The Educational Impacts of School-Community Arts Partnerships: A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of Houston's Arts Access Initiative

• In Event: 35.046 - Community Arts: Partnerships Across Perspectives

Abstract

Empirical evidence to date suggests that there are positive, significant correlations between engagement in the arts and educational outcomes. However, these studies tend to be correlational. In this study, we investigate the causal effects of substantial increases in PK-8th grade students’ arts educational experiences, provided through school-community partnerships. We conducted a clustered randomized controlled trial with 42 Houston Independent School District elementary and middle school campuses and find that increasing arts learning opportunities significantly increases student attendance, school engagement, writing scores, and sense of civic obligation, and significantly decreases the number of students receiving disciplinary infractions. We hope that the findings from this evaluation will help build upon what we know about the impacts of the arts in PK-12 education.

Authors

• Daniel Henry Bowen, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Brian Kisida, University of Missouri