Measuring the Intrinsic Impact of Performing Arts on Children
Throughout New York City schools, New Victory has witnessed the performing arts’ powerful ability to inspire and ultimately change the lives of young people. As we come to understand the full scope and implications of COVID-19-related challenges and their effects on children’s social and emotional well-being, it is essential to equip our kids with the tools to process this trauma and move beyond it. As our research shows, the performing arts are uniquely situated to fill that need.
Through New Victory SPARK, led by Courtney J. Boddie, Vice President, Education and School Engagement, New Victory was able to collect data from schools with no arts teachers or arts programming, as well as to maintain a control group from the same student body.
Lindsey Buller Maliekel, Vice President, Education and Public Engagement, partnered with Dennie Palmer Wolf, Steven Holochwost, and Alan Brown from WolfBrown to develop a rigorous research protocol to measure many impacts of the arts on young people, including children’s appreciation for artistry, the impulse to try new things, the capacity for self-reflection, and an appreciation of someone’s life that is different from their own, among others.
