EFFECTS OF ARTS EDUCATION 

ON PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS 

Louis Bergonzi and Julia Smith 

Research Division Report #36 

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
 
Effects of Arts Education
 

on 

Participation in the Arts
 
Effects of Arts Education 

on 

Participation in the Arts 

Louis Bergonzi and Julia Smith 

Research Division Report #36 

National Endowment for the Arts
 

Seven Locks Press
 

Santa Ana, California
 
 

Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts is Report #36 in a series on 

matters of interest to the arts community commissioned by the Research Division 

of the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Cover: Dr. Jill Beck teaching Helen Tamiris Joshua to third, fourth, and fifth level 

students at the School of the Hartford Ballet as part of their dance history curriculum development project. 

First printed 1996 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 

Bergonzi, Louis, 1957-

Effects of arts education on participation in the arts / Louis Bergonzi and Julia 

Smith 

p. cm. -- (Research Division report: 36)
 

Includes bibliographical references.
 

ISBN 0-929765-47-8 (paperback)
 

1. Arts--United States--Citizen participation. 2. Arts--Study and teaching-United States. 3. Arts surveys--United States. 4. Arts audiences--

United States. I. Smith, Julia, 1962- II. Title. III. Series: Research 

Division report (National Endowment for the Arts. Research Division); 36. 

NX230.B47 1996 

700’.70’73--dc20 96-7843 

CIP 

Manufactured in the United States of America 

Seven Locks Press 

Santa Ana, California 

1-800-354-5348 
Table of Contents 

vi List of Tables 

vii
 List of Figures 

Executive Summary 1


1 Introduction 

Measures
 2

Research Focus 3
 

Findings 3


Introduction 11

The Role of Arts Education in Defining a
 

Uniquely Diverse American Culture
 11


Connecting Arts Education and Arts Participation
 11


Analytical View of Arts Participation 12
 

Organization and Content of This Report 14


PART I: Summary of Research Methods Used	 15
 

Description of the SPPA Surveys
 15


Determining the Effects of Arts Education on
 

Arts Participation
 15


General Analytic Plan
 17


Description of Variables 18


PART I1: Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation 23
 

Data Source 23
 

Measures 23
 

Understanding Analysis Tables
 

Analysis 26
 

Results 

24
 

26
 

Conclusion 30
 

PART II1:	 Comparative Effects of Arts Education and
 

Overall Education on Arts Participation 34
 

Introduction 34
 

Method 34
 

Results 35
 

Summary 44
 

v 
vi I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

PART IV: 

Appendix A: 

Appendix B: 

Appendix C: 

Appendix D: 

Notes 

Bibliography 

Summary and Conclusions 

Introduction 

Analytical Process 

Summary of Results 

Conclusions 

Further Research 

1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts 

Adjusting for the Effects of Leisure 

The Effects of Education on Arts Participation 

Technical Information 

Path Analysis 

Data Analysis 

About the Authors 

Other Reports on Arts Participation 

Tables 

Table 1. 

Table 2. 

Table 3. 

Table 4. 

Table 5. 

Table 6. 

Table 7. 

Table 8. 

Arts Education Indices (SPPA92) 

Arts Activities by Art Forms Surveyed 

Arts Participation Indices (SPPA92) 

Respondent Background and Lifestyle Variables 

Used in Analyses (SPPA92) 

Effects of Arts Education and Sociodemographic 

Characteristics on Arts Participation 

Differences in Arts Education by Race/Ethnicity, 

Gender, and Socioeconomic Status 

Differences in Arts Participation by Race/Ethnicity, 

Gender, and Socioeconomic Status 

Comparison of Effects of School-Based and 

Community-Based Arts Education on Arts Participation 

45
 

45
 

45
 

47
 

50
 

52
 

54
 

61
 

62
 

64
 

64
 

65
 

66
 

71
 

74
 

75
 

19
 

20
 

21
 

22
 

25
 

28
 

29
 

31
 
Table of Contents I vii 

Table 9. Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation: 

Summary of Predictors from Final Models 32 

Table 10. Comparison of Effects of Overall Years of Education 

and of Arts Education Density on Arts Participation 36

Table B. 1. Changes Due to Adding Leisure Index to the Analyses 61

Table C. 1. Arts Consumption by Sociodemographic Background 

(Model I) and Years of Education After Taking into 

Account Sociodemographic Background (Model II) 63 

Table C.2. Arts Production by Sociodemographic Background 

(Model I) and Years of Education After Taking into 

Account Sociodemographic Background (Model II) 63 

Figures 

Figure 1. 

Figure 2. 

Figure 3. 

Figure 4. 

Figure 5A. 

Figure 5B. 

Figure 5C. 

Figure 5D. 

Figure 6A. 

Figure 6B. 

Figure 6C. 

General Analytic Model 17 

Complete Theoretical Model 18 

Analytical Model Measuring Demographics, Arts 

Education, and Arts Participation 27 

Relationship Between General Education and Arts 

Education 35 

Relative Effect of Years of Education on Arts 

Attendance over Different Levels of Arts Education 38 

Relative Effect of Years of Education on Audio-Media 

Arts Participation over Different Levels of Arts 

Education 39 

Relative Effect of Years of Education on Video-Media 

Arts Participation over Different Levels of Arts 

Education 39 

Relative Effect of Years of Education on Arts Creation 

over Different Levels of Arts Education 4O 

Relative Effect of Arts Education on Arts Attendance 

over Different Levels of Education 42 

Relative Effect of Arts Education on Video-Media 

Arts Participation over Different Levels of Education 42 

Relative Effect of Arts Education on Arts Creation 

over Different Levels of Education 43 

Figure 6D. Relative Effect of Arts Education on Audio-Media 

Arts Participation over different Levels of Education 43 
Executive Summary 

Introduction 

T he arts education that Americans gain and its potential effect on their participation in the arts is an issue that is central to the development and 

preservation of our uniquely diverse American culture. Thus it is critical to 

look very carefully at what kind of education in the arts Americans receive, 

where they receive it, and what influence it may have on active involvement 

in the arts later in life. Information regarding the impact of arts education on 

arts participation is necessary for any individual or organization interested in 

arts education at any level or in the broader range of educational and cultural 

policy. 

This report identifies broad patterns of arts participation and arts education among the American public and investigates the effects of arts education 

on arts participation as they apply to all Americans.1 The focus is on the following questions: 

1.	 Do people become more actively involved in music, dance, writing, acting, and visual arts as a consequence of arts education? 

2.	 How does arts education make a contribution (or reduce the differences) 

to arts participation among people of different socioeconomic status, gender, racial, and ethnic groups? 

3. Do any of the answers to the above questions differ when distinguishing 

between arts education that is based in K-12 schools and that which is 

based in the private sector community outside of school? 

4. Which is more important to increasing active participation--arts education or general education? 

This report uses data from the 1992 Survey of Public Participation in the 

Arts (SPPA92), which was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of 

the National Endowment for the Arts, and is to date the most comprehensive 

indication of arts participation in the United States. Data are representative of 

the population of the United States with respect to age, race, and gender. Even 

the most basic analyses reveal important differences in both arts education and 

arts participation among the racial and ethnic groups considered in the 

SPPA92: namely, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, 

and whites. Therefore, in this report each group is considered separately.2 
2 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Measures 

The art forms from the SPPA92 that were used predominantly in these 

analyses are (depending on the particular variable) classical music, jazz, opera, 

musical play or operetta, non-musical dramatic play, ballet, other forms of 

dance, poetry, novels or short stories, visual art, and video programs about the 

arts or artists. Although the SPPA92 does not include all art forms and types 

of art in which Americans participate, it does allow consideration of three dimensions of arts participation: attendance, production, and accessing the arts 

via the media. In this report, participation in the arts activities included in the 

survey is also considered as either consumptive (attendance and media-accessed arts participation) or productive (performance, creating) in nature. 

With this distinction, it is important to keep in mind that consumptive participation is not merely passive. Individuals actively "consuming" music, literature, dramatic performances, dance, or visual displays of art use their active 

perception and critical reasoning skills. 

For the purposes of this report, the measures of arts consumption employed were the following: live attendance at arts performances (attendance); 

listening to radio broadcasts or audio recordings on record, tape, or compact 

disc (audio media); watching performances on television and/or using a 

videocassette recorder (VCR) (video media); and reading print literature or 

listening to recordings of print literature (print media). Additive standardized 

scales of arts consumption were constructed, which awarded points for the 

number of times the respondent consumed a particular type of music, drama, 

dance, or visual art display in the 12 months that preceded the survey) Over 

12,500 Americans responded to questions of this type. 

As previously stated, arts production is defined as either performing (performance) or creating (creation). Once again, additive scales were constructed, 

awarding a point for each type created or performed and, for both scales, an 

additional point if the performance or creation was publicly demonstrated. 

The sample size for arts production questions was 5,701. 

Finally, an arts education index (arts education density) was created to represent both the breadth and depth of arts instruction across a lifetime. One 

point was assigned for each type of class taken and one point for each time period (elementary, high school, college, or adult years) during which the respondent took classes. On the other hand, scales for school-based and community-based arts education represented only the number of art forms in 

which the respondent had lessons while of school age (through age 17). 

The SPPA92 also requested information about the respondent’s back­
Executive Summary I 3 

ground, including sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, race, and 

ethnicity. For the purposes of this report, data indicating respondent’s family 

income, parents’ level of education, and the number of cars the respondent 

owned were combined into a standardized measure of socioeconomic status 

(SES). Respondents also answered questions about their leisure activities 

(movies, sports, amusement parks, exercise, outdoor activities, volunteer or 

charity work, home improvement/repair, and gardening) and the number of 

hours they watched television on an average day. These responses were combined into a standardized measure of leisure activity. 

Research Focus 

The purpose of this report is not to consider differences in arts participation by race and ethnicity.4 However, from a perspective of aesthetic and educational egalitarianism, the question is asked: Does arts education make arts 

participation more accessible to Americans? To answer this question, arts participation as an outcome of arts education was viewed, taking into consideration one’s lifestyle. Also explored was the question of whether arts education 

reduced or possibly eliminated observed gender, ethnic, or socioeconomic status differences in arts participation. 

Further, because the SPPA92 questions distinguished between arts education received in school from that received in the community (outside of 

school), it was possible to compare the effects of these two arts education 

agencies on arts participation and to pay special attention to the sociodemographic characteristics of those who receive arts education from each. This was 

done in recognition of the view that public schools emphasize equality of opportunity and are therefore of somewhat different purpose than most arts education programs available through the private sector, which often require financial remuneration from the students or their families.5 

Findings 

Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation 

To summarize the results in different areas more specifically, each outcome 

has been highlighted with a summary of findings, followed by some general 

observations concerning patterns of effects.6 
4 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Arts Attendance 

 ̄ Men and women are about equally likely to attend a performance of 

music, opera, drama, dance, or a museum exhibit, once one takes into account social and personal background characteristics and how much time 

a person has available to attend an arts performance. 

 ̄ Those who had more arts education were more likely to attend arts performances--a relationship which was about four times stronger than that 

of any other factor considered.7 

 ̄	 More than half the initial differences in attendance associated with SES-­

one’s ability to pay--were removed by considering differences in arts education. 

Maintaining a busier lifestyle reduces one’s rate of arts attendance. 

Arts Accessed Through Audio Media 

 ̄ The number of art forms Asians listened to via recordings and broadcasts 

of music and drama was comparable to whites, whereas African Americans 

had broader listening habits. 

 ̄ Arts education was much more important in predicting this type of arts 

participation than personal background or leisure and more strongly predicts arts listening than any other type of arts participation. 

 ̄ Higher socioeconomic status led to increased participation via audio 

media but was only one-third as strong a predictor as arts education. 

Arts Accessed Through Video Media 

Of those factors considered in this study, arts education was the only predictor of watching the arts on television or via VCR. 

The variables in these analyses predicted very little of this type of arts participation. Therefore, many of the influences as to why people watch the 

arts on television remain unexplained. 

Arts Accessed Through Print and Print-Related Media 

 ̄ Women read more than men, even after taking SES and level of arts education into account. 

 ̄ Asian and Hispanics had less print-media involvement than whites and 

African Americans, again after taking SES and level of arts education into 

account. 

 ̄ Those with higher levels of socioeconomic status also read more. 
Executive Summary I 5 

Those with more education in the arts read more. This factor was by far 

the strongest single predictor of time spent reading among the factors considered. 

Arts Creation 

Men reported spending much less of their time creating (photography,
 

needlework, painting, musical composition, creative writing) than did
 

women, even after taking arts education, alternate leisure activity level,
 

and SES into account.
 

African Americans reported spending less time creating than did other
 

ethnic groups, even after adjusting for the amount of arts education one
 

had.
 

Arts education was the strongest predictor of arts creation, reducing the effect of SES substantially.
 

Those more active in other pursuits reported less arts creation. In fact,
 

when the amount of leisure activity was also taken into account, SES
 

showed no independent effect on participation in arts creation.
 

Arts Performance 

 ̄ African Americans reported spending less time performing than did the 

other racial/ethnic groups. 

 ̄ Arts performance was the only type of arts participation that was not predicted by arts education despite the probable dominance of arts performance as a goal and instructional practice within arts education.8 

 ̄ Much of the influence of arts performance remains undefined. 

Arts education was the strongest predictor of almost all types of arts participation (arts performance being the exception). Those with the most arts 

education were also the highest consumers and creators of various forms of visual art, music, drama, dance, or literature. Similarly, the higher one’s SES, the 

more one participates in arts activities. On the other hand, at least half of the 

effect of SES on all types of arts participation was attributable to differences 

in arts education. Although SES was not as important in increasing participation as was arts education, it did function as a resource factor, contributing to 

whether or not a person received education in the arts. In addition, of all types 

of arts participation, listening to the arts via audio media was the most dependent on SES, further revealing socioeconomic status as a restrictive force 

on arts participation. 
6 I Effects of Arts Education on Americans’ Participation in the Arts 

School-Based vs. Community-Based Arts Education 

As a final exploration into the impact of arts education, consideration was 

given to the question of how respondents’ lessons in the arts taken before the 

age of 17 in school and in the private sector contribute to arts participation, 

both separately and together; and to the impact of demographic background 

of students engaged by each type of arts education agency. 

Findings indicate that the higher one’s socioeconomic status, the more arts 

education one received, regardless of where that education was gained, even 

after adjusting for personal background. It is noteworthy that SES was more 

important to increased community-based arts education than it was for 

school-based arts. Whereas men were only slightly less likely than women to 

take arts courses in school, they were much less likely to do so in the community-based arts education agencies outside of school. 

After adjusting for socioeconomic status and gender, African Americans, 

Asians, Hispanics, and whites had about the same level of involvement in arts 

education in schools. In sharp contrast, white respondents reported much 

higher levels of community arts education than did Asian, African American, 

or Hispanic, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status and gender. 

Effects on Arts Participation 

For almost every type of arts participation, the more one received of both 

school- and community-based arts education, the more one participated in 

the arts as an adult, either through consumption or creation.9 The exception 

was once again in arts performance, where having received community-based 

arts education as a child or youth did nothing to predict arts performance, and 

receiving school-based education actually decreased the likelihood somewhat 

that individuals would continue to perform as adults. 

In sum, a comparison of school-based and community-based arts education does not yield a simple picture as to their relative effects on arts participation. When compared to school-based arts education, receiving arts education that is community-based tends to reflect individuals who were higher in 

two types of arts participation (attendance and video-media involvement). Although arts education in school contributed to more time spent in arts creation, it appears to slightly decrease the likelihood of participation in arts performance. Each type of arts education exerted comparable influence on 

audio-media involvement. The largest difference between them was in consumption of arts via video media, in which community-based arts education 

was much more important than school-based arts education. 
Executive Summary I 7 

Effects of General Education vs. Arts Education on 

Arts Participation 

Three sets of analyses for each form of arts participation were conducted 

to compare the impact on arts participation played by arts education and by 

the broader socialization context of education.l° Because individuals’ access to 

these types of education was related to other background features (SES, gender, and ethnicity), an analysis was made of (1) the relationship between arts 

education and education, (2) the independent effect of each type of education 

on arts participation after taking the other into account, and (3) the contingent effects of education and arts education; that is, the effect of one depending on how much of the other one received. 

