Arts Education and Creativity

Arts-based disciplines in the schools and the creative thought those classes generate are recognized in the areas of research and education. But arts education courses in our schools are being threatened with extinction. Do adolescent students see the arts-based classes offered at their schools as important to their creativity? This study explores the question "Does arts education have a relationship to eighth-grade rural adolescent students' creativity?" Student questionnaires, focus-group interviews, and follow-up interviews were data collection methods used with 92 eighth-grade teen students. Strong emphasis was placed on gathering personal narratives, comments, and opinions directly from the students. Content analysis was used to analyze the student interviews. The students in this study had much to share on the arts courses offered in their school.