.g., Andang'o, 2018;D'Alexander, 2015;Holochwost et al., 2018;Ilari, 2007), we offer insights gained through interviews carried out with students, their families, and teachers. In this exploratory work, we focused on students' socioemotional learning (SEL) and social lives. ...
... Yet, learning an instrument also takes time and requires reflection and perseverance. We suspect that participation in the music program possibly assisted students in developing the persistence needed to overcome challenges (Holochwost et al., 2018) and in recognizing and respecting limitations-their own and those of their peers-within a safe space (see Andang'o, 2018;Hikiji, 2006). All students also described how the school teachers gradually "warmed up" to the music project. ...
In this exploratory study, we describe the learning experiences of adolescents from a social project called Orquestrando Talentos, which offered violin and viola lessons in two high-needs schools for low-income students in Erechim, Southern Brazil. Grounded on the central tenets of popular education, on Paulo Freire’s work, and on earlier studies on the experiences of students from community-based strings programs, in this article we share the voices of six violin students (aged 12–14), their parents, and teachers, particularly as they relate to students’ socioemotional learning and the social impact of the program on families, schools, and communities.
... There is evidence that arts engagement can support a number of outcomes including increased social interaction and cohesion, provision of supportive coping skills, improved emotion regulation, decreased mental distress 18 , better executive functioning 19 , and enhanced socioemotional development 20 . Many of these beneficial outcomes are related to the problems experienced by those with externalising disorders. ...
Introduction: Externalising behaviours during adolescence are associated with numerous long-term negative outcomes, although the majority of research is intervention-based as opposed to focused on risk reduction. Arts engagement has been associated with numerous beneficial factors linked to externalising behaviours, yet direct evidence linking them in longitudinal studies is lacking. / Methods: Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study were used, with baseline taken at 5th grade (aged 10-11 years) and outcomes measured at 8th grade (13-14 years). Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine individual-level associations between extracurricular and school-based arts engagement (number arts classes and adequacy of arts facilities) with externalising behaviours measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to examine associations between school-level arts classes and facilities with an administrator-reported index of externalising behaviours in the school. All models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Individual-level analyses were clustered by school. / Results: At the individual level, engaging in a greater number of extracurricular arts activities in 5th grade was associated with fewer externalising behaviours in 8th grade, although there was no association for school-based arts engagement. There were no school-level associations between arts classes or adequate arts facilities and externalising behaviours. / Conclusions: Our results suggest extracurricular arts activities may be beneficial in reducing the risk for externalising behaviours, but the relationship is seen at an individual-level of engagement rather than based on school-level provision or facilities. Ensuring extracurricular access to the arts should be considered as a cost-effective way of preventing externalising behaviours while simultaneously promoting healthy emotional, coping, and social behaviours.
... Each of these activities has different experiential elements and immediate contexts, and, as such, may inculcate different states of arousal and incur different consequences. Thus, if researchers seek to build the evidence base for incorporating theater education into school curricula and youth programming, it is vital to understand which activities in which contexts have a measurable impact on what domains of socioemotional development among which children (Holochwost et al., 2018). ...
In this paper, we argue that in order for the study of arts education to continue to advance, we must delineate the effects of particular forms of arts education, offered in certain contexts, on specific domains of children’s socioemotional development. We explain why formulating precise hypotheses about the effects of arts education on children’s socioemotional development requires a differentiated definition of each arts education program or activity in question, as well as a consideration of both the immediate and broader contexts in which that program or activity occurs. We then offer the New Victory Theater’s Schools with Performing Arts Reach Kids (SPARK) program as an illustrative example of how these considerations allow for the refinement of hypotheses about the impact of arts education on children’s socioemotional development.
... Several potentially promising programs-including prevention programs that do not explicitly target SUD but do target important risk and protective factors-fell outside the scope of this review. For example, participation in arts activities has been found to promote children's socioemotional development, resilience, and mental wellbeing (Holochwost et al., 2018;Menzer, 2015;Zarobe & Bungay, 2017)-all of which may protect against SUD (HHS, 2018). Cultural arts programs have been found to support youth in the juvenile justice system in acquiring adaptive social, vocational, and emotional skills that foster self-esteem and self-efficacy and reduce interest in committing crimes (Stinson, 2009). ...