Overall, education is generative--more education in the arts also shows 

higher levels of general education and vice versa. Interestingly, differences in 

school- and community-based arts education primarily occurred between and 

around the point of high school graduation. High school dropouts reported 

having received much less school-based arts education than did high school 

graduates. 

Independent Effects of Arts Education and Education on Arts 

Participation 

Generally, more arts education or education (hence, arts/education) 

meant more arts consumption (attending, listening to, watching, or reading) 

and more arts creating (writing, composing, drawing, painting). Indeed, arts 

education had a much stronger impact than did overall educational attainment, even after taking personal background and socioeconomic status into 

account. 

This difference is not surprising, given that general education is by nature 

less arts-specific. However, there are two remarkable observations. First, although much arts instruction, particularly in the schools, stresses the development of arts performance or production skills, it was arts consum!ation and 

creation that were more related to arts education, not the more logical arts 

performance. Arts education (received in either the school or the community) 

and overall education, once again, did not impact arts performance at all. Second, the effect of education on arts creation does not remain after one considers differences in individuals’ level of arts education. However, years of education continued to be a significant factor in predicting Americans’ arts 

consumption habits, even after taking into account the effect of arts education. This result implies that education operates as a socialization force, even 

if not as directly related to arts participation as arts education. 
8 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Interdependency of Arts Education and Overall Education 

Because both arts education and general education influenced patterns of 

arts consumption, whether the patterns themselves were different was explored, as well as whether the effects of overall education and arts education 

changed depending on how much of the other a person had received. It could 

be, for example, that getting a solid arts education has a stronger effect on students who have a strong educational background in general, so that arts education simply adds on to the effect of other schooling. On the other hand, it 

could be the case that arts education is more important for students with less 

overall education. Put another way, if schooling partially compensates for a 

lack of an education in the arts, then the specific influence of arts education 

may only show up for students who have had limited schooling. This question 

flames the last set of analyses. 

When looking at print-media involvement (reading and/or listening to 

books, plays, and poetry), findings revealed that there was no shift in the effects based on the influence of the other type of education. The effect of arts 

education on print-media involvement remained independent of overall educational attainment; in other words, more arts education resulted in more involvement both at the low and the high ends of the educational spectrum. 

This is remarkable considering the prominent role of reading in so many aspects of education. 

However, when looking at arts attendance and audio- and video-media accessed arts consumption, findings revealed that the effects of general education changed, depending on how much arts education one had received. 

Specifically, those people with high levels of general education and a more extensive arts education experience were much higher in their arts attendance 

and consumption than were those with comparable general education but little or no arts-specific education. Similarly, arts education had a more powerful impact on arts attendance for individuals of greater overall educational attainment; whereas arts education alone, without the larger socialization that 

education provides, had less of an impact on arts attendance. A similar pattern was observed regarding rates of watching televised or video-recorded arts 

events. This would suggest that this type of arts participation and arts attendance are operating along the same dynamic: arts education makes more of a 

difference when students have the larger socialization of education in place. In 

general, these two different aspects of education reinforced each other, making the final impact on arts attendance much stronger. 

Curiously, those people with high levels of general education and a more 

extensive arts education spent less time, rather than more, creating arts (writing, composing, painting, drawing, etc.). The effect of arts education on arts 
Executive Summary I 9 

creation had a very different meaning relative to an individual’s overall education. Although arts education did increase the amount of arts creation for all 

individuals, it was more important for those who had less education in other 

disciplines. For example, a student who dropped out of high school having received a great deal of arts education (in or out of school) created far more arts 

as an adult than did a similar person who attended college. 

Finally, it was observed that arts education helped equalize the effects of 

overall education on arts listening. People without any arts education were 

very differentiated according to their educational background with regard to 

their arts listening. As arts education increased they became more similar to 

each other, to the degree that among people with a great deal of arts education, college graduates and high school dropouts exhibited comparable arts listening habits. 
Introduction 

The Role of Arts Education in Defining a Uniquely 

Diverse American Culture 

An~erican culture is unique in its incorporation of a diversity of artistic tra­ itions. In order to ensure the continued definition of our American culture, each successive generation of Americans must gain basic cultural experiences so that they are accustomed and equipped to contribute to or participate 

in their national artistic culture. Arts education lies at the center of this proposition, one that has its place in any discussion of national purpose and identity. For the elements of American culture are transmitted via exposure, experience, skill, and understanding in the arts, gained through socialization and 

arts education. Toward this process, it is crucial to understand the effect of arts 

education on arts participation in order to plan the goals, content, and context (public, private, and parochial school, or private community-based) of 

our efforts at arts education. The purpose of this report is to distinguish broad 

patterns of arts education and arts participation among the American public 

and to investigate the relationship between arts education and arts participation as it applies to all Americans. 

Connecting Arts Education and Arts Participation 

Contemporary reports on arts education have emphasized the intrinsic 

value for Americans of an education in the arts; that is, the position that it’s 

important to learn about the arts because (1) they are subjects worth knowing 

in their own right, with identifiable bodies of instructional content; and (2) 

they are ways of thinking, knowing, and learning about the world.ll From 

this viewpoint, arts education makes a contribution to American society that 

cannot be annexed by any other opportunities provided by schools or any 

other arts or social agencies; in short, an education in the arts valued for its 

own sake. Also recognized is the role arts education plays in transmitting and 

understanding American culture, enabling students to become informed consumers of the arts; giving students a sense of shared community; allowing students to discover their artistic potentials, fostering their creativity; developing 

a view of the arts as essential to daily life, and supporting the acquisition of 

knowledge in other subjects. 

11 
12 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Inherent in the intrinsically artistic view of arts education, as well as in the 

broader affirmations about the benefits and purpose of arts education, is the 

goal of connecting people with their national culture through their participation in the arts. For when people attend an arts performance, create art, or access the arts through the media (among other possibilities for arts participation), this practice reflects not only aspects of their life experience and 

personal situation, or their innate artistic potential, but also their education in 

the arts. It is these relationships between personal background, arts education, 

and arts participation that are explored in this report using data from the 

SPPA92. 

Understanding these associations is critical to the discussion about arts education policy at a time when (1) individuals and organizations concerned 

with arts education have offered recommendations regarding school arts education curricula, structure, funding, testing, teachers, policy, and research; (2) 

the U.S. Department of Education has accepted arts standards that define 

what every American should know and be able to do in the arts from the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations (Associations, 1994); and (3) 

the National Assessment of Educational Progress, scheduled for 1997, will be 

a national assessment of students’ achievement in the arts. Aside from this 

public attention to arts education, the majority of Americans retain private 

goals for their children that include having them learn about the arts (Americans and the Arts VI, 1992). In holding this personal value system and in undertaking these types of policy initiatives and recommendations, as a nation 

and as individuals, we not only deem arts education as a goal, but imply that 

arts education is a means toward an end--a means toward participation in the 

arts as adult citizens. 

Analytical View of Arts Participation 

In this report, arts participation as an outcome of arts education and patterns of arts participation by personal background (gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status) are considered. Through statistical analyses a determination is made as to how much of the patterns of Americans’ arts participation 

is attributable to arts education, sociodemographic characteristics, and involvement in leisure activities. The SPPA92 also allows for the distinction between arts education provided in schools and in the community. Explored also 

are the effects of overall general educational attainment on arts participation 

in order to compare them with the effects of arts-specific education. Thus, it 

is possible to provide information to agencies and individuals responsible for 

arts education policy on: 
Introduction I 13 

 ̄ the strength of arts education as a predictor of arts participation, even after 

taking into account sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle. 

 ̄ the ability of arts education to mediate the influence of sociodemographic 

differences on arts participation. 

 ̄ the relative effects of school-based vs. community-based arts education. 

 ̄ the relative effects of arts education and general education on arts participation. 

Sociodemographic Background 

Obviously factors other than arts education influence arts participation, 

including sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, and 

socioeconomic status. In this report, differences in arts participation based on 

these characteristics are determined, along with the effects of arts education 

on arts participation, taking into account the influence of these other factors. 

Based on previous research, it is anticipated that differences in arts participation by sociodemographic background will be discovered.12 However, it is 

not the aim of this report to investigate the effects of sociodemographic characteristics on arts participation.13 Rather, the effects of gender, race, ethnicity, 

and socioeconomic status on arts participation are considered in order to determine how arts education may reduce or remove any differences in arts participation by sociodemographic background. 

School-Based and Community-Based Arts Education 

As a nation, Americans value the concept of equal opportunity and view 

schools as institutions charged with upholding this ideal. This educational 

value is related to David Pankratz’s (1987) concept of aesthetic justice, which 

he defines as the equitable distribution of aesthetic wealth among members of 

a society. Pankratz identifies that: 

To achieve an equitable distribution of aesthetic wealth, it is essential 

that a society’s members have ample opportunities to experience objects of high aesthetic value, whatever their geographic location or social stratum. For aesthetic justice to prevail, policymakers have an additional obligation to increase the aesthetic capability of a society’s 

members, i.e., those critical and appreciative skills needed for persons 

to best take advantage of the aesthetic opportunities presented to 

them (p. 17). 

In recognition of these concepts of educational and aesthetic egalitarian­
14 I Effects of Arts Education on Americans’ Participation in the Arts 

ism, it is critical to view schools as important arts education agencies and to 

consider their relationship to arts education institutions that are based in the 

larger community, outside of school.14 The following discussion, therefore, 

considers the comparative effects of school-based and community-based arts 

education on arts participation, paying particular attention to the sociodemographic characteristics of those individuals who learn about the arts in each 

type of arts education setting. 

Relative Effects of Arts Education and Overall 

Educational Attainment 

There are many studies that substantiate the strong, positive relationship 

between overall educational attainment and arts participation.15 In this report, the effects of overall educational attainment on arts participation are 

compared with those of arts education. This is in keeping with contemporary 

arts education writings that promote arts education as an intrinsically worthwhile endeavor, thus supporting the development of an arts education-specific 

policy that goes beyond advocating increased levels of general education as a 

way to increase arts participation for more people. 

Organization and Content of This Report 

In Part 1 the conceptualization of arts participation and arts education is 

detailed, and the variables from SPPA92 that were used in this analyses are defined. Also explained is the general plan for data analysis. In Part 2 a brief explanation is offered on how to read and understand the results of these analyses as represented in the tables. 

In Parts 2 and 3 the effects of arts education and the comparative effects 

of arts education and overall education on arts participation are considered. 

Each part, or section, (1) frames the analysis based on contemporary issues in 

education or arts education; (2) presents the related analytical model, including discussion of any variables unique to a particular section; (3) discusses the 

results of the effects analyses; and (4) concludes with an overview of each section’s results. 
Summary of Research 

Methods Used 

Description of the SPPA Surveys 

The 1982, 1985, and 1992 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts were 

commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts. They were designed to be the most comprehensive national surveys on arts participation. 16 

In this monograph data from the 1992 survey only is used.17 The response 

rate was more than 80 percent and the sample was limited to individuals over 

the age of 18 at the time of the survey. The data are weighted so as to be representative of the 1992 U.S. population with regard to age, race, and gender. 

Questions about live attendance and media participation during the previous 

12 months were asked of 12,736 individuals during the period January-December, 1992. A second set of questions about arts education, leisure activities, music preferences, desire for additional arts participation, and personal 

arts creating or performing was answered by 5,701 individuals during the second half of 1992. 

Determining the Effects of Arts Education on 

Arts Participation 

There are many reasons people participate in arts activities. One can easily speculate that a tentative list might include one’s arts experiences as a child, 

parental role models, financial resources, socioeconomic status, degree of participation in leisure activities, and finally, for purposes of this report, one’s education in the arts. 

One approach is to describe how rates of arts participation increase/decrease for persons with different amounts of arts education; to say, for example, that the attendance rate at classical music concerts for people with some 

arts education was more than twice that of people with none. Examining arts 

participation rates in this way would describe a general trend of increased arts 

participation rates for people of higher arts education levels but would not explain any underlying reasons why this was the case.18 

]5
 
16 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Another approach would be to conduct analyses that describe the type and 

strength of the relationship between arts education and arts participation. To 

do so one would conduct a correlation analysis. A positive correlation would 

indicate a relationship between arts education and arts participation such that 

as arts education increased, arts participation increased, whereas a negative 

correlation would imply the opposite.19 A positive correlation between arts 

education and arts participation, no matter how strong, would not indicate 

that arts education caused increased arts participation. The possibility would 

remain that another trait associated with arts education is behind more educated people’s increased arts participation. For example, although people with 

more arts education may have higher rates of arts participation, and a strong 

statistical relationship may exist between the two, this could be explained by 

the fact that those with more arts education have greater financial resources 

with which to support their arts participation. 

Describing the rates of arts participation for persons of different arts education levels and the association between the two addresses questions of how 

much and to what degree arts education is relevant to arts participation; it 

does not explain why. What is needed is an approach that contrasts the influence of arts education on arts participation with that of other traits associated 

with arts participation; that is, by taking into account other known influences 

on arts participation. Given the breadth of the information supplied by the 

SPPA92, it was possible to consider the effects of arts education on arts participation net of socioeconomic status and elements of individual leisure activity that may compete with the arts for resources, such as time and money. 

Role of Personal Background 

It would be illogical to expect that arts participation would be completely 

independent of personal background, with members of all groups (racial, ethnic, or gender) participating at a comparable degree. To do so would be to ignore the roles socialization, personal preference, and personal history play in 

defining individual choice and developing group and personal identity. However, in these analyses the effect of those factors connected with group status 

were removed, thereby isolating the effects of birth-determined membership 

in a particular group; in other words, to consider the net effect of group membership, or that portion predetermined by birth. To find such net effects 

would put forth the unfortunate proposition that access to arts education in 

the contemporary United States may be determined by factors over which a 

person has no control. 
Summary of Research Methods Used I 17 

General Analytic Plan 

The analytic plan appropriate for this type of inquiry is based on analysis 

of covariance, following a path-analytic model.2° Even in its simplest form, 

the theoretical model demonstrates the "path" quality implied by its name (see 

Figure 1). 

In this general analytic model, arts participation (C) is the outcome; and 

arts education (B) is the factor of interest. Its effect on the outcome is explored 

after taking into account sociodemographic characteristics (A) of the respondents. Of equal importance (given the consideration of egalitarian goals for 

arts education and participation) is the ability of this model to estimate the 

power of arts education to mediate (reduce or remove) any effects of sociodemographic characteristics on arts participation. Then the effects of arts education on arts participation are investigated, after taking into account various 

aspects of one’s lifestyle that may compete with participating in the arts for 

one’s time and other resources (Figure 2). 

In the complete model, arts participation occurs as the result of arts education (B), as influenced by sociodemographic characteristics (A), and after 

considering the competing effects of one’s lifestyle (C). Although there certainly are other factors that influence arts participation that were not part of 

this survey, and therefore cannot be taken into account by the model, data 

from the SPPA do allow for the consideration of how much people participate 

in the arts as functions of arts education, sociodemographic characteristics, 

and lifestyle. 

FIGURE 1. General Analytic Model 

(B) 

Arts Education 

(A) 

Sociodemographic 

Characteristics 

(C) 

Arts Participation 
18 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

FIGURE 2. Complete Theoretical Model 

(B) 

Arts Education 

(A) 

Sociodemographic 

Characteristics 

{D) 

Arts Participation 

Lifestyle 

Description of Variables 

This section details the construction of the measures of arts education and 

arts participation, sociodemographic background, and a specific lifestyle factor that will be used in all of the analyses based on the theoretical model. Variables that are unique to specific sections of this report are described therein. 

Because composite variables were constructed using available information 

rather than deleting cases, there were very little, if any, missing data on these 

measures. 

Indices of Arts Education and Arts Participation 

Arts Education 

Because each survey item has a limited range of response, the reliability of 

any one item for reporting experience or education in the arts is very limited. 

Therefore it was necessary to combine arts education in different art forms at 

different time points.21 Thus, a person who took only music lessons in childhood has a lower arts education density score than a person who took both 

music and art lessons as a child, and this person in turn has a lower score than 

one who took both types of lessons both in childhood and as a teenager. This 

combination allows for the use of a weighted estimator of arts education that 

is more stable by individual and that has a more reliable distribution, one that 

is necessary for the type of statistical techniques used. 

