Valuing the arts in the curriculum and beyond
Written by: Carolyn Bradley
6 min read
Carolyn Bradley, Head of Drama, St John Fisher Catholic High School, UK
I believe, as a drama teacher, that it is our responsibility as arts educators to create the next generation of theatre-goers and -makers, to teach practical skills and a knowledge-rich, inclusive curriculum, to develop cultural capital and to widen access to arts and culture for all. Moreover, there is a wealth of evidence on the benefits of engagement in arts and culture as a participant, well beyond developing the skills needed for employment. A study into the impact of theatre uncovered a wide range of benefits including catharsis, wellbeing, a distraction from life, widening of one’s world view and relationship building (Walmsley, 2013). Italian data ‘shows that cultural access is the second most important determinant of wellbeing, above factors including occupation, age, income and education’ (Grossi, 2010 and 2012, cited in Cultural Learning Alliance, 2017, p. 7). The EEF Toolkit (2018) cites arts par
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