In October 2017, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency and prioritized identifying effective, evidence-based strategies for pain management and the prevention and treatment of substance use disorder (SUD). Increasingly, the arts have become more widely established and accepted as health-promoting practices in the United States and around the world. As the U.S. health care system moves toward greater integration of physical and behavioral health, arts-based interventions should be considered among potential complementary approaches for managing pain and preventing and treating SUD. We conducted an integrative literature review to summarize and synthesize the evidence on the role of the arts in the management of pain and in the prevention and treatment of SUD, including opioid use disorder. The available evidence suggests that music interventions may reduce participants’ pain, reduce the amount of pain medication they take, improve their SUD treatment readiness and motivation, and reduce craving. Few studies examined art forms other than music, limiting the ability to draw conclusions for those art forms. Given the critical need to identify effective strategies for managing pain and preventing and treating SUD, future research on arts-based interventions should examine maintenance of pain management and SUD treatment benefits over time and outcomes related to SUD prevention.
Este texto se enmarca en el proyecto en curso I+D+i ‘Re-Habitar el Barrio: Procesos de Transformación y Empoderamiento entre Universidad-Escuela-Sociedad a través de Prácticas Artísticas’. El proyecto busca contribuir a la transformación social y al empoderamiento ciudadano del barrio Nou Llevant-Soledat Sud de Palma (Islas Baleares) y comprende tres objetivos generales: diseñar un programa artístico transdisciplinar de intervención socioeducativa; implementar dicho programa en un barrio periférico desfavorecido y marginal y evaluar el programa y su impacto en el ámbito educativo, artístico, social y cultural. A través de uno de los instrumentos de evaluación como el que nos ofrece la entrevista y los grupos de discusión, se recoge la opinión del alumnado universitario y las maestras de la escuela primaria que participan en el programa artístico socio-educativo en curso. Al establecer caminos para el diálogo desde un enfoque cualitativo, esta técnica nos ha permitido obtener información valiosa a fin de comprobar la evolución del programa, detectar algunos errores en el transcurso de las diferentes actividades y ahondar en un conocimiento reflexivo para futuras intervenciones.
Purpose of the study: The purpose of the article is to substantiate the features of organizational and methodical directions of the programs’ complex for creative development and social adaptation of modern adolescents in difficult situations. Methodology: The study is based on the analysis of somatic and psychological changes taking place in the process of becoming a teenager, which are reflected in the biological, mental and cognitive processes. The identified components determined the grounds for the development of the structure and mechanisms of childhood social risk management. Results: It is shown that the understanding of somatic and psychological changes occurring in the process of a teenager formation, which is reflected in the biological, mental, cognitive processes, is the basis for the development of the structure and mechanisms for childhood social risks’ management in the course of an integrative program of any profile. Organizational aspects of preparation and carrying out of actions within such programs are defined. Provisions defining immanent social teaching and educational effects, including prevention of the deviant behavior, increase of educational results’ level, growth of teenagers’ cognitive interest to self-development and self-education, increase of teenagers’ motivation to active and initiative inclusion in development of the program content are allocated. The scientific-methodical and pedagogical experience of the organization of exit integrative programs, the use of pedagogical strategies of which allows achieving positive dynamics of teenagers’ creative development trajectory and social adaptation is briefly described. Applications of this study: Suggested by the author's program increases the growth of teenagers’ cognitive interest to self-development and self-education, increases the teenagers’ motivation and may be used by psychologists and teachers in educational system of all levels. Novelty/Originality of this study: It is proved that the understanding of somatic, cognitive, social changes in the process of a teenager’s formation and compliance with certain organizational rules of activities that take into account the specifics of this age period, increase the motivation of adolescents, their involvement in the development of the program’s content, stimulate the growth of cognitive interest of adolescents to self-development and self-education.