Preliminary analyses employed measures of arts education duration and 
Summary of Research Methods Used I 19 

arts education concentration.22 Results yielded a high correlation between the 

two measures and overall results that were not different from those using the 

more comprehensive measure. The more general consideration of arts education was labeled Arts Education Density (Table 1). 

Arts education, whether received in school or in the community outside 

the school, was also considered. "School" refers to the respondent’s school of 

attendance and not necessarily a public institution, though the compulsory 

nature of education in the United States is in contrast with the more elective 

nature of community-based, private education.23 

TABLE 1. Arts Education Indices (SPPA92) 

Index Description (range) 

Arts Education Density The number of art forms in which respondent had 

classes, summed across five time periods; 1 point 

awarded for each art form and one for each period. 

This is a standardized scale of duration, weighted by 

number of art forms. (0-40) 

Arts Education Agency 

Community One point awarded for each art form in which respondent received instruction in the larger community, outside of school while of school age (through 

17); summed for all art forms and standardized. (0-8) 

School One point awarded for each art form in which respondent received instruction in school while of 

school age (through 17); summed for all art forms 

and standardized. (0-8) 

Arts education is described as instruction in those art forms that were included in the 1992 survey (Table 2). Although the art forms surveyed are a 

broad representation of those in which Americans participate and are more diverse than in earlier versions of the SPPA, they are primarily those art forms 

of particular interest to the National Endowment for the Arts as an agency of 

the federal government. Despite the great value of this list, it would be unwise 

to interpret this list as the only arts in which Americans participate. 
20 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

TABLE 2. Arts Activities by Art Forms Surveyed 

Arts Activity Art Forms Considered 

Arts Education 

Lessons music, visual arts, acting, ballet, other dance, creative writing, art appreciation/history, music appreciation/history 

Arts Production 

Art creation pottery, needlework, photography, painting, creative 

writing, musical composition 

Art performance jazz, classical, opera, musical play/operetta, choral 

music, dramatic acting, ballet, other dance forms 

Arts Consumption 

Attendance jazz, classical, opera, musical play/operetta, nonmusical play, ballet, other dance forms, art 

museum/galleries 

Audio media jazz, classical, opera, musical play/operetta, nonmusical play 

Video media jazz, classical, opera, musical play/operetta, nonmusical play, dance, program about art!artists 

Print and print-related media read plays, read poetry, read novels or short stories, 

listen to a reading of poetry, listen to a reading of 

novels or books 

Arts Participation 

Ethnomusicologists, sociologists, and psychologists have considered arts 

participation from various perspectives.24 Although the SPPA may not allow 

consideration of all theoretical definitions of arts participation, it does permit 

analysts to view three dimensions of arts participation that are central to any 

discussion of arts and arts education policies: attendance at arts events, arts 

production, and accessing the arts through media.25 The questions and organization of the SPPA92 also allowed for consideration of arts consumption 

(attendance and media-accessed participation) vs. arts production (performance and creation) (Table 3). 
Summary of Research Methods Used [ 21 

TABLE 3. Arts Participation Indices (SPPA92) 

Arts Consumption 

Attendance the number of arts performances attended, summed 

across arts forms 

Audio media the number of art forms respondent listened to: 

radio broadcast or audio recording 

Video media the number of times respondent watched the arts 

(TV or VCR) 

Print and print-related media	 the number of times respondent engaged in reading 

print literature or listening to recordings of print literature 

Arts Production 

Creation	 1 point for each art form created, another point if 

the artistic creation was published, displayed, or 

performed in public 

Performance	 1 point for each type of art form performed; another 

point if the performance was in public 

Note: All indices are standardized (mean = 0; s.d. -- 1) 

Respondent Background Variables 

Gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were considered as exogenous variables, since they describe traits that are not impacted by any other 

variable in the model. Descriptions of these variables and their construction 

appear in Table 4. 

In all analyses, race and ethnicity were entered as dichotomous, or 

"dummy-coded" variables. That is, respondents were given a 1 if they were a 

member of the group in question; an 0 if they were not. As is necessary, one 

group is designated the comparison group. In this report’s effect analyses, 

white served this role. 

In preliminary comparisons, it became evident that African American, 

Hispanic, Asian, and white respondents had very different experiences in both 

arts education and participation. Thus it was necessary to consider the effects 

of each group separately. Although Native Americans had different experiences as well, there were so few of these individuals surveyed (N= 16) that it 
22 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

TABLE 4. Respondent Background and Lifestyle Variables Used
 

in Analyses (SPPA92)
 

Construct Description Variable 

Gender
 

Male
 dummy-coded Gender variable. Female = 0; Male - 1 

Race/Ethnicity
 

African American dummy-coded Race variable. White, Hispanic, Asian
 

= 0; African American = 1
 

Hispanic	 dummy-coded Race variable. White, Asian, African 

American = 0; Hispanic = 1 

Asian	 dummy-coded Race variable. White, Hispanic, African 

American = 0; Asian = 1 

Socioeconomic Status 

SES	 Standardized composite indicator of socioeconomic 

status. Variables included were family income, number of cars owned, and level of parents’ education 

Lifestyle Considerations
 

Leisure index Number of hours spent watching TV per day plus 1
 

point for each type of leisure activity in which respondent participated
 

was appropriate to exclude them from these analyses, given the technical requirements of the statistical procedures necessary to answer the research questions. 

Lifestyle Considerations 

Lifestyle is represented as a score on the leisure index (LI). The LI is the 

sum of the number of hours the respondent reported watching television per 

day and the number of leisure activities in which respondent participated 

(Table 4). Leisure activities surveyed in the 1992 SPPA include movies, sports 

(viewing and participation), amusement parks, exercise, outdoor activities, 

volunteer/charity work, home improvement/repair, and gardening for pleasure. 
Effects of Arts Education on 

Arts Participation 

T his section examines how an individual’s access to arts education might 

reflect one’s social background, leading to differences in arts participation. 

Specifically explored is the question of whether gender and racial/ethnicity 

differences, or socioeconomic status differences in access to arts education 

have consequent impact on arts participation. 

Data Source 

This investigation uses information gathered from the SPPA92.26 Of the 

total sample size of the survey, 12,736, over 5,000 specifically responded to 

items concerning (1) personal arts participation by performing or creating, (2) 

attendance at arts activities either in person or through the media, and (3) participation in other leisure activities. In addition, these individuals provided 

some limited information about their earlier in-school and out-of-school education in the arts. 

Measures 

Three sets of measures were used for these analyses.27 The first set, capturing individual demographics, includes dichotomous ethnic measures for 

Asian, Hispanic, and African American (with white as the control group); a 

dichotomous measure identifying males; and a composite measure of an individual’s personal income, high-status possessions, and parent education, as 

an indicator of SES. The second set of measures, reflecting arts education 

background, used a measure of arts education density, a standardized scale 

weighted by the number of art forms in which an individual received education, as well as by the number of time periods in which a person received that 

education. In addition to this overall estimate, separate indices for education 

received in school were created (school-based arts education) and for that received out of school (community-based arts education). These two variables 

considered arts education obtained only through age 17, whereas the arts education density index also included lessons obtained as an adult. 

23 
24 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

The third set of measures reflects personal arts participation, which is considered as either consumptive or productive in nature. The first two composites are performance and creation--each a scale of the number of art forms the 

respondent reported producing, weighted by whether it was done for public 

display. The last three measures in this set indicate arts consumption: attendance sums the number of live performances attended weighted by the number of art forms attended, whereas consumption through media were separated into audio (radio, compact disc, tape recording) and video media (TV, 

VCR). Finally, an index was constructed measuring a person’s involvement 

with print media and print-related media (audio recordings of print literature). 

Understanding Analysis Tables 

The primary results of these analyses using standardized regression coefficients are reported so that the size of each can be compared accurately. This 

section explains the relevant technical terminology so that readers can better 

understand the tables that are used to present the findings. 

The amount that arts education contributes to later participation in the 

arts is referred to as "the strength of relationship" between arts education and 

arts participation after taking into account other influences on arts participation. This strength is determined by comparing the relative size of the standardized coefficients in the tables, ignoring the presence or absence of negative signs. When present, a negative number indicates that as one factor gets 

larger, the outcome gets smaller; for example, one might expect that as one’s 

time in front of television increases, one’s participation in the arts may decrease. A positive number indicates that as one factor gets larger, the outcome 

increases; for example, one might expect that as one’s income grows larger, the 

amount one spends on the arts may increase. 

Each of these standardized regression coefficients (sometimes referred to 

by the Greek letter beta) indicate the unique relationship between that factor 

and the outcome--after taking each of the others into account.28 For example, the third column of coefficients in Table 5 (Attendance), shows beta = .32 

for Arts Education Density, and beta = .08 for SES. Thus, the data indicate 

that (1) as arts education increases, people participate in the arts more (the 

beta is .32, not -.32), even after ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status 

are taken into account; (2) as SES increases, people participate in the arts 

more, even after taking ethnicity, gender, and arts education into account 

(beta for SES is also positive); and (3) arts education is four times as "strong" 

a predictor of participating in the arts as SES (.32 is four times as large as .08). 
Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation I 25 

The variables that are coded only with an 0 or a 1 (such as the predictor labeled Male) show the amount to which the group coded 1 (in this case, males) 

differs from the group coded 0 (females). Thus males are more likely than females to attend arts presentations (the .02 coefficient for Male is positive). 

TABLE 5. Effects of Arts Education and Sociodemographic 

Characteristics on Arts Participation 

Production Consumption 

Performance Creation Attendance Video Audio Print 

Media Media Media 

Predictor Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta 

African American -.06*** -.05*** .03* .01 .13*** .01 

Asian .01 .01 .001 .01 .003 -.02* 

Hispanic .01 .01 .004 .02 .03** -.04** 

Male -.01 -.17*** .02* .01 .07*** -.08*** 

SES -.003 .03* .08*** -.005 .13*** .09*** 

Arts education -.01 .19"** .32*** .16"** .42*** .40*** 

density 

R2 .01 ** .08*** .12*** .02** .22*** .21 ** 

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 

Analyzing data sets as large as the SPPA92 will yield some statistically significant results due to chance. Therefore it is important to understand that the 

level of probability represents the likelihood that the particular effect occurred 

due to chance. The importance of any given relationship is shown in the tables by the absence or presence of one, two, or three stars, explained at the 

bottom of each table. Looking specifically at the effect of arts education on 

video-media arts consumption (column 4, Table 5), the probability of observing this relationship by chance alone would be fewer than one time in a 

hundred (** = p _< .01). Also note that the difference between being African 

American, Asian, or Hispanic compared to whites on watching arts events on 

television (video media) could occur as a result of chance five or more times 

out of a hundred (no stars on any of the betas). Given that the probability has 

been set more conservatively than this, specifically less than 5/100, findings 

indicate that there are no differences between ethnic groups when it comes to 

arts television viewing--in short, that video-media-based arts participation is 

independent of race or ethnicity, after one takes into account differences in socioeconomic status and arts education. 
26 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Finally, each analysis (columns in Table 5)--each combination of predictors, or model--explains some part of the overall outcome. A perfect model 

would be able to predict the outcome 100 percent of the time just by knowing the values of those predictors. A totally useless model would predict the 

outcome 0 percent of the time. In general, information from surveys is able to 

predict at most about 20 to 40 percent of the variance in the outcome, only 

because the responses people give to surveys is quite random (Cook & Campbell, 1979). The amount of the outcome predicted by each combination of 

variables is represented in the table by the value of R2 as a decimal (converting to a percent requires multiplying the R2 value by 100). For example, looking across the bottom row of Table 5 indicates that the combination of predictors being considered best explains audio-media arts consumption, as the 

amount of this outcome explained (22 percent, as R2 = .22***) is the greatest 

of the six types of arts participation. 

Analysis 

First, differences in arts education by respondent’s race/ethnicity, gender, 

and socioeconomic status were investigated. Then the combined effects of 

these sets of background measures were explored using simultaneous regression-demographic information combined with education in the arts (both 

general and separated into inside and outside the school) as mediated by competing leisure interests. This analysis was run for each of the six outcomes. The 

analytical model is shown in Figure 3. 

Results 

Sociodemographic Characteristics and Arts Education 

Data in Table 6 show the results of personal background comparisons on 

arts education.29 Access to arts education differed according to a one’s personal background. First, males received significantly less arts education than 

females, more the case in community than in school-based environments 

(school beta = -.07*** community beta = -. 19"**). In other words, although 

males were slightly less likely to take arts courses in school, they were at a 

much greater disadvantage in getting additional lessons or education from a 

community setting. Second, persons of different racial/ethnic backgrounds 

gained different degrees of arts education, with African Americans and Asians 

demonstrating less arts education than whites and Hispanics, who were com­
Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation I 27 

FIGURE 3. Analytical Model Measuring Demographics, Arts 

Education, and Arts Participation 

Arts Education 

Sociodemographic 

Characteristics Arts Education 

Arts Participation 

Race/Ethnicity 

Density Production 

Performance 

African 

American School-Based Creation 

Asian 

Arts Education Consumption 

Attendance 

Hispanic Community-Based Audio Media 

Gender Arts Education Video Media 

Male Print Media 

Social Status 

Personal SES Lifest ly~ 

Leisure Index 

parable in this regard (column 1). It is noteworthy that this differentiation of 

arts education by race/ethnicity was only the case for community-based arts 

education and not for school-based arts education: whereas Asians, African 

Americans, and Hispanics each participated less in community-based arts education than did whites, the amount of school-based arts education gained by 

individuals in all racial/ethnic groups was comparable. 

Finally, in general, having an education in the arts had less to do with 

race/ethnicity and more to do with SES as increased social resources corresponded with more arts education (betas = .32***, .24***, and .26*** for general, school-, and community-based arts education, respectively). Indeed, socioeconomic status was the strongest determinant of arts education, even after 

controlling for the other sociodemographic characteristics in this analysis. 

Given that arts education differed by personal background, particularly 

SES, the research must explore not only whether arts education predicts arts 

participation, but if the identified differences in arts education by personal 

background carry over to arts participation. In order to do this, two questions 
28 Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

must be asked: Does arts participation differ by personal background? and if 

so, Does arts education reduce or remove any of these differences? These issues are now explored. 

TABLE 6. Differences in Arts Education by Race/Ethnicity, 

Gender, and Socioeconomic Status 

Arts Education 

Density Index 

School-Based Arts 

Education Index 

Community-Based 

Arts Education Index 

Predictor Beta Beta Beta 

African American -.03* .02 -.05*** 

Asian -.03** -.02 -.04*** 

Hispanic -.02 .02 -.04** 

Male -.14*** -.07*** -.19*** 

SES .32*** .24*** .26*** 

R2 .12*** .06*** .10"** 

*p_< .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 

Sociodemographic Characteristics and Participation in the Arts 

As was the case with arts education, differences in sociodemographic 

background extend to differences in arts participation (Table 7). Of the two 

arts production measures, demographic background showed slightly more differences in creating than performing in the arts (R2 = .05*** and .01"**, respectively). In fact, the only significant difference among groups for arts performance was that, net of gender and SES, African Americans had lower 

involvement with arts performance relative to whites (beta = -.06***). In 

looking at arts creation, the same was true for males relative to females (beta 

= -.20***) and again for African Americans relative to whites. Finally, the 

higher one’s SES, the more one created in the arts (beta = .09***), though SES 

did not indicate anything regarding arts performance. 

Looking at arts consumption, SES strongly predicted both live attendance 

and audio-media arts involvement (listening to recordings, radio) but was not 

as important for video-media arts consumption. This difference could reflect 

a direct link to the relative ongoing cost of buying tickets, recordings, and 

books compared to turning on a television, once one owns it. Another observed difference was that African Americans were significantly more likely to 

listen to recordings of music or stage presentations than their white counterparts, after taking gender and SES into account. Finally, males were noticeably 
Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation I 29 

less involved with print media, and SES positively predicted this type of involvement. In other words, higher income individuals from more educated 

parents were more likely to read or listen to a recording of print literature, or 

at least to report having done so. These results suggest that video-media involvement is the most equitable type of arts consumption, but that SES still 

plays a restrictive role in determining all types of arts participation except arts 

performance. 

