We collaborated with the Cultural Learning Alliance to commission Rapid Evidence Reviews on the power of the arts in education.
In 2025, we worked with the Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA) – the UK’s leading source of cultural education news, insight and opinion – to co-commission Rapid Evidence Reviews (RERs) on the value of Dance, Drama, Music and Art, Craft and Design in education.
Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and supported by Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership, this project brought together leading academics and PhD students to review the existing evidence base for the value of Arts Education.
Its findings suggest that Arts Education has tangible, often transformative, effects on children and young people’s skills, knowledge, identity, engagement, agency and wellbeing. However, research gaps remain.
Our RER Summary Report, written by Professor Pat Thomson, calls for more rigorous research into these vital educational experiences and the establishment of an Arts Education Evidence Hub – a digital platform for the collection, curation, and dissemination of valuable research and evaluation data related to Arts Education.
The proposed Hub would not only facilitate the sharing of best practice but also foster collaboration among practitioners, educators, and researchers, enhancing the quality of arts learning for all children and young people.
Socioeconomic status and geographic location increasingly determine whether children and young people can access Arts Education. This is a social justice issue requiring urgent research attention now.
Read Professor Pat Thomson’s RER Summary Report
Read the Dance, Drama and Music Education RERs below:
KEY FINDINGS
Collectively, the four RERs provide a substantial evidence base. They represent a total of 1,176 studies spanning different methodologies, contexts, age groups, and geographic locations, though primarily focused on English-language research from the US and UK.
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Art, Craft and Design
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463 studies (2000-2021)
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Dance
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71 studies (2004-2024)
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Drama
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351 studies (2004-2024)
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Music
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291 studies (2004-2024)
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Aggregating the findings across all four RERs, we see the following impacts consistently reported:
- Agency and personal development were the most significant benefits. Agency is a key attribute for entry into adult life. We need to know we have the agency to make changes – that we aren’t ‘done to’ – that we have a voice and can make active choices that in turn make a difference to our lives and the communities or workplaces we are part of. Agency is also an essential component of wellbeing.
- Wellbeing - all four RERs document substantial health and wellbeing benefits, spanning both physical and mental health dimensions.
- Collaboration, Communication and Empathy - there is strong evidence that all four artforms powerfully foster social connections and break down barriers. These kinds of connections relate to basic needs for human happiness and belonging.
- Cognition and Interpretation - remarkably consistent cognitive benefits were reported across all artforms, with enhanced concentration, memory, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking.
- Creativity - expressive arts subjects and experiences develop creative problem-solving, imagination, and analytical thinking skills that are valuable across all areas of learning and life.
