Theatre Royal Norwich's Chief Executive Peter Wilson presentation 'Arts and Minds' An overview of the American 2002 document Champions of Change from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the Arts Education Partnership.
7. President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities
Institute of Museum and Library Services
US Department of Education
Smithsonian Institution
Library of Congress
National Gallery of Art
John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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8. Arts Education Partnership
National Endowment for the Arts
US Department of Education
National Assembly of State Art Agencies
Council of Chief State School Officers
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10. High Arts Involvement
“TAKING ARTS-RELATED CLASSES IN OR OUT OF SCHOOL AS
WELL AS INVOLVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN SCHOOL
ACTIVITIES SUCH AS
THEATRE
BAND,
ORCHESTRA,
CHORUS,
DANCE
AND THE VISUAL ARTS”
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12. SES = SocioEconomic Status
Indicators:
Family income
Job status
Parents’ tertiary educational attainment
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13. Age 13/14
Earning mostly As and Bs in English
80.0%
70.0%
79.2%
ALL STUDENTS
64.2%
LOW SES STUDENTS
64.5%
60.0%
56.4%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
13
14. Age 13/14
Scoring in top 2 quar les on standard tests
70.0%
ALL STUDENTS
66.8%
60.0%
50.0%
42.7%
40.0%
LOW SES STUDENTS
30.0%
24.5%
20.0%
29.5%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
14
15. Age 13/14
Dropping out by age 16
15.0%
13.0%
LOW SES STUDENTS
11.0%
9.0%
ALL STUDENTS
9.4%
7.0%
4.8%
6.5%
5.0%
3.0%
1.4%
1.0%
-1.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
15
16. Age 13/14
Bored in school half or most of the me
60.0%
ALL STUDENTS
LOW SES STUDENTS
48.9%
50.0%
42.2%
46.0%
40.0%
41.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
16
17. Age 15/16
Scoring in top 2 quar les: Standard tests
90.0%
ALL STUDENTS
80.0%
72.5%
70.0%
LOW SES STUDENTS
60.0%
50.0%
45.0%
40.0%
41.4%
30.0%
24.9%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
17
18. Age 15/16
Scoring top 2 quar les: Reading
80.0%
70.9%
70.0%
LOW SES STUDENTS
ALL STUDENTS
60.0%
50.0%
45.1%
40.0%
43.8%
30.0%
28.4%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
18
19. Age 15/16
Scoring in top 2 quar les: History, Ci zenship, Geography
80.0%
70.9%
70.0%
ALL STUDENTS
60.0%
LOW SES STUDENTS
50.0%
46.3%
40.0%
41.6%
30.0%
28.6%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
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20. Age 15/16
Consider community service important/very important
50.0%
ALL STUDENTS
LOW SES STUDENTS
46.6%
49.2%
45.0%
40.7%
40.0%
33.9%
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
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21. Age 15/16
Weekday tv watching - 1 hour or less
30.0%
28.2%
25.0%
LOW SES STUDENTS
ALL STUDENTS
20.0%
15.1%
15.0%
16.4%
13.3%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
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22. Age 15/16
Weekday tv watching - 3 hour or more
45.0%
42.0%
40.0%
34.9%
LOW SES STUDENTS
ALL STUDENTS
35.0%
33.6%
30.0%
25.0%
20.6%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
Low Arts
High Arts
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23. Low SES age 13/14
Earning mostly As and Bs in English
90.0%
82.6%
80.0%
67.2%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Low Arts
High Arts
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24. Low SES - Age 15 - 18
Top 2 quar les Reading
70.0%
64.7%
60.0%
56.1%
50.0%
45.4%
40.0%
37.7%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
15/16 - Low arts
15/16 - High arts
17/18 - Low arts
17/18 - High arts
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25. Low SES - Age 15 - 18
Top 2 quar les History/Geography/Ci zenship
70.0%
62.9%
60.0%
50.0%
47.4%
54.6%
40.0%
39.7%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
15/16 - Low arts
15/16 - High arts
17/18 - Low arts
17/18 - High arts
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26. Low SES - Age 13 - 18
Top 2 quar les on standard tests
70.0%
67.3%
65.7%
60.0%
18% = 26% advantage
49.6%
57.4%
18% = 28% advantage
50.0%
47.5%
18% = 31% advantage
40.0%
39.3%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
13/14 - Low arts
13/14 - High arts
15/16 - Low arts
15/16 - High arts
17/18 - Low arts
17/18 - High arts
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27. Dupes?