This study examined whether music education was associated with improved performance on measures of academic achievement and executive functions. Participants were 265 school-age children (Grades 1 through 8, 58% female, and 86% African American) who were selected by lottery to participate in an out-of-school program offering individual- and large-ensemble training on orchestral instruments. Measures of academic achievement (standardized test scores and grades in English language arts and math) were taken from participants’ academic records, whereas executive functions (EFs) were assessed through students’ performance on a computerized battery of common EF tasks. Results indicated that, relative to controls, students in the music education program scored higher on standardized tests, t(217) = 2.74, p = .007; earned better grades in English language arts, t(163) = 3.58, p
This study extends an eight-country mapping exercise undertaken (McPherson & O’Neill, 2010; see Research Studies in Music Education issues 2010-2011) to now include students’ motivation to study music within the Australian context. It sought to determine whether music learners (students learning an instrument or voice), might be more motivated to study academic subjects at school, and whether gender and socio-economic status (SES) affected student motivation to learn music at school. A total of 2,742 students from grades 5 to 12 completed a questionnaire based on Eccles’ and Wigfield’s expectancy-value framework. Data collected included: ratings of competence beliefs, interest, importance, usefulness and difficulty for music, English, maths and science; indications of whether the students were currently learning a musical instrument or voice (music learners); and whether they would like to if given the opportunity. There was an overall significant decline in competence beliefs, interest, importance, and usefulness across the school years, in contrast with increased task difficulty ratings across the school years. Music learners reported significantly higher competence beliefs, interest, importance, usefulness, and less task difficulty than non-music learners. This advantage applied across all school grades for music, competence beliefs for English in upper primary and lower secondary school grades, and for maths in lower secondary grades. Although females reported music as more important and useful than males, their competence beliefs and task difficulty ratings were equivalent. Music was considered slightly less interesting for females than for males. The value of music as a subject declined significantly for upper SES students from upper primary to lower secondary schools. The greatest number of participants (40.8%) who expressed a desire to learn a musical instrument came from the lower SES category in upper primary school. This is an important result in the Australian context, indicating that this may be a positive time to recruit learners. This study provides new information regarding the relationship between motivation and desire to learn a musical instrument across school grades, gender, and socio-economic factors.
This paper reports a research study into the effects of rich, sustained visual arts instruction on 103 inner city 9-year-olds in two major US cities. We use the lenses of social learning theory, theories of motivation and self-efficacy, and recent research on artistic thinking to investigate the programs’ effects on children’s self-beliefs and creative thinking. The study enlisted a pre–post measure, treatment-comparison group design along with structured observations of participant and comparison group classrooms. The arts students made significant comparative gains on a self-efficacy scale and on an ‘originality’ subscale of a standard creativity test. These effects are attributed to children’s engagement in art and to the social organization of instruction including reinforcing peer and student–adult relationships. Relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and tendencies to think originally are explored.
Music training has been found to produce a range of cognitive benefits for young children, although well-controlled evaluation of the effects on psychosocial functioning has been limited. In this study participants were recruited from two grade levels (prep/grade 1, N = 210; grade 3, N = 149), and were allocated to a music education condition, or a control condition which continued to receive their usual curriculum. In the treatment condition, Kodaly music classes were introduced into the younger cohort’s curriculum, while the older cohort received additional instrumental classes which were predominantly strings-based. Results indicated that school-based music classes prevented a decline in global self-esteem measures experienced by the control group in both the younger and older cohorts, and in general and academic self-esteem for the older cohort. Preliminary data also suggest that a similarly engaging, arts-based activity (juggling) may confer similar benefits for older children’s self-esteem. While difficulties inherent in performing experimental research within schools prevent strong conclusions, the data imply that increasing the frequency and quality of arts-based activities can be beneficial for the self-esteem of primary school-aged children.
