Children's Voices
Exposure
to live arts performances noticeably improves children’s literacy and
makes them kinder and more critically aware.
These are the major findings of Children’s Voices, a three-year study by UniSA, the SA Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS), and Windmill Performing Arts into children’s perceptions of live arts performance and their impact on children.
Between 2003 and 2005, 140 five to 12-year-olds attended Windmill performances at the Festival Centre. The children, from four schools, were interviewed individually and in groups, both before and after each performance.
Cate Fowler, Windmill’s director and creative producer, said there had long been a general attitude that the arts were good for children.
"We wanted to do some rigorous research so that instead of just anecdotal stories, we had tangible evidence that the arts are indeed good for children," she said. "Now we can hold up this document and say, if you want real proof, here it is."
Windmill’s arts project officer Julie Orchard, on secondment from DECS, said there was growing interest in arts education internationally and documenting the research was crucial in order to change policy and attitudes in schools.
"We set out to prove that through an arts methodology and pedagogy, children can develop a deeper understanding of their world and themselves, and become more literate," she said. "Children also got a sense of values out of the whole process."
The report found children’s literacy improved as they became more confident and more articulate in expressing their views.
"Teachers reported back to us that this flowed on into other areas as well," Orchard said.
Fowler and Orchard said another pleasing aspect of the study was that children also developed performance literacy.
"The children are very clear about what they like and what they don’t like and why. That’s the most exciting part. They understand, and they’re questioning themselves about why they respond to something or not. It’s not just ‘it’s nice’ or ‘it’s OK’. They go much deeper and richer in their responses," Orchard said.
Fowler agreed. "I think one of the exciting things is that they became very articulate about the value of the arts in their lives," she said. "We asked them, ‘What would the world be like without the arts?’ And it was surprising how often the word grey came up."