US Department of Education
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
Council of Chief State School Officers
National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Smithsonian Institution
Library of Congress
National Gallery of Art
John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
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33. Thank you, and questions
Love Norfolk 4
Norfolk Community Foundation
October 10, 2013
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Editor's Notes
Speech given to Norfolk Community Foundation funders October , 2013
We live, as we know, in one of the finest and most beautiful parts of the United Kingdom
But – as we also know - Norfolk has low levels of educational attainment, low rates of participation in post-16 education, low levels of life skills and employability amongst its young people and verylow levels of aspiration
My text is taken from the American document CHAMPIONS OF CHANGEwritten in 2002 for the PRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES and theARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP
The President’s Committee was created by Ronald Reagan in 1982
Appointed by the President, the Committee comprises leading citizens from the private sector who have an interest in and commitment to the humanities and the arts. Its members also include the heads of federal agencies with cultural programs.
The Arts Education Partnership is a private, nonprofit coalition of more than 100 national education, arts, business, philanthropic and government organizations that demonstrate and promote the role of arts education in enabling all students to succeed in school, life and workThe Partnership was formed in 1995 through a cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the U. S .Department of Education, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO
The particular chapter of interest to me leans heavily on data collected and augmented in the National Educational Longitudinal Survey:88This multi-year survey, sponsored by the US Department of Education, of more than 25,000 students, was created to be representative of the nation’s population of secondary students. A nationally representative sample of 13 and 14 year olds was first surveyed in the spring of 1988. A sample of the respondents were then resurveyed through four follow-ups in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 2000. On the questionnaires, students reported on a range of topics including: school, work, and home experiences; educational resources and support; the role in education of their parents and peers; neighbourhood characteristics; educational and occupational aspirations; and other student perceptions.For the three in-school waves of data collection (when most were aged 13/14, 15/16 and 17/18), achievement tests in reading, social studies, mathematics and science were administered in addition to the student questionnaireGrades from students' high schools are also available in the restricted use dataset.
First, they defined involvement in the arts as taking arts - related classes in or out of school as well as involvement and leadership in school activities such as theatre, band, orchestra, chorus, dance, and the visual artsThey had two objectives:
First,To establish whether there was any correlation between involvement in the arts and scholastic achievement for all students
And second,To establish whether any such correlation also held for those students taken to be economically disadvantaged, or of low socio-economic status (SES). SocioEconomicStatus is defined in the report as a measure of family education level, income, and type of jobs held by parents. Typically students who are defined as low SES have parents who went no further with education beyond age 17/18.The reason this is important is that by and large socioeconomic status is itself related to involvement in the arts; high SES parents tend to place a high value on the performing arts. In order to quiz the relationship between arts involvement and scholastic achievement without prejudice, the survey needed to take account of SES.