Within the literature there exists a large volume of research studies attesting to the positive relationships between studying music and various psychological and sociological variables. A close examination of these studies reveals that only a handful were conducted on disadvantaged populations. Accordingly, it remains unclear to what extent these findings hold true for disadvantaged students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the social-emotional impact of instrumental music instruction on disadvantaged South African students. The two specific questions addressed in this study were (1) what impact did instrumental music instruction have on student's self-esteem, optimism, sense of happiness and perseverance and (2) do any relationships exist between instrumental music instruction and the variables under investigation? The results indicated that there were generally increased levels of self-esteem, optimism, happiness and perseverance after participation in an instrumental music programme. There was also an increase in subject's optimism and sense of happiness. There were moderate to moderately strong positive relationships between participation in instrumental music and self-esteem, optimism, happiness and perseverance.
The relationship between music and cognitive abilities was studied by observing the cognitive development of children provided (n = 63) and not provided (n = 54) with individual piano lessons from fourth to sixth grade. There were no differences in cognitive abilities, musical abilities, motor proficiency, self-esteem, academic achievement, or interest in studying piano between the two groups of children at the beginning of the study. It was found that the treatment affected children's general and spatial cognitive development. The magnitude of such effects (omega squared) was small. Additional analyses showed that although the experimental group obtained higher spatial abilities scores in the Developing Cognitive Abilities Test after 1 and 2 years of instruction than did the control group, the groups did not differ in general or specific cognitive abilities after 3 years of instruction. The treatment did not affect the development of quantitative and verbal cognitive abilities.
This 3-year longitudinal study investigated the associations of student (aged 9 to 10 years at the beginning of the study; n = 281; 51% girls) participation in extracurricular activities with teacher-rated socioemotional behavior and school achievement. MANOVA results showed that, after controlling for the grade level and the initial level of the outcome variables, participation in arts and crafts and music activities was related to higher adaptive behavior, academic attainments (i.e., reading, writing, arithmetic), and working skills (persistence, concentration, carefulness). Participation in performing arts was associated with higher academic working skills, and participation in academic clubs was related to higher academic attainments and lower levels of internalizing problems. Longer duration (2-to-3-years) of participation was generally associated with more positive outcomes. Sports activities were the most popular extracurricular activities, with individual sports more likely among girls and team sports among boys.
The framework of developmental assets posits a theoretically-based and research-grounded set of opportunities, experiences, and supports that are related to promoting school success, reducing risk behaviors, and increasing socially-valued outcomes including prosocial behavior, leadership, and resilience. A considerable body of literature on developmental assets has emerged in the last two decades, informing research and practice in education, social work, youth development, counseling, prevention, and community psychology. In addition to synthesizing this literature, this chapter discusses: the recent development of the Developmental Asset Profile, an instrument designed, in part, to assess change-over-time; the utilization of asset measures in international research; the expansion of the assets framework to early childhood and young adults; and new research using latent class analysis (LCA) to identify classes or subgroups of youth.
Examines the classroom learning environment in relation to achievement goal theory of motivation. Classroom structures are described in terms of how they make different types of achievement goals salient and as a consequence elicit qualitatively different patterns of motivation. Task, evaluation and recognition, and authority dimensions of classrooms are presented as examples of structures that can influence children's orientation toward different achievement goals. Central to the thesis of this article is a perspective that argues for an identification of classroom structures that can contribute to a mastery orientation, a systematic analysis of these structures, and a determination of how these structures relate to each other. The ways in which interventions must address the independency among these structures are discussed in terms of how they influence student motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this article, we introduce brief self-report and informant-report versions of the Grit Scale, which measures trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals. The Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) retains the 2-factor structure of the original Grit Scale (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007) with 4 fewer items and improved psychometric properties. We present evidence for the Grit-S's internal consistency, test-retest stability, consensual validity with informant-report versions, and predictive validity. Among adults, the Grit-S was associated with educational attainment and fewer career changes. Among adolescents, the Grit-S longitudinally predicted GPA and, inversely, hours watching television. Among cadets at the United States Military Academy, West Point, the Grit-S predicted retention. Among Scripps National Spelling Bee competitors, the Grit-S predicted final round attained, a relationship mediated by lifetime spelling practice.
