A study carried out by the University of Oxford found that taking part in drama, script-writing, poetry, film-making and art sessions helped vulnerable young people to overcome fears of failure and gave them the “space” to discard their old identity and find a new one.
A research team from the university’s Department of Education observed a range of programmes run by the Pegasus Theatre in Oxford and the OYAP Trust, a charity that works with young people and develops their confidence and skills through creative projects.
Some of the youngsters who took part in the sessions had refused to go to school or had high levels of exclusion and disengagement.
Activities included a weekly theatre and dance group, weekly drama and script-writing sessions and drama classes for year 7 pupils who had been put forward by their schools because of their behaviour or poor attendance.
Those who attended the programmes described the sessions as a “safe space” where they could be themselves and where staff were “caring” and “non-judgemental”.
They jumped at the opportunity to express how they felt and try out new things and some reported improved attendance at school and a better attitude in class.
One young participant said: “When you’re in school they are more full-on and when we come to a group outside it’s like you’re still learning but it’s more fun. They’re more relaxed and you feel like you can interpret more and you don’t feel so pressured.”
Professor Harry Daniels, the lead researcher, said: “There has been much anecdotal evidence about the benefits of arts programmes for disaffected young people and our research backs this up,” said “Through working with adult professional artists and young leaders young people receive some of the emotional tools they need to interact with the world, which can transform the way they see themselves and others around them.”
Prof Daniels pointed out that the research did not suggest that mainstream arts activities would have the same results.
“The programmes studied were designed specifically for particular groups of young people and featured elements that directly tackled some of their problems,” he said.
“There were sometimes issues with how often the young people could attend due to clashes with school timetabling or family commitments and these tensions do need to be addressed.”
Being Other: The effectiveness of arts-based approaches in engaging with disaffected young people can be downloaded at www.education.ox.ac.uk/research/osat/research/being-other/