TABLE 7. Differences in Arts Participation by Race/Ethnicity, 

Gender, and Socioeconomic Status 

Production Consumption 

Performance Creation Attendance Video Audio Print 

Media Media Media 

Predictor Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta 

African American -.06*** -.05*** .02 .01 .12*** .003 

Asian .01 .002 -.01 .002 -.01 -.04** 

Hispanic .01 .01 -.003 .02 .02 -.05*** 

Male -.01 -.20*** -.02 -.02 .01 -.13*** 

SES -.003 .09*** .18*** .04*** .26*** .22*** 

R2 .01"** .05*** .03*** .01 * .07*** .07*** 

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 

Effect of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Having determined differences in arts participation for people of different 

sociodemographic background, consideration was then given to the mediating effects of arts education (as estimated by the arts education density index) 

on arts participation.3° As before, the only background factor predicting participation in arts performance was ethnicity, with African Americans being 

somewhat less involved in this type of arts participation than whites (Table 5). 

Interestingly, those who had more arts education did not necessarily perform 

more than others. For the other outcomes, education in the arts was the 

strongest predictor (range of betas = .16"** (video media) to .42*** (audio 

media)), even more powerful than SES or personal background. In addition, 

taking differences in arts education into account decreased the net effect of 

SES (personal income, number of high-status possessions, and background 

education of parents), in most cases cutting the effect at least in half.31 Thus, 

the impact of socioeconomic status on involvement in the arts occurs through 
30 Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

differential access to education in the arts.32 In short, the direct function of 

SES on arts participation is as a resource factor. 

Comparison of Arts Education AgenciesmSchool and Community 

In this section, distinction is made between the effects of arts education 

obtained in the school and in the community (Table 8).33 For every outcome 

except performance, both sources of arts education have an independent positive impact on the measure of involvement in the arts. Oddly enough, schoolbased education actually decreases the likelihood somewhat that individuals 

will continue to perform as adults (beta = -.03*). Of the remaining five indicators of personal participation in the arts, school-based arts education was 

the weaker of the two types of arts education for every outcome except creation of art (beta = .11"** for school-based compared to beta = .07*** for 

community-based). The largest difference between the effects of these two arts 

education agencies occurred with video-media consumption (beta =. 10"** for 

community-based compared to .03* for school-based). There was no difference in predictive strength between these two arts education systems with regard to audio-media participation (betas =. 19"**). 

When comparing the data in Tables 5 and 8, the portion of the variance 

explained by school- and community-based arts education was slightly lower 

(the same in the case of arts performance) than that of the full combined measure of arts education density.34 In addition, the effects for SES were slightly 

weaker in the case of the more comprehensive arts education measure. 

Conclusion 

The questions of this section were to determine who received an education in the arts and how it may have influenced participation in the arts. This 

summary is organized around those two issues. Arts participation, both theoretically and via statistical methodology, was viewed as an outcome of arts education influenced by personal background (gender, race/ethnicity, and SES) 

that competes with other leisure activities for resources, such as time and 

money. Arts participation was considered globally (rather than by individual 

art form) and defined by the nature of the arts involvement; that is, was art 

produced (performed or created) or was it consumed (via live attendance, listening to the arts via audio media, watching the arts via video media, or being 

involved via print or print-related media)? 

Education in the arts was viewed primarily in two ways: as a general arts 

education background gained across one’s lifetime, and as delivered through 
 

Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation I 31 

TABLE 8. Comparison of Effects of School-Based and 

Community-Based Arts Education on Arts 

Participation 

Production Consumption 

Performance Creation Attendance Video Audio Print 

Media Media Media 

Predictor Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta 

African American -.06*** -.05*** .03* .02 .13*** -.02 

Asian .01 .001 -.001 .001 -.001 -.01 

Hispanic .02 .01 .002 .02 .02* -.03** 

Male -.01 -.18*** .02 .004 .05*** -.07*** 

SES .001 .05*** .11 *** .01 .1 7*** .12*** 

School-based -.03* .11 *** .09*** .03* .19*** .03* 

arts education 

Community-based .01 .07*** .17"** .10"** .19"** .08*** 

art education 

R2 .01 *** .07*** .08*** .01 ** .16*** .05*** 

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 

age 17 via one of two arts education agencies based in schools or in the private community, outside of school. The latter was established to allow for 

comparisons by arts education agency. 

Who Received an Education in the Arts? 

Findings revealed that socioeconomic status is a determinant to gaining an 

education in the arts in the United States: the higher one’s SES--the higher 

one’s level of arts education. Although this holds true for the population at 

large, SES is not the sole influence on the distribution of arts education across 

the population. Indeed gender, race, ethnicity all play a role. 

Regarding overall arts education, women demonstrate a higher degree of 

arts education than men, as do whites and Hispanics compared to Asians and 

African Americans. Arts education that is gained in the private sector is differentiated by race/ethnicity, with nonwhites less involved than whites. On 

the other hand, arts education that is obtained in the school is not a matter of 

race or ethnicity, with African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and whites engaged at comparable levels. In this regard, schools do seem to function as the 

more egalitarian source of arts education in the United States. However, SES 
32 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

continues to influence those who receive school-based arts education, though 

less so than is the case for community-based arts education. 

Impact of Arts Education on Patterns of Arts Participation 

Arts education is the strongest predictor of arts attendance, arts creation, 

and accessing the arts through audio, video, and print media (Table 9).35 

Findings show that the more arts education people have, the higher their involvement with the arts. This is sustained even when taking into account influences on arts participation that were initially attributed to socioeconomic 

status, race/ethnicity, and gender. 

The one exception occurred with arts performance, where knowing something about one’s degree of arts education does not indicate anything about 

one’s level of arts performance. It is also worth noting that the predictors 

which were considered here did a very poor job of explaining arts performance; clearly there are other influences on arts performance that are unaccounted for by the SPPA92 data. 

TABLE 9. Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation:
 

Summary of Predictors From Final Models
 

Production	 Consumption 

Performance Creation Attendance	 Audio Video Print 

Media Media Media 

Predictor 

African American - ­ + +++ o o
 

Asian o o o o o
 -


Hispanic o o o ++ o -


Male o ­ + +++ o -


SES
 o + +++ +++ o +++
 

Arts education o +++ +++ +++ +++ +++
 

density 

Note:	 Symbol: + = positive predictor, - = negative predictor, o = not a predictor
 

1 symbol=p<,05; 2symbols=p<.01; 3symbols=p<.001.
 

Using this notational system for summarization purposes, one can read that arts
 

creation was positively predicted by arts education at the p < .001 level of probability.
 
Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation I 33 

There is no clear pattern of arts participation with regard to demographic 

background (race, ethnicity, and gender). For example, involvement with the 

arts via the print media is most differentiated by background; on the other 

hand, whites, Hispanics, and Asians attend and watch the arts at comparable 

levels. 

A pattern was discovered in that, in all but one case (again, arts performance), differences in arts participation by socioeconomic status are reduced 

by taking into account differences in arts education. In other words, part of 

the reason for observed differences in the degree of arts participation by people of differing socioeconomic status is attributable to differences in their arts 

education. This implies that arts education facilitates participation in the arts 

for a broader cross section of the population than one would have found were 

it not for arts education in the United States, but SES still operates as a restriction to arts consumption (with the exception of video-media arts involvement, on which it was not an influence).36 

Both school- and community-based arts education are positive and significant predictors of all types of arts participation, except arts performance, 

even after adjusting for personal background and SES. Community-based arts 

education is not related to arts performance, whereas increased engagement in 

school-based arts education actually means decreased levels of this type of arts 

participation as adults. 

Community-based arts education is more strongly indicative of arts participation than school-based arts education, though one must remember the 

more individualized nature of the former relative to the primarily group instructional processes of the latter. The largest difference in predictive power is 

with video-accessed arts participation, with the effect of community-based 

arts education being more than three times stronger than that of instruction 

gained in the schools. Engaging in either of these two arts education agencies 

predicted comparable levels of listening to the arts via audio media. 

The availability of leisure hours is not consistently related to arts participation.37 Increased hours of leisure activities means decreased rates of arts attendance, listening to the arts, and creating art. For involvement with print 

media, the relationship is positive. There is no relationship between leisure activities and arts performance or watching the arts on television. In all cases except for audio-accessed arts participation, the addition of the rate of leisure activities into the analyses does not increase the amount of variability in arts 

participation that could be accounted for with just the other variables. 
Comparative Effects of Arts 

Education and Overall 

Education on Arts Participation 

Introduction 

This section compares the role of arts education and the larger socialization 

context of education and their effects on adults’ participation in the arts. 

Given the effects of gender, racial/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status differences on individuals’ access both to overall education and to instruction 

specifically in the arts,38 this analysis considers whether these two factors have 

an effect on arts participation (consumption or production) that is either (1) 

independent--the effect of each after taking into account that of the other-­

or (2) interdependent--the effect of one type of education depending on the 

other. 

Determining the nature of the relationship between education and arts 

education and their comparative effects on arts participation is important to 

individuals and agencies responsible for developing policy and programs designed to encourage arts participation. For although it may be encouraging to 

learn that higher levels of education lead to greater arts participation,39 particularly at a time when a larger percentage of the population is obtaining 

more education (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1993), there is little opportunity or motivation, under this scenario, to do anything regarding 

national arts education policy except to promote an increased degree of general education. For if there is no effect of arts education on arts participation, 

beyond that of general education, an important justification for the development of arts education policy and programs is compromised. 

Method 

This investigation uses information gathered from the SPPA92. The same 

model and measures described previously in Parts 1 and 2 are employed. Education and arts education were compared in three ways by determining, first, 

the direction and magnitude of the relationship between the two types of education; second, the independent effects of each factor after taking the other 

into account; and third, the extent to which the effect of one type of education is contingent on the other.40 

B4 
 

 

Comparative Effects of Arts I 35 

Results 

Relationship Between Years of Education and Arts Education 

Correlation analyses yielded positive, significant relationships between 

years of education and (1) overall arts education (r = .42**), (2) school-based 

arts education ( r= .21"*), and (3) community-based arts education (r = 

.26**). This indicates that individuals with more overall education receive 

more education in the arts, both in general and in and out of school. It does 

not indicate that one type of education was gained as a (causal) result of acquiring the other, but that they occur together. 

Given this information, the experiences of individuals of different educational backgrounds were examined using school-based and community-based 

arts education components. Overall, it is clear that education in the arts increased substantially with involvement in education (Figure 4). Interestingly, 

FIGURE 4. Relationship Between General Education and Arts
 

Education
 

I Arts Ed. Density -- Community-based ~ School-based 

0.8 

0.6 

0.4 

0.2 

0.0 

-0.2 

~0.4 

-0.6 

Less than HS HS Grad. Some College College Grad. Post-Grad.
 

Grad. College
 

Amount of General Education
 

Note: Numbers are mean standardized scores for each arts education index. ANOVA
 

results indicate that all three types of arts education showed significant differences
 

(p_<.O01) over the categories of general education.
 
36 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

the regular increase in community-based arts education for each of the time 

points was not matched by an increase in school-based arts education. In 

other words, whereas more overall education translated to more communitybased arts education, differences in school-based arts education primarily occurred between and around the point of high school graduation, with high 

school dropouts receiving much less than high school graduates, and those 

who went past high school into college--for any amount of time--having received more school-based arts education while of school age. 

Independent Effects of Years of Education and Arts Education on 

Participation in the Arts 

The combined impact of years of education with arts education was then 

explored taking into account other sociodemographic characteristics. More 

importantly, this analysis demonstrated the independent impact of each measure; that is, the effect of one type of education on arts participation, taking 

the other into account. The critical focus is indicated in the last two rows of 

results in Table 10.41 

TABLE 10. Comparison of Effects of Overall Years of Education 

and of Arts Education Density on Arts Participation 

Production Consumption 

Performance Creation Attendance Video Audio Print 

Media Media Media 

Predictor Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta 

African American -.06*** -.05*** .03* .02 .13*** .01 

Asian .01 .01 -.004 .01 -.004 -.03* 

Hispanic .02 .01 .01 .03 .04** -.03* 

Male -.01 -.17*** .02 .003 .05*** -.08*** 

SES -.01 .04* .05*** -.02 .08*** .04** 

Overall years .02 -.02 .10"** .04* .16"** .15’** 

of education 

Arts education -.01 .19"** .28*** .14"** .37*** .35*** 

density 

R2 .01" .08*** .13"** .02* .24*** .23*** 
Comparative Effects of Arts I 37 

As was observed in Part 2, none of the measures except those related to 

ethnicity has a predictive influence on performing. However, for each of the 

other types of arts participation, arts education had more than twice the predictive power of years of education in explaining an individual’s involvement-~creating, listening to, watching, attending, or reading--with the arts. 

Interestingly, although the effect of overall years of education is not as strong 

as specific education in the arts, there is a residual impact. In other words, 

more schooling increases a person’s involvement in the arts, at least of a consumptive nature, even though education may not be specifically focused on 

the development of arts participation behaviors. 

Interdependency of Education and Arts Education and the 

Effect on Arts Participation 

This combination of independent effects of arts education and education, 

each acting separately on arts participation, suggests the possibility that overall education and arts education may have a different effect on participation in 

the arts based on how much of the other type of instruction one receives. Determining whether this is the case or not is necessary for an accurate and comprehensive interpretation of the preceding observations of the independent effects of arts education and education. 

Results of analyses to test this possibility indicated that only in regard to 

print-media arts involvement were the effects of arts education consistent 

across levels of overall education. This is remarkable given that reading is an 

activity with a strong presence at all levels of education. One might expect 

therefore that the effect of arts education on involvement with print media 

would be different for varying levels of education. However, this was not the 

case. 

For all other types of arts participation (except arts performance to which 

neither type of education was significantly related), the independent effects of 

education and arts education were different by level of the other type of instruction. Although this clouds any discussion of the independent effects of 

these educational backgrounds for these types of arts participation, it does offers a richer description of how these factors operate in tandem on arts participation.42 To make better sense of the results, graphs have been constructed 

for each outcome for which the interaction between arts education and overall education was significant. It is important to recall that these graphs use the 

adjusted regression estimates, that is, those that take into account a person’s 

race, gender, and SES (Figures 5A-6D). 
38 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Contingent Effects of Education on Arts Participation by Level of 

Arts Education 

The effect of years of education on individuals’ attendance at arts events, 

on the degree of listening to or watching the arts, or on arts creation, depends 

on the extent of one’s education in the arts.43 More overall education had a 

stronger effect on both attendance (Figure 5A), accessing the arts via audio 

(Figure 5B), and via video media (Figure 5C) for individuals who had more 

extensive arts education than it did for those with little or none. In other 

words, the socializing effects of education were augmented by arts-specific education to increase this type of arts participation, but they did not operate that 

way if a person had not received arts education. 

FIGURE 5A.	 Relative Effect of Years of Education on Arts 

Attendance over Different Levels of Arts 

Education 

Little Arts Education ,- - Average Arts Education m Extensive Arts Education 

0.5 

0.0 

-0.5 

-0.1 

< HS Grad 

I 

HS Grad 

I I 

Some College 4 Yrs. College > 4 Yrs." 

College 

Years of Education 
 

Comparative Effects of Arts I 39 

FIGURE 5B.	 Relative Effect of Years of Education on AudioMedia Arts Participation over Different Levels of 

Arts Education 

Little Arts Education -- -- Average Arts Education m Extensive Arts Education 

t1.0 

0.5 

0.0
 

-0.5
 

-0.1
 I I I I 

< HS Grad HS Grad Some College 4 Yrs. College > 4 Yrs. 

College 

Years of Education 

FIGURE 5C.	 Relative Effect of Years of Education on VideoMedia Arts Participation over Different Levels of 

Arts Education 

Little Arts Education - .,, Average Arts Education ~ Extensive Arts Education 

1.0 

0.5 

0.0­

-0.5
 

-0.1
 I I I I I 

< HS Grad HS Grad Some College 4 Yrs. College > 4 Yrs. 

College 

Years of Education 
 

40 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

FIGURE 5D. Relative Effect of Years of Education on Arts 

Creation over Different Levels of Arts Education 

.... Little Arts Education -- ,- Average Arts Education .~- Extensive Arts Education 

1.0 

0.5 

0.0 

-0.5 

-0.1 

I I I I 

< HS Grad HS Grad Some College 4 Yrs. College > 4 Yrs. 