Despite a century's worth of research, arguments surrounding the question of whether far transfer occurs have made little progress toward resolution. The authors argue the reason for this confusion is a failure to specify various dimensions along which transfer can occur, resulting in comparisons of "apples and oranges." They provide a framework that describes 9 relevant dimensions and show that the literature can productively be classified along these dimensions, with each study situated at the intersection of various dimensions. Estimation of a single effect size for far transfer is misguided in view of this complexity. The past 100 years of research shows that evidence for transfer under some conditions is substantial, but critical conditions for many key questions are untested.
Two studies explored the role of implicit theories of intelligence in adolescents' mathematics achievement. In Study 1 with 373 7th graders, the belief that intelligence is malleable (incremental theory) predicted an upward trajectory in grades over the two years of junior high school, while a belief that intelligence is fixed (entity theory) predicted a flat trajectory. A mediational model including learning goals, positive beliefs about effort, and causal attributions and strategies was tested. In Study 2, an intervention teaching an incremental theory to 7th graders (N=48) promoted positive change in classroom motivation, compared with a control group (N=43). Simultaneously, students in the control group displayed a continuing downward trajectory in grades, while this decline was reversed for students in the experimental group.
This review examines recent developments in research on social-cognitive theories of motivation during adolescence and the ways in which such research can be applied to the reform of middle grade schools. While there is ample evidence that the environments in many middle grade schools are antithetical to the needs of early adolescents, few reform efforts have emerged which consider the motivational and developmental needs of youth. This article suggests that effective reform must consider the multiple contexts in which students interact. Recent examples of reform at the classroom and school level using a goal theory perspective are presented.
Despite a century's worth of research, arguments surrounding the question of whether far transfer occurs have made little progress toward resolution. The authors argue the reason for this confusion is a failure to specify various dimensions along which transfer can occur, resulting in comparisons of "apples and oranges." They provide a framework that describes 9 relevant dimensions and show that the literature can productively be classified along these dimensions, with each study situated at the intersection of Various dimensions. Estimation of a single effect size for far transfer is misguided in view of this complexity. The past 100 years of research shows that evidence for transfer under some conditions is substantial, but critical conditions for many key questions are untested.
This article summarizes a much lengthier one that appeared in Prevention and Treatment. The earlier article grew out of a project initiated by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The Positive Youth Development Evaluation project described why policy makers, practitioners, and prevention scientists advocated a shift in approach for how youth issues are addressed in this country. The Positive Youth Development Evaluation project sought to define how youth development programs have been defined in the literature and then to locate, through a structured search, strong evaluations of these programs and summarize the outcomes of these evaluations. In the current article, we explain why prevention has shifted from a single problem focus to a focus on factors that affect both positive and problem youth development, describe what is meant by positive youth development, and summarize what we know about the effectiveness of positive youth develop...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the four sources of self-efficacy in music performance and examine responses from the Music Performance Self-Efficacy Scale (MPSES). Participants (N = 290) were middle and high school music students from 10 schools in two regions of the United States. Questions included the following: (1) How much influence does each source have on self-efficacy? (2) Are there differences among band, chorus, and string students? (3) Are there differences between middle and high school students? (4) Does music aptitude predict self-efficacy, and (5) Does evidence support the MPSES as a valid and reliable scale? Results indicated that mastery experience exerted the strongest influence, no differences were found among ensemble types or grade levels, and music aptitude scores predicted modest increases in self-efficacy, Î =.16 (.07). Examination of test content, response process, internal structure, and relationships with other variables provided evidence of validity, while internal consistency and test-retest values provided evidence of reliability. Recommendations for further research included examining the development of self-efficacy at different ages, measuring the relationships between the sources of self-efficacy and music achievement, and using the MPSES to assist in the investigations of other psychological constructs, such as self-identity and motivation.
