GLI Capstone Presentation Session: North UC Ballroom

Expressive Arts as a Means of Increasing Well-Being in Children

Presentation Type

Presentation

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Stephen Yoshimura

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Communications

Abstract / Artist's Statement

Across the country and throughout the world, children are receiving less exposure to expressive arts than in previous decades. Research has shown that expressive arts provide major benefits to young people. We implemented a student-directed program in a local fifth grade classroom to add to the current research on the benefits of expressive arts to children. Our program allowed students to select a central theme and self-select the expressive arts they participated in each day. They had the choice of creative writing, visual arts, dramatic play, and creative movement. Students completed measures of psychological well-being, specifically their self-esteem and self-confidence, both before and after participating in the four-week program. We hope our program and research will bring more awareness to the expressive arts, challenge schools to keep them in the curriculum, and increase their global presence. Our research findings from this program will be used to develop a comprehensive expressive arts program able to be distributed in a variety of global settings, such as orphanages, schools, or private organizations.

Category

Interdisciplinary (GLI)

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Apr 17th, 1:40 PM Apr 17th, 4:10 PM

Expressive Arts as a Means of Increasing Well-Being in Children

North UC Ballroom

Across the country and throughout the world, children are receiving less exposure to expressive arts than in previous decades. Research has shown that expressive arts provide major benefits to young people. We implemented a student-directed program in a local fifth grade classroom to add to the current research on the benefits of expressive arts to children. Our program allowed students to select a central theme and self-select the expressive arts they participated in each day. They had the choice of creative writing, visual arts, dramatic play, and creative movement. Students completed measures of psychological well-being, specifically their self-esteem and self-confidence, both before and after participating in the four-week program. We hope our program and research will bring more awareness to the expressive arts, challenge schools to keep them in the curriculum, and increase their global presence. Our research findings from this program will be used to develop a comprehensive expressive arts program able to be distributed in a variety of global settings, such as orphanages, schools, or private organizations.