Years of Education College 

This result is observable in the relative position of the lines in Figures 5A, 

B, and C, where the solid black line, representing standardized arts participation rates for people with extensive arts education, is consistently above the 

other two lines, which represent participation levels for individuals of average 

and little arts education. The general rising slope of these three lines demonstrates the positive effects of overall education for people of all levels of arts 

education. 

On the other hand, education had less of an impact on participating in active listening to the arts and on creating arts (Figures 5B and D), even a negative one in the case of arts creation. For these activities, although specific education in the arts had the effect of increasing participation, this effect actually 

decreased with an increase in overall education. This is demonstrated by the 

fact that the three lines are more spread out at "<HS Grad" than they are at 

">4 Yrs. College." This reduction of the spread suggests (1) a subsumed effect 

of education on arts creating and listening, one that diminishes with competing educational experiences (arts education) rather than being enhanced by 

those experiences, and (2) that the effect of arts education is sustained even 

with a constraining influence of increased overall education (the relative placement of the three lines remains the same). This may reflect generally the more 

arts-specific nature of arts education as compared to general education and, 

more specifically, the purpose and practice of creating art, which is a probable 

element of arts instruction. 
Comparative Effects of Arts I 41 

Contingent Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation by 

Level of Education 

The effects here also varied by type of arts participation. Although patterns 

of arts creation and listening were each driven differently by arts education according to level of overall education, rates of arts attendance and video-mediaaccessed arts participation were affected in ways similar to each other. 

Arts education had a significantly more powerful effect on arts attendance 

when combined with increasing years of education; that is, although it is true 

that as people gained more arts education they attended more arts performances, this relationship was even stronger for people with greater overall educational attainment (Figure 6A). Arts education had an impact on arts attendance, even for individuals without a high school education; but the effect 

was reinforced by the socialization education provided. This also held true for 

watching the arts on television (broadcast or VCR) (Figure 6B). These findings suggest that for these two types of arts participation, arts education makes 

more of a difference for individuals who have experienced the broader socialization that greater overall education seems to provide. 

People with at least a college degree and a great deal of arts education created significantly less art than individuals who had dropped out of high school 

but who had also gained a great deal of arts education (Figure 6C). This is evident in the reversal of the relative position of the two outer lines from the order 

at "None" to the one at "A Great Deal." A reasonable supposition for this finding is that college graduates are involved in other activities that preclude time 

spent in creative pursuits, whereas high school dropouts are doing one of the 

things that they were trained to do via arts education, namely create. This suggests that the influence of an education specifically in the arts on arts creation is 

sustained independently of overall education and is thus more conducive to promoting adult creative behaviors than general (non-arts) education. 

This contingent effect of arts education was even more dramatic when 

considering its effect on listening to the arts via radio broadcast or audio 

recording (Figure 6D). Listening habits were most different by level of education for individuals without any arts education, with people who have more 

education listening to more art forms than those with less education. (The 

greatest distance between the three lines is for individuals who have had no 

arts education.) This differential by education level was reduced as a person’s 

level of arts education increased, to the point that people who had a great deal 

of arts education exhibited the same degree of arts listening whether they were 

high school dropouts or college graduates. In other words, arts education 

equalized the stark differences in arts listening habits that were based on how 

much education a person received. 
42 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

FIGURE 6A.	 Relative Effect of Arts Education on Arts 

Attendance over Different Levels of Education 

.... HS Dropout -- -- HS Grad/Some College College Grad/Adv Degree 

1.0 

0.5 

0.0 

-0.5 

-0.1 

None Very Little Average More Than A Great Deal 

Amount Average 

Amount of Arts Education 

FIGURE 6B. Relative Effect of Arts Education on Video-Media 

Arts Participation over Different Levels of 

Education 

.... HS Dropout -- -, HS Grad/Some College College Grad/Adv Degree 

~ 1.0 

~_.~ 0.5 ~ 0.0 

< ,~ 

I I I 

None Very Little Average More Than A Great Deal 

Amount Average 

Amount of Arts Education 
 

Comparative Effects of Arts I 43 

FIGURE 6C. Relative Effect of Arts Education on Arts Creation 

over Different Levels of Education 

.... HS Dropout - -- HS Grad/Some College ~ College Grad/Adv Degree ] 

1.0 

0.5 

o.o­

-0.5 

-0.1 

None Very Little Average 

Amount 

More Than 

Average 

A Great Deal 

Amount of Arts Education 

FIGURE 6D. Relative Effect of Arts Education on Audio-Media 

Arts Participation over Different Levels of 

Education 

.... HS Dropout - -- HS Grad/Some College College Grad/Adv Degree 

I 

None Ve~ Little Average More Than A Great Deal 

Amount Average 

Amount of Arts Education 
44 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Summary 

In this section, the role of arts education and the larger socialization context of education and their effect on adults’ participation in the arts was compared. Having demonstrated the effects of gender and ethnic differences and 

socioeconomic status on individuals’ access both to general education and specific education in the arts, this analysis explored whether these two factors 

have an independent impact, a contingent relationship, or a subsumed effect 

on arts participation, either by consumption or production. 

First, findings revealed that there is a strong relationship between general 

education and arts education; that is, education in the arts increases substantially with additional education, and vice versa. Additionally, there are differences in school- and community-based arts education occurring between and 

around the point of high school graduation, with high school dropouts receiving much less school-based arts education than high school graduates. 

It was then determined that both types of education have an independent 

positive effect on adults’ arts participation, for every outcome except performance. However, although general education increases arts consumption 

(even after taking arts education into account), the positive and unique impact of arts education was in every case the stronger of the two. Thus it is clear 

that specific arts education, over and above that of educational experiences, 

has the greater effect. 

Finally, the contingent impact of arts education relative to the amount of 

education one receives was explored. Varying relationships were found. For 

arts attendance and for watching the arts on television/video, there exists a 

contingent relationship between the two types of education, so that each increases the impact of the other over what it would be separately. The effects of 

arts education on arts creation diminish as the competing type of education 

increases (though all effects continue to be positive). For arts creation, education in the arts thereby subsumes the effects of education, so that arts education is most important for those individuals who have the least amount of 

overall education from which to draw. Lastly, the role arts education plays to 

expand listening habits among adults helps to equalize overall differences, 

bringing closer together those individuals who have very different levels of educational experience. 
Summary and Conclusions 

Introduction 

I

n the introduction to this monograph it was suggested that arts education is 

one of the mechanisms through which a uniquely diverse American culture 

is defined and developed. This is because an education in the arts should provide the members of each subsequent generation with arts exposure, skill, and 

understanding, thereby encouraging and enabling full participation in the 

American artistic culture. To assess this supposition, it was necessary to gain a 

more complete understanding of how exposure to and education in the arts 

influenced people’s participation in arts activities in the larger context of their 

learning and growing. Also toward this end, it was vital to understand the arts 

education process as part of a larger context, both in terms of its effect on individuals and its role in the fabric of a dynamic American culture. This is of 

particular importance at a time of increased public attention to national arts 

policy and arts achievement, and when the majority of Americans hold a private view that arts education is something they would like their children to 

have.44 

The history of arts participation in the United States is inexorably linked 

to changes in the social hierarchy, to the emergence of arts-related technology, 

to the desire to establish an American culture, and to the societal value 

awarded to different arts traditions. In the contemporary United States, renewed importance is awarded to a multitraditional understanding of the arts 

and an interest in equality of opportunity and access to social institutions and 

traditions. These points are part of the basis of these analyses and are also consonant with the view of school as a social institution of egalitarian purpose. 

Thus it was necessary to consider the social distribution of arts education and 

arts participation and, in particular, the context and experiences of different 

racial/ethnic groups. 

Analytical Process 

In this report, arts participation was not viewed by individual art form,
 

but globally, across art forms. Part 1 detailed the construction of indices of arts
 

participation organized around the distinction between arts production
 

45 
46 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

(creation and performance) and arts consumption (attendance, watching the 

arts on television, listening to the arts via radio broadcast or audio recording, 

reading print literature or listening to recordings thereof). This configuration 

of arts participation is comparable to that used in earlier analyses of the 1982 

and 1985 SPPAs and reflects the organization of the 1992 survey. 

The measures of arts education were defined as an overall index (arts education density) and two other indices that corresponded to the two arts education agencies differentiated by the SPPA92, namely school-based and community-based arts education. Demographic background included gender and 

race/ethnicity, specifically Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, and 

whites.45 A standardized measure of socioeconomic status was created that included family income, parents’ level of education, and the number of highstatus possessions owned. Amount of leisure activity was represented by the 

sum of the numbers of hours spent watching television and the number of 

leisure activities pursued. This aggregation of data was designed in order to 

create variables that were more stable and reliable. 

In this report, arts participation was viewed as (1) an outcome of arts education that is influenced by personal background and life experience, with 

these concepts being defined, in part, by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status; and (2) as something that competes with leisure activities for an 

individual’s resources, that is, time and money. While it is valuable to describe 

rates of arts participation,46 it was the purpose of this report to define broad 

t~atterns of arts participation and to investigate the effects of arts education on 

these patterns. Particular attention was awarded to the possibility that arts education modified arts participation patterns that are based on those elements 

of personal background that are beyond one’s control, such as race, ethnicity, 

and gender. In short, the question was asked: Did arts education facilitate arts 

participation for a broader cross section of Americans? 

In Part 2 determination was made of the effects of arts education on arts 

participation and the comparative effects of arts education obtained in school 

vs. the community. Particular attention was awarded to the sociodemographic 

background of the individuals engaged by each of these arts education agencies. This was done in recognition of the notion of schools as social institutions inherently valued for providing equality of opportunity and therefore 

being of somewhat different purpose than educational institutions established 

and operating in the private sector. 

An assessment of the comparative effects of arts education and of overall 

education on arts participation was presented in Part 3. This allowed us to differentiate between the larger socializing role of educational attainment and 

that of arts-specific education in predicting arts participation. This is important to the development of arts education policy that (1) does more than call 
Summary and Conclusions I 47 

for increasing the degree of Americans’ educational attainment as a means of 

increasing arts participation and (2) reflects the view advanced in contemporary arts education writings that an arts education is intrinsically valuable. 

In summary, the results of these analyses were intended to shed some light 

on: 

the strength of arts education as a predictor of arts participation. 

the ability of arts education to mediate sociodemographic differences 

(race, ethnicity, gender, and SES) in arts participation. 

the relative effects on arts participation of arts education received in the 

schools and of that obtained from community-based arts education 

providers. 

the comparative effects of arts education and overall educational attainment on arts participation. 

Summary of Results 

In this section, the results of these analyses are organized around two questions: How does arts education influence arts participation? How do arts education and education work interdependently to affect arts participation? For 

each question, related results are discussed for each of the six types of arts participation considered, specifically attendance, creation, performance, and 

media-accessed arts participation (audio, video, and print media). The reader 

should keep in mind that the discussion of the effect of any factor on another 

refers to its net effect; that is, its effect after taking into account the influence 

of the other factors included the particular analysis, for example, gender, 

race/ethnicity, SES, or amount of leisure activity.47 

How Does Arts Education Influence Arts Participation? 

The answer here is simple: the richer one’s arts education, the greater one’s
 

participation in the arts. Increased arts education means increased adult arts
 

participation of all types, except arts performance. Arts education is the
 

strongest predictor of arts creation and of all four types of arts consumption,
 

stronger even than socioeconomic status and personal background. Although
 

higher SES does translate into higher rates of arts consumption and creation,
 

in most cases at least half of the differences in arts consumption and creation
 

related to SES are due to differences in arts education. Americans watch the
 

arts on television (broadcast or VCR) at rates that are comparable for all
 

racial/ethnic groups, for men and women, and for all degrees of socioeconomic status. The only differentiating attribute here is one’s degree of arts ed­
48 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

ucation, with increased arts education yielding increased accessing of the arts 

via video media. However, many of the influences on this type of arts participation are not represented by the factors included in the analyses. 

School-Based and Community-Based Arts Education 

Socioeconomic status is the strongest determinant of obtaining an arts education. However, this is slightly less the case for arts education provided in 

schools than it is for arts education offered in the community outside of 

school. Indeed, members of all racial/ethnic groups attained comparable levels of school-based arts education, whereas the reverse was true for community-based arts education, with nonwhites accruing significantly less education in the arts than whites. This suggests that school-based arts education is 

more accessible to a broader cross section of Americans than is arts education 

offered in the private sector. The fact that this racial/ethnic stratification of 

arts education remained after adjusting for socioeconomic status indicates that 

it is not a matter of social or economic affluence but that schools, truly, are 

the more egalitarian source of arts education in the United States. 

The relative effects on arts participation of the arts education obtained via 

these two arts education agencies also differed by type of arts participation.48 

People who gain a community-based arts education exhibit higher rates of arts 

attendance and video- and print-media arts involvement, relative to individuals whose arts lessons were taken in school. School-based arts instruction is the 

stronger determinant of arts creation. Individuals who gain their arts education through either arts education agency demonstrate comparable degrees of 

accessing the arts via audio media. Adults who take arts lessons in schools have 

lower rates of arts performance, whereas taking lessons outside of school does 

not result in any change in the likelihood of performing arts as adults, despite 

the performance/production orientation of much of the arts instruction in either context. 

How Do Arts Education and Education Work Interdependently? 

The answer to this question varies by the type of arts participation and 

particularly by levels of arts education and overall education.49 After determining that there was a positive relationship between overall educational attainment and arts education, findings confirmed that their effects on arts participation were interdependent, meaning that the effects of each were different 

depending on the level of the other. This was the case for all types of arts participation except print-media involvement and hinders simple conclusions about 

the effects of either arts education and education in comparison to the other.50 
Summary and Conclusions I 49 

For this reason, in this section the discussion is confined to the interdependent effects of arts education and education. 

Education makes more of a difference in arts consumption (except for 

print-media involvement) for people with more extensive arts education than 

it does for those with little or no arts education background. In these cases, 

the socializing effect of education is augmented by arts-specific education. 

However, people with more arts education create more art, though this is less 

the case for people with higher levels of overall education. This indicates that 

arts creation is more easily fostered within an arts-specific education, above 

and beyond the inhibiting effect of increased (non-arts) education. 

The effect of arts education on arts participation across levels of overall education also varies by type of arts participation. Rates of arts attendance and 

watching the arts on television (broadcast or VCR) are higher for people who 

have more arts education, but this is even greater for individuals at a higher 

level of overall education. Apparently, arts education makes more of an impact 

on these two types of arts participation when the broader socialization provided by overall education is in place than it does by itself. This is not the case 

regarding arts creation: arts education is more important to arts creation for 

people with less overall education, to the degree that a high school dropout 

with a great deal of arts education creates far more art as an adult than does a 

person of similar arts education background who went to college. The number of art forms people listen to via radio broadcasts or audio recordings varies 

greatly based on their arts/educational background; specifically, individuals 

with more education have broader listening habits than those with less. However, this difference is dramatically balanced by increased arts education, to 

the degree that college graduates and high school dropouts with extensive arts 

education demonstrate comparable listening habits. 

Closing 

Whether a person participates in the arts, and the form and extent of one’s 

participation, depends on a variety of factors. Attempts at explaining these 

phenomena inevitably yield both information and the need for continuing inquiry. Yet it is reasonable to claim that, overall, arts education contributes to 

increased arts participation. The broader socialization provided by general education enhances the influence of an arts education, in most cases. However, 

specific elements of personal background, such as race/ethnicity, gender, and 

socioeconomic status, appear to affect uahich Americans gain these types of instruction. Having the financial and social resources to support and sustain an 

arts education is a major influence on who accesses the arts education available in the United States. These influences--some of which are beyond an in­
50 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

dividual’s power to alter--particularly restrict access to arts instruction within 

the private, community-based arts education sector. However, it appears that 

public schools provide arts education to a broader cross section of Americans. 

The complexity of the picture of arts participation painted here reflects 

the elaborate nature of the life experiences that prepare and influence one’s 

participation in the arts. The SPPA92 offers an opportunity to determine 

broad patterns in Americans’ participation in a variety of arts as they relate to 

patterns of arts/education and sociodemographics. 

