Engagement in the arts not only allows young people to express themselves and unleash the power of their imaginations but can also build skills and confidence; foster teamwork and persistence; and inspire the formation of social bonds, empathy for others and a capacity for delight that can last a lifetime. High-quality arts programming can be particularly meaningful to “tweens,” ages 10-13, who are navigating the transition from childhood to their more independent, but also demanding, teen years. And yet, in low-income urban communities an array of barriers stands between tweens and the arts. The Wallace Foundation believes the arts belong to everyone, regardless of age, income or background. The Foundation commissioned this study to help program providers understand how to bring high quality arts experiences to more youngsters from disadvantaged urban areas.
Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs
About This Project
The Wallace Foundation is dedicated to improving education for and enriching the lives of disadvantaged children. One of the foundation’s major initiatives is the expansion of arts learning opportunities. The Foundation wanted to learn what tweens think about afterschool arts programs and the factors that inform their decision to participate or not.
Fluent conducted a large-scale qualitative research, examining the role of the arts in the lives of low-income urban youth in the U.S., including their perceptions and attitudes regarding the arts and arts programming, perceived benefits of arts engagement, and triggers and barriers to arts engagement. We successfully employed unorthodox recruiting methods to ensure participation of hard-to-reach low-income (at or below poverty line) youth and families, including recent immigrants and non-English speaking families. As a result, we conducted research with a truly authentic sample of low-income urban youth and their parents.
The insights gained from the research were used in the development of key principles for afterschool arts programs interested in extending arts education to this underserved population.