Using the arts to help prepare children for school success

This research was conducted by Mary Lou Greene and Shlomo Sawilowsky at Marygrove College and Wayne State University, USA

Summary

This study looked at students, teachers, parents and carers in Detroit who were participants in the Wolf Trap’s ‘Early Learning Through the Arts’ programme. This programme included dedicated activities for children …

Using art therapy to reduce stress in cancer outpatients

This research was conducted by Rossana L. De Feudis and five others at San Paulo Hospital and two other institutions in Bari, Italy

Summary

This paper describes the results of a study into the use of art therapy during a course of cancer treatment. We know that art therapies can benefit …

Reducing violence through music in Colombia

This research was conducted by Jonathan Daniel Gómez-Zapata, Luis César Herrero-Prieto and Beatriz Rodríguez-Prado at the National University of Colombia in Medellin and the University of Valladolid, Spain

Summary

This paper examines the economic and social impact generated by the Medellin Music School Network. The programme comprised 27 music schools concentrated …

Music lessons enhance IQ while drama increases social skills

This research was conducted by Glenn Schellenberg at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, Canada

Summary

The researchers randomly assigned 144 six year old Canadian children to one of four groups: one received music tuition for the keyboard, another got voice coaching using the Kodaly method, and (by way of contrast) …

By | 16 April 2014 |

The arts may improve health, wellbeing and vitality

This research was conducted by Lars Olov Bygren and seven others at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden and elsewhere

Summary

The paper reports the results of an experiment in which 101 people were randomly assigned to either engage in an arts experience or do nothing artistic at all. The types of …

By | 14 April 2014 |

Arts education can help with students' maths ability

This research was conducted by Katharine Smithrim and Rena Upitis

Summary

This paper sets out the results of a major research project examining the impact of the Learning Through the Arts (LTTA) programme in Canada. The LTTA is a model of arts education where professional artists develop a multi-year curriculum of …

By | 10 April 2014 |

Dance can help improve young children’s social skills

This research was conducted by Yovanka B. Lobo and Adam Winsler at George Mason University, USA

Summary

The paper reports the results of an experiment in the US where young children from low-income families participated in a creative dance programme. When compared with a control group, the children in the dance …

By | 10 April 2014 |

Music lessons boost children's self-esteem

This research was conducted by Eugenia Costa-Giomi at the University of Texas at Austin, USA

Summary

The study looked at 117 nine year olds in Montreal, Canada who were not from privileged backgrounds. Half were given a piano at home and music lessons for three years; the other half constituted a …

By | 9 December 2013 |

Drama can help reduce antisocial behaviour

This research was conducted by Michael J. Chandler at the University of Rochester, USA [Now at the University of British Columbia, Canada]

Summary

The paper looked at data from a programme in Upstate New York designed to reduce crime and antisocial behavior among boys aged 11-13. The study took 45 antisocial …

By | 5 December 2013 |