Assuming this to be valuable, there are certain limitations that need to be 

kept in mind in interpreting the results of this report. First, the art forms represented in the survey are not necessarily those in which many Americans participate. Second, participating in a particular art form implies a depth of experience that may not necessarily be represented in all responses to individual 

survey questions. For instance, a respondent may consider "remote control 

surfing" across television channels and spending a moment or two watching a 

televised symphony concert as "watching a classical music performance." The 

commitment of time and attention captured in this instance compromises the 

definition of "participation" in the arts via video media. An equally important 

consideration is whether this type of response may be systematically related to 

a particular subgroup of respondents. However, because one can reasonably 

assume that this weakness in the validity of the responses is random across the 

survey sample, there is no reason to question any of the findings related to the 

sociodemographics of survey respondents. Third, some of the terminology 

used in the survey to define arts education may be vague. For example, the 

phrase "lessons or classes in music--either voice training or playing an instrument"--may inadvertently underestimate school-based experiences in 

classroom music taught by music specialists. This is particularly important for 

future surveys because since 1962 visual art and general music classes have become the main vehicles for providing music and visual art education in 

schools (Leonhard, 1991). 

Conclusions 

Within the limitations of this report, the following conclusions are offered 

about the impact of arts education on arts participation in the United States: 

Arts education is the strongest predictor of all types of arts participation, 

except arts performance. The more arts education a person has, the more 

extensive one’s participation in the arts. Arts education also weakens the 
Summary and Conclusions I 51 

restrictive relationship between socioeconomic status and arts participation, thereby facilitating participation in the arts to a broader cross section 

of Americans. 

o Arts education has at least twice the power of years of education in predicting arts participation (again with the exception of arts performance). 

Arts participation is not only a matter of more education, but is an issue 

of having an arts focus to that education. However, for all relevant types 

of arts participation, the independent effects of one type of education depends on the amount of the other and varies by type of arts participation. 

Specifically: 

Overall education has a stronger effect on arts attendance and audioand video-media-accessed arts participation for persons who also have 

extensive arts education. The reverse is the case for arts creation. 

Although arts education increases arts attendance and watching the 

arts via video media, this is significantly more true for people with 

higher overall education. Arts education promotes arts creation despite 

the strong detrimental effect of increased overall educational attainment. Breadth of listening to the arts via audio media is most different 

by education level for individuals with no arts education; however, arts 

education actually equali;aes differences in listening habits among individuals of dissimilar educational backgrounds. 

Gaining an arts education in the United States is a matter of socioeconomic status and gender, with citizens of higher socioeconomic status and 

women securing higher levels of arts education than their respective counterparts. While men are less educated in the arts than women, their arts 

participation is comparable, except in the cases of arts creation and printmedia involvement. 

4.	 School-based arts education is not related to race or ethnicity, but community-based arts education is differentiated by these characteristics. Also, 

arts education offered through schools is slightly less related to socioeconomic status than that offered in the private sector. The arts education 

gained from these agencies positively influences arts participation, though 

differently by type of arts participation. The largest difference between 

community- and school-based arts education is with video-media-accessed arts participation, where the former is three times more powerful a 

predictor than the latter. 

5. Factors that influence arts performance and participating in the arts via video 

media are largely unexplained by the SPPA92. Even arts education, which 
52 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

has been criticized for possible overemphasis on performance at the expense 

of knowing something about an art, does not predict arts performance. 

6.	 Increased socioeconomic status directly increases arts participation and 

also does so indirectly by facilitating access to arts education. Conversely, 

this has the opposite impact on arts participation for individuals of decreased socioeconomic status. 

7.	 Being more active with leisurely pursuits reduces arts participation of all 

types except for arts performance and watching the arts via video media, 

to which leisure activity is not consistently related. 

8.	 There are differences in overall arts education by personal background, 

with men, African Americans, and Asians generally gaining less arts education than their respective counterparts. These differences are particularly 

evident when considering arts education that is based in the private sector. 

The content and organization of the SPPA92 and the results of this report 

reflect the complex nature of the life experience that prepares and influences 

one’s arts participation. Determining who in the United States participates in 

the arts based on sociodemographic and educational background is not a simple task and reflects the complexity of the life experiences that socialize, prepare, introduce, reward, sustain, and extend arts participation. 

Further Research 

The following suggestions are offered for further research in order to investigate more thoroughly the questions addressed by this report: 

1. Early childhood arts experiences. SPPA92 does not contain questions 

pertaining to early socialization experiences regarding arts education and participation, particularly those provided by parents. Being able to describe and 

adjust for this is essential in estimating the effects of arts education on arts 

participation. Not having this information included in the SPPA92 is a 

change and a loss from earlier SPPAs. 

2. Description of the arts education experience. It is commendable that 

the SPPA92 distinguishes between arts education received in the school and 

in the community. This certainly represents an improvement over earlier surveys. What is needed now are questions that determine certain basic qualities 

of those arts education experiences, for example, the number of classes in a 

particular art form, the duration of the instruction, school status (public, independent, parochial), or the format of the instruction (private or group). 
Summary and Conclusions I 53 

3. Contextual understanding of the status of arts education at all levels 

of formal schooling. Although information about arts education involvement 

is valuable, it is insufficient to determine the status of arts education in the 

United States because nothing is known about the opportunities Americans 

have in order to learn in the arts. With information about the context of arts 

education, one’s understanding of arts education would be improved by being 

able to view it as relative to the opportunity to learn. 

Currently this is impossible because those surveys sponsored by the Department of Education, although they consider the context of student learning, increasingly slight the arts; and because the NEA’s Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts, although focused on arts education and participation, 

do not sufficiently consider elements of educational context that affect the opportunity to learn in the arts, that is, school district investments such as instructional time, faculty/staff, physical space, course requirements, equipment 

and supplies. It is promising that this issue is touched upon by the arts education research agenda developed by the NEA and the Department of Education (Associations, 1994). At a time when national standards in the arts are 

being promoted, it is essential to be able to consider the direct and indirect effects on arts achievement and participation of the resources available for systematic arts education, as well as the qualities of the arts education itself. 
 

 

 

 

Appendix A 

1992 Survey of Public Participation 

in the Arts 

INTRODUCTION - Now I have some questions about your leisure activities. The Bureau of the
 

Census is collecting this information for the National Endowment for the Arts. The survey is


authorized by Title 20, United States Code, section 954 and Title 13, United States Code, section
 

8. Your participation in this interview is voluntary and there are no penalties for not answering
 

some or all of the questions. (If PERSONAL INTERVIEW, hand respondent the Privacy Act Statement,
 

SPPA- 13.)
 

1. The following questions are about YOUR activities during the LAST 12 months-­ 5. (With the exception of elementary or high school performances,) Did you go to a live
 between 1, 19 __, and performance of a non-musical stage play
 .... 19__. during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

With the exception of elementary or high Yes - About how many times did you do
 school performances, did YOU go to a live this during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

jazz performance during the LAST 12
 

MONTHS? ~ Number of times 

~ 0[~No 6. (With the exception of elementary or high
 Yes - About how many times did you do school performances,) Did you go to a live
 this during the LAST 12 MONTHS?	 ballet performance during the LAST 12


MONTHS?
 

~ Number of times ~ 0~]No 

Yes - About how many times did you do 

2. (With the exception of elementary or high this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? school performances,) Did yo, go to a live


classical music performance such as


symphony, chamber, or choral music
 ~ Number of times during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

7. (With the exception of elementary or high ~ 0[]No school performances,) Did you go to s llve 

Yes - About how many times did you do dance performance other then ballet, such this d,ring the LAST 12 MONTHS?	 as modern, folk, or tap during the LAST 12
 

MONTHS?
 

~	 ~ 0[~No
 Number of times
 Yes - About how many times did yeu do
 

3. (With the exception of elementary or high tbis during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

school performances,) Did you go to a live
 

opera during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 ~ Number of times
 

~ 0[]No
 8. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,} Did you
 Yes - About how many times did you do
 visit an ART museum or gallery?
 this during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
0~ o~]No
 

~
 Yes - About howmany times didyeu do
 

Number of times	 this during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

4. (With exception of elementary or high
 sCho~l pe~ma~¢e~,) Did y~u ~ t~ ~ live
 ~ 	 Number of times
 

m~siCal st~e pl~y ~t ~n ~etett~ dutin~
 

the L~ST 12
 9. (Durin~ t~e ~$T I~ MONTR~,) Did
 

visit ~ ~T ~it ~r festlvM, ~t ~ C~ f~i~
 

~ 0~No	 ~ festiv~l~
 

Yes - ~ut h~w ma~y times di~ y~ d~
 ~ 0~No
 

thi~ duti~9 ~he ~T 1~ MONTRS~ Yes - ~b~ut h~w many times ~i~ y~u
 

this duti~ the ~sr 12 MONTHS~


~
 Number of times
 

[. ~ ~ ~ Number of times
 

54 
1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts I 55 

10.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you


visit an historic park or monument, or


tour buildings, or neighborhoods for their


historic or design value?
 

~ o~No 

Yes - About how many times did you do this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

[~ Number of times 

11.	 With the exception of books required for


work or school, did you read any books


during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

Yes - About how many books did you 

read during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ Number of books 

12.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you


read any -


Read answer categories 

a. Plays? [~ ,[]No 2[~Yes 

b. Poetry? [~ ~[~No 2[]Yes 

c. Novels or short stories? [-~ ~[~No ~[]Yes 

13.	 (During the ~ST 12 MONTHS,) Did you


listen to ­

a, A reading of poetw,
 either live or recorded? ~ ~N0 ~Y~s
 

b. A reading of novels or
 

books either live or
 recorded? ~ ~No 2~Yes 

14a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 watch a jazz performance on television or


a video (VCR) tape?
 

,[~No - Skip to item 14c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

2[~TV 

3[VCR 

,~ [] Both 

b. About how many times did you do this in

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to jazz on radio? 

~ ~[~No
 

2[QYes
 

d. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to jazz records, tapes, or compact

discs? 

2[Yes 

15a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you watch a classical music performance on

television or a video (VCR) tape? 

~[No - Skip to item 15c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

~FqTv 

3~]VCR 

,~ [] Both 

b. About how many times did you do this (in 

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to classical music on radio? 

~[]No
 

2[Yes
 

d.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you listen to classical music records, tapes or

compact discs? 

~[]No
 

2r~Yes
 

16a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 watch an opera on television or a video
 

(VCR) tape?
 

llaNo -- Skip to Item 16c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

~[]TV


3r’qVCR
 

4[]Both
 

b. About how many times did you do this (in 

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ ~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you 

listen to opera music on radio? 

~[]No
 

21-]Yes
 

d.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you listen to opera music records, tapes, or

compact discs? 

,rnNo 

2r~Yes 

17a.With the exception of movies, did you watch a musical stage play or an operetta

on television or a video (VCR) tape during

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

l~N0 - Skip to item 17c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

2[~TV 

~I~VCR 

,=[~]Both 

b. About how many times did you do this (in 

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ ~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you 

listen to a musical stage play or an operetta

on radio? 

2[]Yes 

d.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to a musical stage play or an operetta

on records, tapes, or compact discs? 

~[Yes 
56 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

18a.With the exception of movies, situation comedies, or TV series, did you watch a 

non-musical stage play on television or a video

(VCR) tape during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~[~No - Skip to item 18c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

2[]TV 

3r-]VOR 

4[]Both 

b.About how many times did you do this (in the

LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

[~ Number of times 

22a.The following questions are about your participation in other leisure activities. 

Approximately how many hours of television 

do you watch on an average day? 

~ [~ Number of hours 

b.During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did YOU go 

out to the movies? 

~ ’[]No 

~[]Yes 

C.	 With the exception of youth sports, did you

go to any amateur or profeseiona sports c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you listen 

to a radio performance of a non-musical stage events during the LAST 12 MONTHS? play? 

~ ~[]No 

19a.With the exception of music videos, did you watch on television or a video (VCR) tape

dance such as ballet, modern, folk, or tap 

during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ [] NO - Skip to item 20a 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

~[]TV
 

3J-~ VCR
 

4 [] Both
 

b. About how many times did you do this (in

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ Number of times 

20a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you watch a program about artists, art works, or art

museums on television or a video (VCR) tape? 

;[]No - Skip to item 21a 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

2~JTV 

3r~VCR 

4 [] Both 

b. About how many times did you do this (in

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

[~ Number of times 

21a. l’m going to read a llst of events that some


people like to attend. If you could go to any of


these events as often as you wanted, which


ones would you go to MORE OFTEN than you
 

do now? I’ll read the list. Go to -

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~ ~[~Jazz music performances 

2(--IClassical music performances 

3 [] Operas 

4[]Musical plays or operettas 

5 [] Non-musical plays 

6 [] Ballet performances 

7[~Dance performances other than ballet 

8[]Art museums or galleries 

9[]None of these - Skip to item 22a 

If only one is chosen, skip to item 22a.
 

If more than one is chosen, ask ­

b. Which of these would you like to do most? 

~ ~Category number 

oo~lNo one thing most 

2[]Yes 

d. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you go to

an amusement or theme park, a carnival, or

a similar place of entertainment? 

2[]Yes 

e. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, d d you jog, 

lift w.eights, walk, or participate in any other

exercme program? 

2[]Yes 

During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you 

participate in any sports activity, such as

softball, basketball, golf, bowling, skiing, or

tennis? 

, [~] No 

2[~]Yes 

g. Did you participate in any outdoor act vities, 

such as camping, hiking, or canoeing during

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ 1[]No
 

2[]Yes
 

h. Did you do volunteer or charity work during 

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ I[~] NO
 

2[]Yes
 

Did you make repairs or improvements on

your own home during the LAST 12 

MONTHS? 

j. Did you work with indoor plants or do any 

gardening for pleasure during the LAST 12

MONTHS? 

~ ~[]No 

2[]Yes 

23a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you work with pottery ceramics, jewelry, or do any 

eatherwork or metalwork? 

;i-]No - Skip to item 24a 

2[]Yes 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~[]Yes 

Page 3 
1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts I 57 

24a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you do 

any weaving, crocheting, quilting,

needlepoint, or sewing? 

~	 ~[~]No - Skip to item 25a 

2~]Yes 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~--~ ~No 

2[~]Yes 

25a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 make photographs, movies, or video tapes
 as an artistic activity?
 

~	 ~[]No - Skip to item 26a 

2~]Yes 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~ ,[~No 

2~]Yes 

26a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you do
 

any painting, drawing, sculpture, or
 printmaking activities?
 

~	 ~[]No - Skip to item 27a
 2,r~ yes
 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~ ~C~No
 

2[~Yes
 

27a.With the exception of work or school, did you do any creative writing such as stories, poems, or plays during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~	 ~ [] NO - Skip to item 28a 2FqYes 

b. Were any of your writings published? 

~ ,E~No
 

2[~Yes
 

28a.Did you write or compose any music during
 

the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

~ [] NO - Skip to item 29a
 

2r~Yes
 

b.	 Was your musical composition played in a public performance or rehearsed for a public 

performance? 

~ ,[-]No
 

2E~Yes
 

29a.Do you own any original pieces of art, such
 as paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, or
 lithographs?
 

~	 ~No - Skip to item 30a
 

21-qYes
 

b. Did you purchase or acquire any of these

pieces during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ ,[~No
 

2[]Yes
 

30a. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you


perform or rehearse any jazz music?
 

~	 ~]No - Skip to ~tem 31a
 

2[]Yes
 

30b,Did you play any jazz in a public performance
 or rehearse for a public performance?
 

31a.During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you play


any classical music?
 

~	 ~[]No - Skip to item 32a 

2C]Yes 

b. Did you play classical music in a public

performance or rehearse for a public 

performance? 

2[~Yes 

32a.During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you sing any music from an opera? 

~ [] No - Skip to item 33a 2[qYes 

b. Did you sing in a public opera performance 

or rehearse for a public performance? 

33a. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you sing


music from a musical play or operetta?
 

~ [] No - Skip to item 33c 

2~Yes 

b. Did you sing in a public performance of a

musical play or operetta or rehearse for a 

public performance? 

~INo 

2[~Yes 

c. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you sing in 

a public performance with a chorale, choir, or glee club or other type of vocal group, or 

rehearse for a public performance? 

34.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you act in a

public performance of a non-musical play or

rehearse for a public performance? 

35a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you dance any ballet? 

t [] NO - Skip to item 36a 

2[~Yes 

b. Did you dance ballet in a public performance 

or rehearse for a public performance? 

