The Power of Youth Arts

15 Dec

What the research tells us about the benefits of performing arts participation for children and young people.

As human beings we are drawn to arts and culture - for entertainment, fun, and vibrancy in our lives.
But there is growing body of evidence indicating that arts have powerful health, social and educational benefits – for individuals, communities and our society as a whole.
The research shows there are important applications across our lifespans: with a role to play in everything from early childhood education, to aged care, to intergenerational bonding.
For young people in particular, arts appear to have a special power. However, insights from research are not well known – even among those involved in it on a daily basis.
The Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) and Patternmakers identified an opportunity for this evidence to be consolidated and shared – and this publication is the result.

Youth arts provides a platform for young people to explore important ideas - and boosts civic engagement.
Arts participation provides socio-emotional benefits for young people that can act as protective factors against mental illness.
Arts can be used therapeutically or ‘on prescription’ to fight depression, anxiety, and PTSD in young people.
Arts participation is associated with better educational outcomes for students, including stronger academic performance.
Arts-rich education improves students’ motivation, engagement, attendance, and school enjoyment

This document is designed to highlight some of the striking insights that have been gathered through quality research – and real-life examples of the insights in practice.
For decades, researchers in Australia and around the world have completed detailed and rigorous work exploring and quantifying the benefits of arts participation.
However, the insights are often located within academic journals, conference papers and government websites. We don’t always have the time, resources, or prior knowledge to find it, access it, or understand it.
The same applies to the many examples of impact being generated by arts organisations and youth companies making work by, with, and for children and young people. Some of the most exciting stories are not heard by the people that search for them.

The purpose of this guide is to help you navigate your way around different studies and sources, so you can find what’s relevant to you – whether you’re a policy-maker, stakeholder, arts manager, practitioner, or parent.
We hope this guide will be used as a point of connection with the literature. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to highlight what stands out from some of the highest quality, most relevant studies.
We hope you will follow the links, read the studies, examine their strengths and limitations, and understand how they relate to you and your work.
Ultimately, we want to shine a light on the robust evidence for youth participation in arts – with the hope that young people across Australia will benefit as a result.

Click to download the guide:

Click to download the summary:

Header Image Credit: Brett Boardman, courtesy of ATYP.

Holly Davison
Senior Research Analyst