Almost every educational system in the world regards numeracy and literacy as more important than the arts. In the UK arts interest groups and politicians have, for years, asked for arts education to be accorded the same priority arguing that arts contribute to learning and development of useful skills. It is not clear if these claims were based on evidence. The aim of this review is to examine international empirical evidence to establish whether arts participation could lead to improvements in children's learning and other wider outcomes, and to identify arts activities with the best evidence of success. A search of 11 databases identified 76,195 reports, of which 200 were included for analysis. No studies with high levels of supporting evidence were found because of serious weaknesses in design. Tentative evidence suggests that music training and integrating drama in the classroom may have beneficial effects. This finding has to be taken with caution because of weaknesses in these studies, the lack of replication and inconsistent findings across studies. More robust and rigorous evaluations are needed to test the causal links. However, if improving attainment is the aim then arts may not be the solution. Promising programmes already exist that can boost learning. Given the lack of evidence so far, perhaps we should think more broadly about the purpose of arts.
IntroductionArts have always struggled to find a legitimate place in the school curriculum in education systems across the world. For years, arts education has been marginalised and viewed by many as the poor relation of subjects such as mathematics, science and literacy, which are often regarded as core subjects because they are deemed to have greater currency in a competitive global economy (Confederation of British Industry, 2010, p 2).International league table, such as, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) also used performance in these core subjects as an indicator of the quality of a country's education system. Consequently, schools around the world are putting greater emphasis on these subjects. Performance in these curriculum subjects has now been used as a yardstick for attainment. To ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed in education the 'No Child Left Behind Act' was introduced in the USA. This has led to a decline in emphasis on arts education. In the UK, reforms in education have also been made to ensure that the country remains competitive. These reforms and the focus on the Ebacc (English Baccalaureate) have been blamed for a decline in the number of students taking arts at GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) (The Telegraph, 2014).The marginalisation of arts, the declining take up and the low status have prompted some to call for greater attention to be given to arts education in schools. Three main arguments were put forward. The first was that arts are synonymous with creativity and creativity was necessary for a world-class...