In this paper, we make the case that as the study of arts education to continues to advance, we must delineate the effects of particular forms of arts education, offered in certain contexts, on specific domains of children’s socioemotional development. Formulating precise hypotheses about the effects of arts education on children’s socioemotional development requires a differentiated definition of each arts education program or activity in question, as well as a consideration of both the immediate and broader contexts in which that program or activity occurs.
We offer the New Victory Theater’s Schools with Performing Arts Reach Kids (SPARK) program as an example of how these considerations allow for the refinement of hypotheses about the impact of arts education on children’s socioemotional development.
