This longitudinal study draws on positive youth development frameworks and ecological models to examine the role of school-, home-and community-based arts participation in students' academic (e.g., motivation, engagement) and nonacademic (e.g., self-esteem, life satisfaction) outcomes. The study is based on 643 elementary and high school students from 15 schools conducted over the course of 2 academic years. Structural equation modeling showed that beyond sociodemographics, prior achievement, and prior variance in outcome measures, school predictors of academic and nonacademic outcomes were arts engagement and in-school arts participation; home predictors were parent-child arts interaction and home-based arts resources; and community arts predictors were participation in and attendance at arts events and external arts tuition (the latter, a negative effect). Implications for theory, policy, funding, and practice are discussed.Although research has linked arts participation with educational and developmental outcomes, much of this research simply examines frequency and duration of arts participation and does not explore dimensions in the various ecological contexts in which young people engage with the arts: school, home, and community. In a recent review of extracurricular activity by high school students, Feldman and Matjasko (2005) concluded that the arts is an important developmental setting but that relatively little is known about the contextual elements leading to positive outcomes. The present study seeks to redress this gap by focusing on the role of arts participation in youth development in (upper) elementary and high school-with particular interest in specific aspects of arts participation in the school, at home, and in the community.

This study explored the role of student (e.g., age, language background, gender), home (e.g., parent/caregiver education), and school (e.g., school type, size) socio-demographic factors in students' school (e.g., in-school arts tuition, arts engagement), home (e.g., parent/caregiver-child arts interaction), and community (e.g., arts attendance, arts tuition) arts participation. The sample comprised 1172 elementary and secondary school students from 15 schools. Findings revealed that student and home socio-demographic factors were the most salient in predicting arts participation across school, home, and community contexts. Age, gender, and prior achievement were the key student socio-demographic factors, while parent/caregiver education and occupation were also associated with students' arts participation. Implications for practice and intervention pertinent to young people's arts participation are discussed.Research has demonstrated the benefits of arts participation in promoting a range of academic and non-academic outcomes for young people. In the context of the present study, ''the arts'' encompasses dance, drama, film/media studies, music, and

Richard Florida's The rise of the creative class (2002) delivered a strong wakeup call to higher education institutions worldwide. By linking creativity to technological innovation and economic prosperity, Florida argued that universities and colleges should nurture creativity in their students. But for many years, the higher education enterprise has been criticised for dampening creativity rather than fostering it. This paper explores the subversive nature of creativity, the value of creative teaching and proposes a number of strategies higher education should consider if they hope to graduate the future leaders of twenty-first century society.

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This longitudinal study examines the relationship between young people's creative and performing arts participation (e.g., in dance, drama, film, music, visual arts) and their arts self-concept. Drawing on the positive youth development (PYD) framework and the reciprocal effects model (REM) of self-concept, a crosslagged panel design is implemented to explore the connections between arts self-concept and each of school (e.g., school-based arts instruction), home (e.g., parent-child arts interaction), and community (e.g., out-ofschool arts instruction) creative and performing arts participation. The study drew on an Australian sample of 643 elementary and high school students from 15 schools. Analyses showed that beyond the effects of socio-demographics and prior achievement, there are longitudinal associations (including reciprocal effects) between numerous forms of creative and performing arts participation and arts self-concept. Implications are discussed.