The role of the arts in education
Several researchers and leading international organisations suggest that the arts play a critical role in the development of youth. UNESCO, one of the champions of policy initiatives on culture and education, appealed to arts organisations and practitioners to foster the development of arts education in the UNESCO Road Map for Arts Education (UNESCO 2006). Several researchers have indicated that involvement in the arts has been associated with improved scores in math and reading and elevated verbal, cognitive and spatial reasoning skills (Burton, Horowitz, and Abeles 1999). Researchers (Brown, Benedett, and Armistead 2010) have also indicated that the arts provide a suitable avenue for school readiness skills for children from diverse backgrounds.
The arts have been shown to play a critical role in the development of at-risk children and those facing poverty-related stressors. It has been suggested that the arts could provide regulation of emotions and behaviour for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds while increasing their cultural awareness through education (Brown, Benedett, and Armistead 2010). The arts could in essence become a focal point for early intervention of developmental deficiencies in children facing economic and other social challenges including lack of parental support, drug abuse and crime.