ERIC Number: EJ1314264
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-4056
EISSN: N/A
Art in the Time of Corona: Transforming Learning for 4.7 Million Children
Raghuvanshi, Aastha Singh; Shah, Drashti
Childhood Education, v97 n5 p66-71 2021
Through brain imaging technologies, neuroscientists across the globe are now able to show the physical changes that occur in the brain when one contemplates or participates in art. For instance, a creatively inspired brain depicts lower levels of cortisol, which is the biological indicator for stress. Educators also have noticed how including art into curriculums allows students to develop and foster crucial socio-emotional learning (SEL) skills, which, in turn, reflect positive changes in student behavior and performance. Research demonstrates that children who received art education showed an 80% increase in creativity and levels of social skills. Studies also show that students partaking in arts courses had higher grade point averages and were five times more likely to graduate compared to their peers. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in 320 million children in India being unable to access classrooms. The school closures impacted children's learning levels, which, in turn, translates into higher drop-out rates and psychological ill-effects for both children and their parents. As educators and schools experimented with online modes of education, the massive digital divide in our country also became apparent. Only 36% of Indians have access to the internet and the number is even lower in rural areas. Seeking to foster students' well-being, creativity, and mental resilience, the arts organization Slam Out Loud, developed the Arts for All (AFA) initiative to leverage the power of delivering arts via low-tech platforms. AFA offers localized, need-sensitive, multilingual, and engaging at-home audio, video, text, and print resources for young learners who have limited internet access. These include booklets with art activities for student well-being; SEL-focused YouTube courses on storytelling, theater, visual art, and poetry; and some "byte"-size art-based audio podcasts that deliver activities over Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). The two-fold goal of the intervention was to: (1) Enhance student well-being and SEL; and (2) Reach students with diverse access to technology.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Art Education, Educational Change, Foreign Countries, Social Emotional Learning, Access to Computers, Distance Education, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A