~ ,t~No 

2r-lYes 

36a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you do any 

dancing other than ballet such as modern, folk,

or tap? 

~[~No - Skip to item 37a 

~Yes 

b. Did you dance modern, folk, or tap in a

public performance? 

~ ,r-]No
 

2[~Yes
 
58 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

37a.l’m going to read a list of some types of
 

music. As I read the list, tell me which of
 these types of music you like to listen to? 

Mark (X) all that apply 

09~ l[~Classical/Chamber music 

~ 2~]Opera 

3 [] Operetta/Broadway musicals/Show tunes 

4 [] Jazz 

5~Reggae {R~g gay’) 

6[]Rap music 

~i:- B[]Blues/Rhythm and blues
 

9 [~ Latin/Spanish/Sal sa
 

0~ ~0{~ Big band
 

H [] Parade/Marching band
 

~2 [] Country-western
 

0~ 13[~ Bluegrass
 

 ̄

:i:" 14[]Rock
 

16[~The music of a particular Ethnic/
 

National tradition
 

~
 z~]Contemporary folk music
 

~7[~Mood/Easy listening
 

~e[~New age music
 

~	 ~s~-IChoral/Glee club

20 [] Hymns/Gospe 

2~[]All 

221-qNone/Don’t like to listen to music - Skip to item 38a 

b. If only one category is marked in 37a, enter code in

37b without asking, Which of these do you like 

best? 

~ [~] Category number 

00[’~ No one type best 

38a. Have you EVER taken lessons or classes in
 

music - either voice training or playing an


instrument?
 

~	 ~ [] NO - Skip to item 39a
 

2[~Yes
 

b. Did you take these lessons when you were - Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if respondent is under 25 years old,)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 :[]Less than 12 years old
 

2~]12-17 years old
 

3[~18-24 years old
 

~[]25 or older 

Refer to item 38b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked n tern 38b? 

[]No - Skip to Check Item B 

[]Yes - Ask item 38c
 

38C. Were these lessons or classes offered by the
 

elementary or high school you were


attending or did you take these lessons
 

elsewhere?
 

~	 ~ [] Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere 

a [] Both 

Refer to item 38b 

If box 4 is marked in item 38b, ASK item 38d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 38b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? -­

[] No - Skip to item 39a 

[]Yes - Ask item 38d 

38d.Did you take eny of these lessons or 

classes in the past year? 

2J-]Yes 

39a.(Have you EVER taken lessons or 

classes) in visual arts such as sculpture, 

painting, print making, photography, or 

film making? 

~	 ~[]No - Skip to Item 40a
 

2[]Yes
 

b. Did you take these lessons when you ware -

Read categories, (Do not read category 4 if respondent is under 25 years old.) 

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~ ~[]Less than 12 years old 

 ̄ :!~ ~[]12-17 years old
 

~[] 18-24 years old
 

~[]25 or older
 

Refer to item 39b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 39b? 

~]No - Skip to Check Item D 

[~] Yes - Ask item 39c 

39c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the 

elementary or high school you were

attending or did you take these lessons 

elsewhere? 

~	 ~[]Elementary/high school
 

~ [] Elsewhere
 

3 [] Both
 

Refer to item 39b 

If box 4 is marked in item 39b, ASK item 39d, 

If not-Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 39b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? -­

~No - Skip to item 40a 

[]Yes - Ask item 39d 

39d. Did you take any of these lessons or classes


in the past year?
 

~ ~No
 

2[~Yes
 

40a.(Have you EVER taken lessons or classes) in
 

acting or theater?
 

~	 ~ r-]No - Skip to item 41a
 

21--rYes
 

b. Did you take these lessons when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply, 

~	 ~ [] Less than 12 years old 

21~12-17 years old 

3[] 18-24 years old 

~[~25 or older 

Refer to item 40b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 40b? 

E~No - Skip to Check Item F 

/’-IYes - Ask item 40c 

40c. Were these lessons or classes offered by the
 

elementary or high school you were
 attending or did you take these lessons 

elsewhere? 

~	 ~[]Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere 

3E) Both 
1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts I 59 

Refer to item 40b 

If box 4 is marked in item 40b, ASK item 40d, 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 40b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[’qNo - Sk~ to item 41a 

[]Yes - Ask item 40d 

40d. Did you take any of these lessons or classes 

in the past year? 

41a.{Have you EVER taken lessons or classes) in 

ballet? 

~	 ~ [] No - Skip to item 42a 

2[]Yes 

b.Did you take these lessons when you were - Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~l~Less than 12 years old 

2[]12-17 years old 

3~118-24 years old 

41~25 or older 

Refer to item 41b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 41b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item H 

[]Yes - Ask item 41c 

41c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the
 elementary or high school you were


attending or did you take these lessons
 

elsewhere? 

~	 ~ []Elementary/high school 

21~ Elsewhere 

3 [] Both 

Refer to item 41b 

If box 4 is marked in item 41b, ASK item 41d. 

If not- Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 41b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[qNo - Skip to item 42a 

[-]Yes - Ask item 41d 

41d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes 

in the past year? 

42a.(Have you EVER taken lessons or classes) in
 

dance, other than ballet such as modern, folk
 or tap? 

~ [] NO - Skip to item 43a
 

2[]Yes
 

b. Did you take these lessons when you were

Read categories. IDo not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~[~Less than 12 years old 

2~,12-17 years old
 

3[] 18-24 years old
 

4[~25 or older
 

Refer to item 42b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 42b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item J 

[]Yes - Ask item 42c 

42c. Were these lessons or classes offered by the

elementary or high school you were 

attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere? 

~	 ~[]Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere 

3[~Both 

Refer to item 42b 

If box 4 is marked in item 42b, ASK item 42d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 42b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 43a 

[]Yes - Ask item 42d 

42d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes
 

in the past year?
 

~ ,~No
 

2[]Yes
 

43a.Have you EVER taken lessons or classes in
 creative writing?
 

~ []No - Skip tO item 44a
 

2[~Yes
 

b. Did you take these lessons when you were - Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~ [] Less than 12 years old
 

21~ 12-t7 years old
 

3[~18-24 years old
 

4[~25 or older
 

~ Refer to item 43b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 43b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item L 

[]Yes - Ask item 43c 

43c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the elementary or high school you were 

attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere? 

~	 ~ []Elementary/high school
 

~ [] Elsewhere
 

3[~ Both
 

Refer to item 43b 

If box 4 is marked in item 43b. ASK item 43d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 43b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[]No - Skip to item 44a 

{~Yes - Ask item 43d 

43d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the past year? 

~ ~[~No
 

2[]Yes
 

44a.(Have you EVER taken a class) in art
 

appreciation or art history?
 

~ [~No - Skip tO item 45a
 

2[~Yes
 

b. Did you take this class when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if 

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~[Z]Less than 12 years old
 

21~12-t7 years old
 

ar-] t 8-24 years old
 

~[~25 or older 
60 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Refer to item 44b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 44b? 

[]No - Skip to Check Item N 

[~]Yes - Ask item 44c 

44c. Was this class offered by the elementary or


high school you were attending or did you
 

take this class elsewhere?
 

~	 1[]Elementary/high school
 

2 [] Elsewhere
 

3[]Both
 

Refer to item 44b 

If box 4 is marked in item 44b, ASK item 44d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 44b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 45a 

[]Yes - Ask item 44d 

44d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes
 in the past year?
 

~ I[]No 

2[]Yes 

45a.(Have you EVER taken a class) in music
 

appreciation?
 

~	 ~ [~No - Skip to item 46a 

2[]Yes 

b. Did you take thie class when you were - Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if 

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) aft that apply. 

12~ 1 [~Less than 12 years old 

~[~12-17 years old
 

3 [] 18-24 years old
 

4[]25 or older
 

Refer to item 45b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 45b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item P 

[]Yes - Ask item 45c 

Notes 

45c.Was this class offered by the elementary or
 

high school you were attending or did you


take this class elsewhere?
 

1 []Elementary/lligh school
 

2 [] Elsewhere
 

3[]Both
 

Refer to item 45b
 

If box 4 is marked in item 45b, ASK item 45d.
 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 45b AND
 the respondent is under 25 years old?
 

[] No - Skip to item 46a
 

[]Yes - Ask item 45d
 

45d.Did you take this class in the past year? 

~ ~No
 

~[]Yes 

46a.What is the highest grade (or year) of regular
 school your FATHER completed?
 

~-~-]0d"]7th grade or less 

02[]8th grade 

o3[~9th-1 lth grades 

o~(~ 12th grade
 

os[]College (did not complete)
 

c~[]Completed college (4+ years)
 

oT[~Post graduate degree (M.A., Ph.D., M.D., J.D., etc.) 

o8 [] Don’t know 

b.What is the highest grade (or year) of regular

school your MOTHER completed? 

~	 o~ [-37th grade or less 

o2[]8th grade 

o3[-]9th-1 lth grades 

o4[] 12th grade
 

os~]College (did not complete)
 

o~ [] Completed college (4+ years)
 

oT[]Post graduate degree (M.A., Ph.D., M.D., J.D., etc.) 

oe [] Don’t know 

Is this the LAST household member be to interviewed? 

[] No - Go back to the NCS- I and interview the 

next eligible NCS household member 

[]Yes - END INTERVIEW 

Page 
 

Appendix B 

Adjusting for the Effects of Leisure 

TABLE B.1. Changes Due to Adding Leisure Index to the 

Analyses 

Type of Arts 

Participation 

Changes in 

Beta Value 

Leisure 

Index 

Changes in 

R2 Values2 

Predictor1 Model I Model II Model I Model II 

Attendance SES .08*** .07*** -.05*** 

Arts .32*** .31 *** 

Education 

Audio media Male .07*** .05*** -.06*** .22*** .23*** 

SES .13*** .12*** 

Arts .42*** .41 *** 

Education 

Video media .01 

Print media Male -.08*** -.09*** -.05*** 

SES .09*** .08*** 

Performance .02 

Creation SES .03* .02 -.05*** 

Note: Model 1: Sociodemographics and Arts Education; Model I1: Sociodemographics, 

Arts Education, and Leisure.

1 Only those predictors whose beta values changed when LI was included are listed. 

2 Blank cells indicate no change in R2 values between models. 

*p < .05. **p _< .01. ***p < .001. 

61 
Appendix C 

The Effects of Education on 

Arts Participation 

I

n preparatory analyses to those of Part 3, the effects of overall educational attainment on arts participation were considered. Findings revealed that an individual’s sociodemographic characteristics are strongly related to the amount 

of education one receives, with the strongest relationship occurring between 

socioeconomic status and years of education.51 This result suggests that access 

to education among adults is very much a matter of socioeconomic status in 

the United States. Because a person’s socioeconomic status in society contributes to access to education, these differences are perpetuated.52 

Therefore it is important to determine whether socioeconomic status or 

educational attainment more strongly predicts an individual’s participation in 

the arts. Results suggest that, in general, increased amounts of education positively contribute to an individual’s arts involvement for all forms of consumption (Table C.1). However, overall education does not effectively increase one’s involvement in performance activities (Table C.2). However, note 

that although educational attainment has a positive impact on arts participation, the contributing impact of socioeconomic status is not explained away. 

There is a reasonably strong relationship between SES and participation for 

every mode of participation except performance and, interestingly, watching 

the arts on television or video tape. This last finding holds importance in that 

the impact of education explained away all of the initial relationship between 

SES and watching the arts.53 

Education has a purpose which goes beyond being simply a functional 

transition to work. One does not become educated for the sole purpose of 

gaining access to employment. Rather, it serves as a socializing force, bringing 

individuals to the larger cultural milieu and improving their access to, as well 

as increasing their participation in, art forms which help determine the cultural makeup of our society. In Part 3, this question was pursued further by 

comparing the role of arts education and the larger socialization context of education on participation in the arts as adults. 

62 
 

The Effects of Education on Arts Participation I 63 

TABLE C.1. Arts Consumption by Sociodemographic 

Background (Model I) and Years of Education After 

Taking into Account Sociodemographic Background 

(Model II) 

Attendance Audio Media Video Media Print Media 

Mode~ Model Model Model 

Predictors I II I II I II I II 

African American .02 .02 .12’** .12’** .01 .01 .003 .003 

Asian -.01 -.02 -.01 -.02 .002 -.001 -.04** -.05*** 

Hispanic -.003 .01 .02 .04** .02 .02 -.05*** -.03** 

Male -.02 -.03* .01 .01 -.02 -.02 -.13*** -.14’** 

SES .18’** ~10’** .26*** .14’** .04*** .01 .22*** .10’** 

Years of Education -- .20*** -- .29’** -- .09*** -- .28*** 

R2 .03*** .06*** .07*** .14*** .01 *** .01 *** .07*** .13’** 

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 

TABLE C.2.	 Arts Production by Sociodemographic 

Background (Model I) and Years of Education After 

Taking into Account Sociodemographic Background 

(Model II) 

Performance Creation
 

Model Model
 

Predictors I II I II
 

African American -.06*** -.06*** -.05*** -.05*** 

Asian .01 .01 .002 .00006 

Hispanic .01 .02 .01 .01 

Male -.01 -.01 -.20*** -.20*** 

SES -.003 -.01 .09*** .07*** 

Years of Education -- .01 -- .05*** 

R2	 .01 *** .01 *** .05*** .05*** 

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 
 ppendix D 

Technical Information 

Path Analysis 

path analysis is an analytic technique that uses ordinary least squares (OLS) 

regression in progressive stages to build a model of relationships as one influences the next.54 It is useful when considering analytical models in which not 

all the predictors of concern are exogenous (external to, or outside, the 

model); that is, when at least one variable in the model functions as an effect 

of some predictors and is also a cause of one or more outcomes (Cohen and 

Cohen, 1983). In these types of models, path analysis uses the endogenous 

(internal to, or inside, the model) predictors as outcomes of earlier regressions 

in the model, then estimates the effects of both exogenous and endogenous 

predictors in later regressions. The final model in the analysis is a full multiple regression estimating the effects of all predictors and confounding factors 

on the overall outcome. 

In each case, the direct effects of exogenous and endogenous predictors on 

the outcome are given by the standardized partial regression coefficients. The 

value of using standardized coefficients is that they make it possible to compare the magnitude of partial effects over different dependent measures which 

may have different units of analysis. The indirect effects of the exogenous variables on the outcome are estimated by the cross products of direct effects 

through the model. The total effect of any given predictor on the outcome 

would be the sum of the direct effect and the indirect effects. 

The purpose of this technique is to examine relationships which are influenced by intervening factors, by decomposing the total effect into direct 

and indirect components. This analytic technique is used to estimate the effects of socioeconomic status on arts participation as this access is mediated 

through differences in arts/education, and to determine how this type of educational experience influences participation as mediated by lifestyle. The investigation explores to what extent these mediating factors contribute to final 

differences between individuals who did and did not have an education in the 

arts. 

64 
Technicallnformation I 65 

Data Analysis 

The final analyses were conducted using the software package, Statistical 

Program for the Social Sciences (SPSS-x, version 4.1), on a UNIX system. Individuals for whom responses to questions were missing were excluded from 

the analyses using a pairwise deletion procedure. Results of correlation-based 

analyses used weighted samples. Parallel regression analyses on unweighted 

samples were conducted with no differences found. 
Notes
 

1.	 For information on the rates of arts participation by degree of arts education 

and of education, see Orend and Keegan (1996). Also, arts education was 

viewed from a global perspective rather than by individual art form as investigation was made into the possibility of causal relationships between types of arts 

participation and arts education. 

2.	 Due to the fact that there were so few Native Americans surveyed (N= 16), and 

given the statistical procedures employed in this report, it was necessary to exclude them from the analyses. 

In the case of listening to music or stage works via audio media, a point was 

awarded for each art form the respondent listened to via radio broadcast or 

audio recording. This reflects the content of the SPPA92 questions pertaining 

to this type of arts participation. 

4.	 For a discussion of race/ethnicity and rates of arts participation by art form, see 

the NEA Research Division reports by Love and Klipple (1996). 

5. Even though arts lessons "in-school" were not limited to those in public schools 

by the wording of the SPPA92, one can extrapolate a certain degree of nonprivate "publicness" to the SPPA92 questions that distinguish school and community arts instruction, given that approximately 80 percent of American students 

attended publicly supported schools in 1992 (U.S. Department of Education, 

1995). 