Although student engagement with the intellectual work of school is important to students' achievement and to their social and cognitive development, studies over a span of two decades have documented low levels of engagement, particularly in the classroom. Examining several theoretical perspectives that attempt to explain engagement through comprehensive frameworks, this study evaluates the effect on engagement of school reform initiatives that are consistent with the theories. The study also investigates whether patterns exist in students' engagement, whether the patterns are consistent across grade levels, and whether class subject matter (mathematics or social studies) differentially affects engagement. The sample includes 3.669 students representing 143 social studies and mathematics classrooms in a nationally selected sample of 24 restructuring elementary, middle, and high schools. Because of the nature of the nested data (students nested within classrooms nested within schools), the analysis is conducted using hierarchical linear modeling in its three-level application (HLM3L). The reform initiatives, which are consistent with the theories, eliminate personal background effects. Together with classroom subject matter, they substantially influence engagement. The results are generally consistent across grade levels.
In this article, we describe the effects on student achievement and attitudes of a Canadian school-wide, arts education approach, Learning Through the Arts (LTTA). Our sample included over 6000 students and their parents, teachers, and principals. We gathered data, both at the outset and after three years of involvement in LTTA on student achievement, student attitudes towards arts and schooling, and out-of-school activities. We found no baseline differences in achievement nor in socioeconomic status in the LTTA and control schools. At the end of three years, the grade-6 LTTA students scored significantly higher on tests of computation than students in control schools. We conclude the article with suggestions for extending this longitudinal research. /// Dans cet article, les auteures décrivent les effets sur le rendement scolaire et les attitudes des élèves du programme Apprendre par les arts (APLA) implanté dans un réseau scolaire. L'échantillon regroupait plus de 6000 élèves, les parents, les enseignants et les directeurs des écoles canadiennes participantes. Les auteurs ont colligé, au début d'implantation du programme APLA et après une période de trois and d'application, des données sur le rendement des élèves, leurs attitudes envers les arts et l'école et les activités extrascolaires. Il n'y avait aucune différence de base quant au rendement ou au statut socioéconomique entre les écoles ayant recours au programme APLA et les écoles témoins. Au terme de l'étude de trois ans, les élèves qui ont appris avec le programme APLA ont obtenu en mathématiques des notes nettement supérieures à celles des élèves des écoles témoins.
The following values have no corresponding Zotero field:
CY - Macarthur, New South Wales, Australia
PB - University of Western Sydney, Faculty of Education.
ID - 579
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
African American college students tend to obtain lower grades than their White counterparts, even when they enter college with equivalent test scores. Past research suggests that negative stereotypes impugning Black students' intellectual abilities play a role in this underperformance. Awareness of these stereotypes can psychologically threaten African Americans, a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat” (Steele & Aronson, 1995), which can in turn provoke responses that impair both academic performance and psychological engagement with academics. An experiment was performed to test a method of helping students resist these responses to stereotype threat. Specifically, students in the experimental condition of the experiment were encouraged to see intelligence—the object of the stereotype—as a malleable rather than fixed capacity. This mind-set was predicted to make students' performances less vulnerable to stereotype threat and help them maintain their psychological engagement with academics, both of which could help boost their college grades. Results were consistent with predictions. The African American students (and, to some degree, the White students) encouraged to view intelligence as malleable reported greater enjoyment of the academic process, greater academic engagement, and obtained higher grade point averages than their counterparts in two control groups.
The purpose of this study was to examine certain effects of designated activities on attention and persevering behaviors of preschool children. Relationships between teacher reinforcement and student attending behavior were also examined. The subjects, eighty 3- to 5-year-old children, were (a) enrolled in individual Suzuki violin lessons, (b) enrolled in individual and group Suzuki violin lessons, (c) enrolled in creative movement classes, (d) enrolled in preschool activities or classes, or (e) not enrolled in any organized preschool activities or classes. Analysis of classroom and lesson videotapes provided information on teacher and student behaviors. Attention and perseverance behaviors were analyzed through observation of videotape recordings of subjects performing two tasks designed by the experimenter. Both Suzuki groups scored higher on all attention task variables than did children in the other groups. Subjects receiving both individual and group Suzuki violin instruction spent significantly more time on the perseverance task than did all other subjects in the creative movement or preschool group. Teachers of subjects receiving both individual and group Suzuki violin instruction demonstrated significantly more teacher approval than did the preschool or creative movement teachers.