Here’s the correlation between top grades in English for students aged between 13 and 14 with high – and low – involvement in the arts. Low involvement for all students: 64% High involvement: 79%, almost 25% greater. And for the low SES students the results also hold: low involvement: 56%. High involvement 64%. That is, the degree of students’ involvement in the arts was related in some form to their exam results in written English
This second graph shows the scholastic advantage equating to high involvement in the arts when it came to standard tests – reading, writing, basic maths and so on – the employability skills. It’s huge amongst all students, and remains significant even for those with low SES
This next graph measures something else, which is whether or not students had dropped out of school by the age of 16. The greater the involvement with the arts, the less they dropped out
And here’s the students’ own assessment of their time at school. We’ve all been bored in school, so the percentages themselves aren’t surprising. But look at the difference between those with high arts involvement and those with low – 15% overall, and 10% in the low SESTwo years later, by the time they’re 15 and 16, the picture is much the same
In the top 2 quartiles on standard tests the differentials remain enormous – 45% of low involvers scored highly as against 72% of those with high arts involvement. And the differential holds for the low SES students as well – those who were highly involved had a 60% scholastic advantage over those with low involvement
The same holds for reading tests – 45% to 70% overall, and 28% to 43% in the low SES category
And in History, Citizenship and Geography the pattern is repeated. We should take particular note of Citizenship, which the Americans teach and test on, and which by and large we don’t. It includes ethical questions, as well as social and political.
Here’s a measure of whether the 15 and 16 year olds think that community service is important or very important. Though they may not understand exactly what is meant by community service, there’s no doubting the willingness of those involved more heavily in the arts to contribute
It’s difficult to remember how people spent their leisure time before smart phones, tablets and pads, but let’s have a brief look at the television viewing habits of these 15 and 16 year olds in the 1990s.One hour or less – nearly twice as many of all students, and 20% more of the low SES group
Three hours or more – the same patternThe point about these two graphs is that the students who had a high arts involvement had other things to do than watch television. Perhaps they were doing community service
Because the specific challenges facing Norfolk are to do with low levels of educational attainment, we need to look at trends as they relate ONLY to low SES category students This sample from age 13 represents only kids from low SES backgrounds relative to their marks in English
This graph represents the difference in reading skills at ages 15/16 and 17/18 between those who had low and high arts involvement
And this compares achievements in History, Geography and Citizenship tests, also showing how the trend continues as students get older
Finally we look at the trend in results on standard tests between the ages of 13/14, 15/16 and 17/18. What’s really interesting and - to those of us who work in the arts – uplifting is that though the difference in achievement remains about 18% at all ages, the advantage shown to those who have high involvement in the arts increases relative to their contemporaries. You can see that at age 13 the advantage is 26%; by the time the students are 18, they have a 31% advantage in standard tests – those which typify employability – over their fellow students who have not been involved in the arts
Those who are or are inclined to be sceptical about the methodology of this survey may have a point. I can’t speak about the methodology other than to say that if these results are cooked, they’ve found their way past some pretty impressive noses. Not one of these organisations has any interest in being involved in a survey that’s anything other than open, transparent and unprejudiced. In addition, based on research findings gathered from studies across the world for more than a decade, a new report by the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development concludes – with the same caveat about causality - that, “many studies find that students who participate in a number of arts courses have proportionally higher educational achievement.”
Let me be absolutely clear that the survey only measures correlation – that is, whether involvement in the arts and grade performance move together. It doesn’t claim that high involvement causes higher grades, or vice versa.However, what’s startling to me about these graphs is that there are so many of them, all implying more than just a correlation. I say, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, tastes like a duck, eats like a duck, quacks like a duck, waddles like a duck, flies like a duck andhangs around with other ducks……………..
………………..we should at least consider the possibility that it’s a duck.
And that there is an element of causality
This is the most influential gathering I have ever addressed on this subject. It’s therefore worth my while hammering home my point about using the arts to help break the cycle of poor education, low aspiration and inadequate achievement
The same dedication to improving the education offer in Norfolk holds for the Playhouse, St George’s in Yarmouth, the Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Sheringham Little Theatre, the Festival and Writers’ Centre, Gressinghall, the Sainsbury Centre, the Castle Museum, Westacre Theatre and all the rest of my colleagues in the arts. We can help. We want to
I hope that what I’ve said strikes a chord here in terms of the great challenges faced in Norfolk