Purpose: The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to explore how involvement in theatre arts programs helps to improve social functioning skills (SFS) in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, from a drama teacher's perspective, in middle schools in the central coast region of California. Methodology: A qualitative…

The benefits of arts education have been widely explored by researchers. However, much of the research conducted has been done with broad strokes encompassing all arts disciplines. Additionally, the studies conducted have focused primarily on quantitative data and relationships of student achievement to their participation in the arts. There is…

The Churches of Christ, a body of Christian believers descending from the nineteenth century American Restoration Movement, have a well-documented history of establishing and supporting liberal arts colleges and universities. This study of theatre programs at three of these institutions--Lipscomb University, Pepperdine University, and York…

In 2011, with ongoing concerns over state budget shortfalls and the increasing educational cost structure, California state legislators focused their attention on measures that could lead to access, added productivity, and value in order to sustain the current educational system. One of the recommendations provided by the Legislative Analyst's…

During the 2011-12 school year, a fifth grade class in a diverse San Francisco public elementary school collaborated with the Arts Resources In Action (ARIA) program of the San Francisco Opera's Education Department to create a teacher-guided opera. The students wrote the story, music and lyrics as well as designed and built the sets, props and…

All theatre programs are not created equal. This qualitative study set out to determine the graduating students' perception of satisfaction and success after attending a four year conservatory theatre program. I conducted two interviews with seven of the twelve graduating seniors. The initial interview was conducted after graduation, and the…

Urban youth in the United States often experience daily human rights violations such as racism and violence. Therefore, Human Rights Education (HRE) can strengthen their understanding of these issues and unleash their power to act toward positive change. This qualitative study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the use of performance arts…

With budget cuts and the heavy emphasis placed in recent years on student achievement in language arts and mathematics, arts instruction has been greatly reduced in California elementary schools. Yet the research literature has shown arts instruction to be associated with improved literacy skills (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999). Podlozny (2002),…