The concept of school engagement has attracted increasing attention as representing a possible antidote to declining academic motivation and achievement. Engagement is presumed to be malleable, responsive to contextual features, and amenable to environmental change. Researchers describe behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement and recommend studying engagement as a multifaceted construct. This article reviews definitions, measures, precursors, and outcomes of engagement; discusses limitations in the existing research; and suggests improvements. The authors conclude that, although much has been learned, the potential contribution of the concept of school engagement to research on student experience has yet to be realized. They call for richer characterizations of how students behave, feel, and think—research that could aid in the development of finely tuned interventions
This article describes the development of a student rating scale that assesses the degree to which students identify with or disidentify from school and whether there are gender or racial group differences in identification. The Identification with School Questionnaire was tested on a sample of 3,539 eighth-grade pupils. Confirmatory factor analyses of the data provided evidence that a unidimensional scale may better reflect the degree to which students identify with school than do separate measures of belonging and valuing. Analyses of variance of the scale indicated that female students exhibited higher degrees of identification with school than did their male peers, African American students were more identified with school than were White students, and White male youngsters had the lowest levels of identification with school.
Youth development programs are gaining prominence as a way to help adolescents become competent, engaged, and responsible adults. However, the definition of youth development programs is elusive. Most simply, youth development programs are programs that provide opportunities and support to help youth gain the competencies and knowledge they need to meet the increasing challenges they will face as they mature. Typically, they are community based, rather than school based. In this article, we evaluate the usefulness of the youth development framework based on 15 program evaluations. The results of the evaluations are discussed and 3 general themes emerge. First, programs incorporating more elements of the youth development framework seem to show more positive outcomes. Second, the evaluations support the importance of a caring adult-adolescent relationship, although these relationships need not be limited to 1-on-1 mentoring. And 3rd, longer-term programs that engage youth throughout adolescence appear to be the most effective. The policy and programmatic implications of these findings are discussed.
This study describes the role and importance of music education as intervention for at-risk urban adolescents through participation in performance groups while receiving mentoring. Students' self-perceptions over six domains, including musical competency, were measured by scales administered pretest and posttest. Opinions and attitudes of students were gathered in structured interviews and coded for themes. Results showed a significant increase in the students' self-perception of musical competence. A change from a moderate positive relationship to a low positive relationship between perceived musical competency and global self-worth indicated that musical participation in students' lives was domain-specific, related to global self-worth, but not synonymous with it. Students ranking music as important in their lives increased from 76% to 82% over the course of the study. Interviews resulting in 101 themes provided evidence of the importance and role of music, music education, and the music teacher as mentor in the students' lives.
This article explores the study of learning through drama in light of contemporary theories of knowledge acquisition. The learning explored includes acquiring content knowledge represented in the topics of dramatization, interpersonal and personal understandings gained through enacting situations, and the development of attitudes and motivations regarding self and others. The article then turns to a controlled experiment informed by the theories discussed. This experiment involved young adolescents over a span of 24 weeks in a drama programme aimed at both teaching dramatic arts and also boosting peer-to-peer conflict resolution skills. Children acted out concepts and created scene studies in which students explored the interplay of ideas; participants also tested the dynamics, rationales and consequences of actions by taking on various roles in conflict situations. They created scenarios in which conflict might be defused. Students wrote, produced, directed and acted in culminating plays at each of three programme sites.
