Arts education is closely associated with social and emotional development, academic achievement, equitable opportunity, and civic engagement. Students involved in the art exhibit higher cognitive, verbal, and critical thinking skills than those who are not involved. Art education also improves concentration, confidence, teamwork, and motivation. Apart from educational benefits, arts education also acts as the foundation for social bonds and community cohesion. Based on these advantages, arts education, including the creation of art, music, dance, sporting activity, and literature should be incorporated in every school’s pre-K to 12th grade curriculum.
Arts Education and Student Achievement
STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education is recognized as a pedagogy to develop and enhance the necessary 21st-century skills for student’s learning achievements in the context of the ongoing industrial revolution 4.0. The arts in STEAM are critical for improving student’s learning, their potential for success, and creativity development. Experts have argued that there is a relationship between science and art, whereby arts and science education awaken artists in students’ generations to enable them to become global citizens (Hau et al., 2020). Therefore, arts education is fundamental and should be incorporated in every school curriculum to foster a competitive and creative workforce.
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Arts education improves students’ achievements fourfold. According to the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) conference report generated in 2011, students who participate in the arts exhibit higher GPA/SAT scores and improve their IQ scores by 56% (Hau et al., 2020). Moreover, arts education improves 12th grade students’ math performance. Art students also interact more with their teachers, making them more confident in presenting their views (Hau et al., 2020). Consequently, arts education is fundamental for every school’s curriculum because it improves students’ performance in traditional subjects.
Another reason why arts education should be included in every school’s curriculum is that it contributes to cognitive development. Various forms of art instruction improve and accompany critical reading and writing skills, and language development. For example, dancing creates reading readiness among young children and music provides a foundation for teaching language skills. Additionally, drama assists in the development of literary skills. Using student’s favorite literature also encourages them to learn. Music instruction also helps students cultivate the aptitude for spatial and temporal reasoning. They develop the capacity to recognize the correlation between ideas and objects in space and time. When these students participate in a band, they become twice as likely to succeed in the highest mathematics levels than their peers (Winsler et al., 2020). The role of arts education in cognitive development necessitates its implementation in every school’s curriculum.
Role of Arts Education in Research and Innovation
Art also plays a critical role in research and innovation. Art avails the necessary tools to ensure that products and systems are acceptable, appealing, and useful. Successful scientific research and technical design require creativity. Moreover, art refines the sensory system and cultivates imagination. Therefore, scientists can use art to convey creativity and innovation. Including arts education in the school curriculum would add the much needed creativity-related components to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. These components are key for fostering, maintaining, and advancing an innovative workforce (Hau et al., 2020). Therefore, arts education provides excellent opportunities for the new economy and should be incorporated into every school’s curriculum.
Arts Education and Social-Emotional Development
Various aspects of arts instruction support social-emotional development. For example, violin practice includes approaches to manage performance anxiety, theatre rehearsals promote teamwork, and selecting the subject of a painting allows students to reflect on their feelings about major events in their lives. The social-emotional competencies developed during art instruction act as the foundation for developing social-emotional competencies. Therefore, continuous art engagement helps enhance emotional self-regulation, collaboration, responsibility, and confidence (Farrington & Shewfelt, 2020). The critical role of arts education in social-emotional development makes it a fundamental part of every school’s curriculum.
Arts education also offers intrinsic benefits, such as pleasure and emotional well-being. Students that participate in art instruction activities feel rewarded and a sense of pleasure and emotional stimulation. Additionally, they develop social bonds and master how to use personal expressions in a public setting. Students also develop a higher capacity for empathy, which is vital to the human community. Therefore, students learn to maneuver cross political, cultural, and religious boundaries, which enhances their understanding of crucial global concepts. Engagement with a piece of art evokes a feeling of admiration, captivation, and wonder. Musical activities give students a sense of accomplishment enhances determination and helps them develop persistence. Consequently, arts education should be a part of every school’s curriculum.
Behavioral and Attitudinal Benefits of Arts Education
Arts education also offers attitudinal and behavioral benefits, especially among at-risk students. Art programs allow students to develop positive attitudes, such as motivation and self-discipline, which improve school performance. Additionally, these programs foster the development of positive social behaviors among at-risk children. Mentoring programs in art education provide positive role models for such students. These mentors mitigate drug and alcohol abuse among such students and help them make beneficial life choices (Winsler et al., 2019). Therefore, arts education should be incorporated into every school’s curriculum due to the benefits it offers at-risk students.
Arts Education and Identity
Lastly, arts education should be included in every school’s curriculum since it preserves social and cultural identity. Through art, culture expresses itself. Schools can use art instruction as a tool to enhance student identity development, especially among bicultural children. For example, literary works, such as Decolonizing the Mind by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, promote social identity through appreciating diverse languages. These activities help students accept diversity, hence reducing bullying and teasing behaviors. They also help students develop an open-minded view of diverse cultures (Song, 2018). Therefore, arts education plays a critical role in cross-cultural education and should be incorporated into every school’s curriculum.
Conclusion
Arts education should be incorporated in every school’s pre-K to 12th grade curriculum due to the numerous benefits that it offers. For example, arts education helps students develop the necessary 21st-century skills to become global citizens. Moreover, it enhances student achievement and fosters cognitive development. Arts education is also critical in fostering, maintaining, and advancing an innovative workforce. Lastly, it promotes social-emotional development, offers attitudinal and behavioral benefits, and preserves social and cultural identity.
References
Farrington, C., & Shewfelt, S. (2020). How arts education supports social-emotional development: A theory of action. State Education Standard , 20 (1), 31-35. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1241261.pdf
Hau, N. H., Cuong, T. V., & Tinh, T. T. (2020). Students and teachers ‘perspective of the importance of arts in steam education in Vietnam. Journal of Critical Reviews , 7 (11), 666-671. http://dx.doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.11.121
Song, Y. I. K. (2018). Fostering culturally responsive schools: Student identity development in cross-cultural classrooms. International Journal of Education & the Arts , 19 (3). https://doi.org/10.18113/P8ijea1903
Winsler, A., Gara, T. V., Alegrado, A., Castro, S., & Tavassolie, T. (2019). Selection into, and academic benefits from, arts-related courses in middle school among low-income, ethnically diverse youth. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 14 (4), 415-432. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000222
