Importance of Arts Education

For some children, the arts are where school starts to click. A student may discover confidence onstage, become absorbed in a drawing, or realize that making music with classmates requires a completely different kind of focus. In short, the importance of arts education reaches beyond learning an artistic skill; meaningful arts experiences can give students new ways to think, communicate, and participate in school.

Key Takeaways

• Arts education can support academic learning while creating opportunities to develop other skillsets.
• Creating and performing with others can help students practice communication, collaboration, and thoughtful problem-solving.
• Arts programs give students different ways to participate in school and express their ideas.
• Arts opportunities vary by school, so families should look closely at what each program actually offers.

Why is Arts Education Important?

Arts education gives students opportunities to create, experiment, perform, and see ideas from different perspectives.

Specific ways we've seen arts education benefit students include the following.

Academic Achievement

Arts education does not need to compete with reading, math, or other academic subjects to have value. It can become another part of a well-rounded school experience.

Don't just take our word for it, though.

One 2023 study found improvements in students' writing achievement after participating in an arts education. Now, to be clear, we aren't saying that signing up for an arts class means a student's grades will automatically improve. What we are saying is that meaningful arts experiences can complement the academic work students already do, helping them think creatively and critically in ways that can help them achieve success in and out of the classroom.

Career Readiness

For a child who loves drawing, acting, music, or another creative pursuit, school can provide an early opportunity to see where that interest might lead. For some students, that passion can turn into a viable career path.

But skills honed during arts education don't necessarily have to translate into an "artsy" career to be worthwhile, because the skills students practice in arts programs is transferrable. Making art requires students to develop ideas and make choices. Performing with other people requires them to listen, adjust, and contribute to something larger than their individual part.

Arts education can therefore give students room to explore an interest while developing skills they may carry into whatever comes next.

Collaboration and Communication Skills

Think about what happens behind a school play. Every student has a role, but the production only works when everyone contributes. Exepriences like these are common in arts education, creating natural opportunities for students to practice collaboration and communication.

Creativity and Critical Thinking

Arts classes often give students a type of challenge they do not encounter in quite the same way elsewhere: a problem without one predetermined answer.

A student might need to decide how to communicate an idea visually. An actor may have to consider how a character should respond in a scene. A musician may need to rethink part of a performance that simply is not working. Getting to an answer that works in these situations takes creativity, critical thinking, and effort they may not have been able to put into practice in a more traditional classroom.

Diversity and Cultural Awareness

The arts can introduce students to people, traditions, and experiences outside their immediate world.

A music class might introduce a student to a tradition they have never heard before. Visual art can open a window into another period or culture. Theater can ask students to consider why someone with a different experience might see a situation differently.

The result is that students are forced to grow beyond their immediate world, becoming more culturally aware citizens.

Social and Emotional Development

Sometimes, a child can express something through a drawing, performance, or piece of music that they would struggle to put into a paragraph. These artistic outlets may offer positive opportunities for social and emotional development, according to one 2023 study. Specifically, this study found increases in emotional empathy among participating students, along with increased cognitive empathy among elementary students.

Now, these findings do not mean arts education produces the same outcome for every student. But they do show that the value of an arts experience can extend beyond the finished painting, concert, or performance.

Student Engagement and Inclusion

Not every child connects with school in the same way. A student who rarely speaks during one class might light up during rehearsal, for example. By giving students countless ways to engage with each other, their community, and themselves outside of a traditional classroom, arts programs can foster a sense of inclusion and belonging for a wider range of pupils.

Accessing Arts Education Programs in St. Louis

Seeing "art" or "music" listed on a school's website only tells you so much. What matters is what those opportunities actually look like for students.

Find out what those opportunities can look like with Independent Schools of St. Louis (ISSL).

ISSL gives families a more manageable place to begin the search for a school that connects with their child. You can spend less time sorting through options and more time getting to know the schools that might fit your child.

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