The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP) is a joint USOE-NIE panel which reviews the evidence of effectiveness submitted for a variety of educational products and practices developed through federally supported programs. Studies show that school superintendents and other adopters prefer to initiate changes where there is assurance that benefits are reliable, valid, and substantial. JDRP provides this assurance. This Ideabook, prepared at the request of practitioners, has two purposes. The first is to illustrate the ways to gather convincing evidence of the effectiveness of educational innovations. It is, thus, a guide for planning evaluations in anticipation of future submission to the JDRP. The second purpose is to suggest how to bring current evidence of effectiveness together in a succinct and forceful manner. Such presentations enhance the chances for JDRP approval and enable potential adopters to compare products and their associated claims. (Author/DAG)
A study explored how ethnically diverse students in an urban high school worked collaboratively to conceive and execute original theater pieces that addressed issues of relevance to them. Subjects, 29 of the original 51 seniors in the theater institute program at Hillcrest High School, New York City, completed pre- and posttests, written statements, and logs. Data also included interviews with students, tape recordings of student discussion and rehearsals, audience reaction, and feedback from other teachers and the principal. Results indicated that: (1) classroom attendance increased; (2) students took more and more responsibility and became more proactive; (3) students used both their local and school libraries on an ongoing basis; and (4) while students (in their initial writing exercises) indicated they did not have anything to write about, by the end of the program the major problem was that there was too much material to fit into the production. (Forty-four references, the pre-post questionnaire, the student biographical questionnaire, teacher-researcher log form, student log forms, resource questionnaires, and post-production questionnaires are attached.) (RS)
Self-regulation skills programs focusing on emotional regulation and executive functioning and arts programs have separately demonstrated reductions in internalizing and externalizing disorders and academic difficulties and have shown improvement in self-regulation skills. This study sought to evaluate participants in Prodigy (a program synthesizing arts and self-regulation skills) regarding changes in mental health symptoms and academic performance. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest was conducted with 108 at-risk adolescents and their parents. Significant reductions in internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms and increases in academic self-efficacy with positive trends in improved academic achievement were noted. Future research regarding the potential of these two modalities is discussed.
In the last two decades, goal orientation theory has become an important perspective in the field of achievement motivation,
and particularly in academic motivation. However, as research in the theory has proliferated, the use of multiple methods
to assess goal orientations seems to have contributed to theoretical vagueness, especially with regard to the origin, development,
and stability of these orientations. This review article starts with a critique of methods used in goal orientation research.
The article then suggests six possible theoretical models of goal orientations that seem to be suggested by the literature,
including the perspectives of goal orientations as emerging from: situation-schemas, self-schemas, self-prime, needs, values,
and situated meaning-making processes. The article concludes with pointing to convergent findings, implications for practice,
and persisting as well as emerging issues for future research.
This study investigated the effects of students' sense of agency or self-determination as a motivational force in art learning. It was hypothesized that enhancing students' sense of agency through personal choice would result in higher achievement and more positive self-concepts and attitudes toward art. Two hundred and eight sixth graders participated in the study for a period of three months. Teacher-choice and student-choice approaches using the same program were compared. All four outcome measures, consisting of one art product and three written tests, revealed treatment differences favoring the student-choice condition. It appears that when students' sense of agency is enhanced through meaningful personal choice both their achievement and attitudes are positively influenced.
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects that dance education has for students who are currently receiving intensive dance education. The examination involved a comparison of students who are and are not receiving dance instruction; and focused on self-concept, overall perceived wellness, and school performance as measured by cumulative GPA, attendance, and conduct behavior. A convenience sample of 90 high school students was drawn from 3 different public schools that had a magnet program for dance, in the state of Florida. Participants completed an on-line survey in a computer lab or classroom at each of the respective schools. The survey included four demographic questions, cumulative GPA, six questions from the National Educational Longitudinal Study regarding attendance and conduct behavior, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Perceived Wellness Scale for Youth. Data were analyzed using correlational comparisons and analyses of variance (ANOVA). A significant difference was found between dancers and non-dancers for perceived wellness, self-concept, and cumulative GPA. Evidence supported a positive impact on academic performance, but there is a need for interventions that address healthier views of wellness and self-concept among the dancer population. Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. Mode of access: World Wide Web. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 151 pages. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 2004. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.
Involvement in the arts and success in secondary school
- J S Catterall
- JS Catterall
Catterall, J.S. (1998). Involvement in the arts and success in secondary school. Americans for the
Arts Monographs, 1, 1-10.