Harris Poll Finds Overwhelming Support for Arts Education

Surveys show that the majority of parents think that the arts are as important as reading, math, science, history or geography. The vast majority of parents want their children to have more experience with the arts than did they when they were young (Harris Poll, 1992).

According to a study by Harris Interactive, young people ages 8 – 18 like and frequently participate in artistic and creative activities. The survey explored how young people perceive creative people and themselves, what kids’ favorite activities are and why, where kids participate in creative activities, which artistic events kids attend, and how kids find out about things to do. The following are some of the primary findings of the research:

• Youth believe that art is a positive influence and creativity is a positive quality
• The majority of youth count creative or artistic activities among their favorite pastimes.
• Youth participate in a wide range of creative activities.
• The majority of young people like artistic activities because they feel good, use imagination, feel competent, express themselves.
• School is the primary location for music and arts programs for most students.
• Outside of school, creative activities are most often experienced at home or place of worship.
• Friends are the main source of recreation information for youth, and TV is also important.

When asked, “what are your favorite things to do?”, kids responded:

Draw, paint or sculpt – 37%
Sing – 34%
Write creatively – 33%
Dance – 32%
Take photos or make videos – 25%
Play a musical instrument – 23%
Make crafts, jewelry or clothes – 23%
Act or perform on stage – 19%

When asked, “why do you like to do these activities?”, kids responded:

I can express my individuality – 48%
Being creative is cool – 46%
I can be with friends – 43%
I want to be a star or famous someday – 33%
People tell me that they like it when I do this – 30%
I can meet new people – 28%
I like to be around people who are artistic or creative – 25%
It makes me popular with other people my age – 8%

The percentage of kids that have attended any of the following arts events during the past year are:

Museum (non-art) – 66%
A play – 64%
Non-orchestra concert – 61%
Museum (art) – 39%
Orchestra/symphony – 31%
Ballet/dance performance – 26%

The percentage of kids that participated in arts activities in school includes:

A music or singing class or program – 54%
An art class or program – 54%
A music or singing performance – 49%
A play – 34%
An acting class or program – 23%
A video or movie making class or program – 12%
A dance performance – 11%
A dance class or program – 9%
A photography class or program – 8%

The study was conducted by Harris Interactive, the worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll® and for its pioneering use of the Internet to conduct scientifically accurate market research.