6. Although the final analytical step took into account various aspect of one’s 

leisurely lifestyle that may compete with participating in the arts for one’s time, 

the inclusion of leisure into the analyses did not increase the ability to predict 

arts participation, nor did it alter the impact of the other variables on arts participation. For these reasons, mention of leisure in this discussion is limited. See 

Appendix B for a summary table of the differences between analyses where 

leisure was included and excluded. 

7.	 This finding does not indicate that a person trained in the arts attends performances four times as much as those who do not, but rather that the relationship between arts education and arts attendance is more reliable and important 

than ethnic background, SES, or degree of leisure activity. 

8. See Reimer (1994) and J. Paul Getty Trust (1985) for discussions of the status 

of music performance in music education and of the role of visual art production in art education, respectively. 

9. In considering the comparative effects of arts education on arts participation by 

arts education agency (school-based vs. community-based), one should remember that school-based instruction is likely to be delivered to groups of students, 

while much of what goes on in community-based arts education efforts is 

within a one-on-one private setting. Consideration of this difference must be 

made when interpreting the comparative effects of each on arts participation. 

66 
Notes[ 67 

10.	 See Appendix C for a summary of results related to the effects of general education on arts participation. 

11.	 See Arts, Education, and Americans Panel (1977); NEA (1988); Consortium of 

National Arts Education Associations (1994) [Associations]; National Coalition 

for Music Education (1991); Fowler (1988); J. paul Getty Trust (1985). 

12.	 See the SPPA85 monograph by DiMaggio and Ostrower (1992) and DiMaggio 

and Ostrower (1990) for such analyses and for thoughtful consideration of the 

implications of differences in arts participation by race and ethnicity. 

13.	 See Love and Klipple (1996) for a description of race/ethnicity and arts participation based on the SPPA92. 

14.	 The interdependence and importance of these two arts education agencies to 

arts education in America is well defined. See Arts, Education and Americans 

Panel (1977), National Endowment for the Arts (1988) or Fowler (1988). 

15.	 See for example, Robinson (1993) and DiMaggio and Ostrower (1992.) 

16.	 See the Forward in Robinson (1993) for a description of the purpose of the 

SPPA, its history, data collection procedures, survey methodology, and an outline of the questionnaire. 

17.	 See Orend (1988) for analyses of data from the 1982 and 1985 SPPA regarding 

socialization and arts participation. 

18.	 For discussion of arts education and education rates and the degree of arts participation as estimated in the 1992 SPPA, see the companion publication to this 

monograph by Orend and Keegan (1996). 

19.	 See Orend (1988) for this type of analysis using data from the 1982 SPPA. 

20.	 See Appendix D for a more in-depth description of this statistical protocol and 

for other technical matters pertaining to this report’s analytical techniques. 

21.	 Time points were less than 12 years old, 12-17 years old, 18-24 years old, 25 

or older, within the year prior to the survey date. 

22. Arts Lesson Duration Scale: an indication of the duratian of arts lessons over a 

lifetime. For each art form, a point was awarded for each time period the respondent received arts lessons and then the scores for each type of arts lesson 

were summed and standardized. Arts Lesson Concentration Scale: standardized 

mean of the sum of the number of arts for which the respondent received 

lessons offered in the community and the number of arts for which the respondent received lessons offered in school. 

23.	 Even though the SPPA92 questions about arts lessons in the "school you were 

attending" did not confine "school" to public school, one can extrapolate a certain degree of nonprivate, "publicness" to the responses to those questions, 

given that approximately 80 percent of Americans attend public schools (U.S 

Department of Education, 1995). 

24. See Gates (1991) for a summary and extension of theories of music participation or Cornwell (1990) for a discussion of arts participation as a dimension of 

participation in a democracy. 

25.	 This is a reflection of the organization of the questions contained on the 1992 

questionnaire and is comparable to a similar analysis of the SPPA 1982 and 

1985. See, for example, Orend (1988). 
68 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

26.	 See Part 1 for a detailed description of the SPPA92. 

27.	 See Part 1 for a detailed description of the measures of arts education and arts 

participation used in this report. 

28.	 See the section, "Determining the Effects of Arts Education on Arts Participation," in Part 1 for a description of methodology. 

29.	 The reader is reminded that the effects of arts education on arts participation, 

as indicated by beta coefficients, are net effects; that is, after taking into account 

the other variables in the model. 

30.	 The reader is reminded that in the current monograph, arts participation is considered globally, across art forms. For a discussion of race and ethnicity and rate 

of arts participation by art form, see the companion NEA Research Division 

monograph by Love and Klipple (1996). 

31.	 Compare betas for SES found in Tables 7 with those in Table 5. 

32.	 For discussion of how social differences in access to arts education contribute 

indirectly to differences in participation in the arts as adults, see Chapter 4 of 

Bergonzi and Smith (1996). 

33.	 The focus here rests on comparing these two effects. Therefore, although a full 

simultaneous regression was run with each measure, the discussion concerns 

only the bottom two rows of results in the table. Background variables will be 

considered in this discussion only when analyses of the effects of school- and 

community-based arts education produce results that clarify or substantially, differ from those of the previous section. 

34.	 This can be attributed in part to the fact that Arts Education Density is an index 

that also includes information on arts education received as an adult after the 

age of 17. 

35.	 This discussion is based on analyses of the effects of arts education on arts participation as presented earlier in this section. With one exception, analyses using 

the variable, Leisure Index (as presented in Part 1) offered no increase in the 

power of the analytical model to predict arts participation, nor did they substantially alter the relative predictive power (betas) of the other variables. For 

these reasons, these analyses are not presented in this section, but are summarized in Appendix B. However, limited discussion of the results of these analyses is included in this section’s summary, in the Executive Summary, and in Part 

4. 

36.	 In addition to arts consumption, higher SES indicated more arts creation, even 

after adjusting for arts education. However, SES did not impact arts creation 

after including leisure in the analyses. 

37.	 See Appendix B for a summary of the mostly nonsubstantive changes due to the 

addition of leisure to the analyses. 

38.	 See Bergonzi and Smith (1996) for a more detailed description of differences in 

education based on personal background. See Chapter 3 for a description of 

similar differences in arts education. 

39.	 See Appendix C for a summary of these differences. 

40.	 To help focus the results, years of education have been condensed into logical 
Notes I 69 

categories, namely less than high school degree (2 through 11 years), high 

school graduate (12 years), some college (13 through 15 years), four years of 

college (16 years), and more than four years of college (17 through 26). Likewise for degree of arts education but by standard deviation units of the standardized Arts Education Density scale: none (-2 units), very little (-1), average 

(0), more than average (+1), and a great deal (+2). 

41.	 The reader is reminded that in the current monograph, arts participation is considered globally, across art forms. For a discussion of race/ethnicity and rates of 

arts participation by art form, see the NEA Research Division monograph by 

Love and Klipple (1996). 

42. Arts education was not significantly related to arts performance either separately 

(Table 5) or in combination with general education (Table 10). A discussion of 

the interdependent effects of arts education and education on arts performance 

is therefore moot. 

43.	 The reader is reminded that "effects" here are net effects, that is, after taking into 

account the other variables in the model. 

44.	 National activity such as the Consortium of National Arts Education Association’s submission of arts standards to the U.S. Department of Education that 

define what every young American should know and be able to do in the arts 

(Associations, 1994), and the 1997 National Assessment of Educational 

Progress (NAEP), is slated to be an assessment of the national status of students’ 

achievement in the arts. For evidence that the majority of Americans retain private goals for their children that include having them learn about the arts, see 

Americans and the Arts VI (1992). 

45.	 Given the statistical procedures needed to employ, too few Native Americans
 

were surveyed to be included in these analyses.
 

46.	 See Robinson (1993) for such observations using data from the 1992 SPPA. 

47.	 This discussion is based on analyses of the effects of arts education on arts participation adjusting for the competing effects of lifestyle, using the variable, 

Leisure Index. (Refer to the discussion in Part 1.) With one exception, these 

analyses offered no increase in the power of the analytical model to predict arts 

participation, nor did they substantially alter the relative predictive power 

(betas) of the other variables. For these reasons, tables from these analyses are 

not presented in this section but are contained in Appendix B. However, some 

discussion of the results of these analyses is included in this section, in the Executive Summary, and in Part 2. 

48.	 In interpreting these findings one must keep in mind the more individualized 

nature of community-based arts instruction vs. the group processes employed 

by school arts teachers. 

49.	 Neither arts education nor education were significant predictors of arts performance. For this reason, arts performance is not included in this discussion. 

50.	 The effect of overall education on print-media involvement was consistent 

across levels of arts education. Given that reading is an activity that is inherent 

at all levels of education, one might expect the effect of arts education would be 
70 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

different for individuals of varying education levels. This was not the case, however. Arts education was more than twice as powerful a predictor of print-media 

involvement than was overall education. 

51.	 See Chapter 3 in Bergonzi and Smith (1996) for a more detailed description of 

the effects of overall educational attainment on arts participation. 

52.	 See Spring (1991) for a more elaborate discussion of this topic. 

53.	 The addition of leisure to these preparatory analyses did not alter the results in 

any substantive way. For this reason, this report does not discuss leisure as a factor in predicting the effects of education on arts participation. 

54. A more complete discussion of path analysis can be found in Cohen, J. and P. 

Cohen (1983), Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral 

Sciences, or Pedhauzur, E. J. (1982), Multiple Regression in Behavioral Research. 
Bibliography 

Americans and the Arts VI (1992). New York: Philip Morris Inc. 

Arts, Education, and Americans Panel. American Council for the Arts in Education (1977). Coming to Our Senses: The Significance of the Arts far Americon Education. New York: McGraw Hill. 

Bergonzi, L.S., and J.B. Smith (1996). The Effects of Education and Arts Education on Adult Participation in the Arts: An Analysis of the 1992 Survey of 

Public Participation in the Arts. Research Contract No. 93-303. Washington, DC: The National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division. To 

be made available through ERIC in 1996. 

Cohen, J., and P. Cohen (1983). Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation 

Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Consortium of National Arts Education Association (1994). Dance, Music, 

Theatre, 1⁄2’sual Arts: What Every Yaung American Should Know and Be Able 

to Do. National standards for arts education. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference. 

Cook, T. D., and D. T. Campbell (1979). Quasi-Experimentation: Design dr
 

Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
 

Cornwell, T. L. (1990). Democracy and the Arts: The Role of Participation. New 

York: Praeger. 

DiMaggio, P., and E Ostrower (1990). "Participation in the Arts by Black and 

White Americans." In The Future of the Arts: Public Policy and Arts Research, D. B. Pankratz & V. B. Morris, eds. New York: Praeger, 105-140. 

(1992). Race, Ethnicity and Participation in the Arts: Patterns of Par­ ticipation by Hispanics, Whites, and AJ~ican Americans in Selected Activities, 

3qom the 1982 and 1985 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts. Research Division Report #25. National Endowment for the Arts. 

71 
72 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

Fowler, C. (1988). Can We Rescue the Arts for America’s Children? Coming to 

Our Senses-lO Years Later. New York: American Council for the Arts. 

Gates, J. T. (1991). "Music Participation: Theory, Research, and Policy." Bulletin of the Council far Research in Music Education, 109 (Summer, 1991), 

1-35. 

J. Paul Getty Trust. (1985). Beyond Creating: The place for Arts in America’s 

Schools. Los Angeles. 

Leonhard, C. (1991). Status of Arts Education in American Public Schools. National Arts Education Research Center at the University of Illinois. 

Love, J., and B. C. Klipple (1996). Arts Participation andRace/Ethnicity. National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division. 

National Center for Educational Statistics. (1993). Schools and Staffing in the 

United States: A Statistical Profile, 1987-1988. Washington, DC: Office of 

Educational Research and Improvement. 

National Coalition for Music Education (1991). Growing Up Complete: The 

Report of the National Committee on Music Education. Reston, VA: Music 

Educators National Conference. 

National Endowment for the Arts (1988). Toward Civilization: A Report on
 

Arts Education. National Endowment for the Arts.
 

Orend, R. J. (1988). Socialization and Participation in theArts. Research Division Report #21. National Endowment for the Arts. 

Orend, R. J., and C. Keegan (1996). Education andArts Participation: A Study 

of Arts Socialization and Current Arts-Related Activities. National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division. 

Pankratz, D. B. (1987). "Toward Integrate Study of Cultural and Educational 

Policy." In Design far Arts in Education, 89:2, 17. 

Pedhauzur, E. J. (1982). Multiple Regression in Behavioral Research. New York: 

Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston. 

Reimer, B. (1994). "Is Musical Performance Worth Saving?" Arts Education 

Policy Review, 95(3), 2-13. 
Bibliography I 73 

Robinson, J. (1993). Arts Participation in America: 1982-1992. Research Division Report # 27. National Endowment for the Arts. 

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics 

(1995). A Profile of American Seniars in 1992. NCES No. 95-384, Washington, DC. 
About the Authors 

Luis Bergonzi, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. He specializes in 

string education and the sociology of music education, particularly the educational context for school-based arts education programs and the implications of program design on student access to arts/music education programs. 

He teaches in Eastman’s Arts Leadership Program and is President-Elect of the 

American String Teachers Association. 

Julia B. Smith, Ed.D, is Professor of Educational Administration and Evaluation at the Warner School, University of Rochester. She studies the organizational processes of schools and has published articles relating to questions of 

equity and access to curriculum, particularly concerning issues of gender, 

racial, and class equity in our schools. In addition, she has studied the satisfaction and self-efficacy of teachers as a function of organizational culture in 

schools. Her research on arts participation is part of a larger interest in how 

academic and non-academic goals are articulated and realized for students. 
Other Reports on Arts Participation 

T he most recent nationwide survey of arts participation was conducted in 

1992. The following publications report on various aspects of the 1992 

Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. 

Public Participation in the Arts: 1982 and 1992, Research Division Note #50. 

A 10-page summary comparing the results of the 1982 and 1992 surveys. 

Arts Participation in America: 1982-1992, Research Division Report #27. A 

more detailed discussion (100 pp) of the 1982 and 1992 surveys. 

Research Division Notes #51, #52, and #55 provide brief summaries of data 

on demographic information for the live broadcast and recorded media audiences and on regional and metropolitan audiences. Division notes and Report 

#27 are available from The Research Division, National Endowment for the 

Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20506. 

The Research Division of the Arts Endowment has been studying trends in 

the size and characteristics of arts audiences for two decades. A complete description of the Division’s work in this area through the most recent nationwide study, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, 1992, is contained in A 

Practical Guide to Arts Participation Research, Research Division Report #30. 

This report is available through the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, 

927 15th Street NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 371-2830. 

The Division has also funded fifteen monographs that analyzed various aspects of the results of the 1992 and 1982 surveys. Each of these documents, 

which are listed below, are being deposited in the Educational Research Information Center (ERIC) system to facilitate distribution. 

Age Factors in Arts Participation, Richard A. Peterson and Darren E. Sherkat 

American Dance 1992: Who’s Watching? Who’s Dancing? Jack Lemon/Jack
 

Faucett Associates
 

American Participation in Opera and Musical Theater, 1992, Joni Maya Cherbo
 

and Monnie Peters
 

7S 
76 I Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the Arts 

American Participation in Theater, Chris Shrum/AMS Planning and Research 

Corp. 

Americans" Personal Participation in the Arts, Monnie Peters and Joni Maya 

Cherbo 

Arts Participation and Race/Ethnicity, Jeffrey Love and Bramble C. Klipple 

Arts Participation by the Baby Boomers, Judith Huggins Balfe and Roll Meyersohn 

Cross-Over Patterns in Arts Participation, Richard J. Orend and Carol Keegan 

Education and Arts Participation: A Study of Arts Socialization and Current ArtsRelated Activities, Richard J. Orend and Carol Keegan 

The Effects of Education and Arts Education on Adult Participation in the Arw.
 

An Analysis of the 1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, Louis
 

Bergonzi and Julia Smith
 

Hold the Funeral March: The State of Classical Music Appreciation in the U.S., 

Nicholas Zill 

Jazz in America: Who’s Listening? Scott DeVeaux 

Patterns of Multiple Arts Participation, Jeffrey Love 

Reading in the 1990s: Turning a Page or Closing the Books? Nicholas Zill 

Tuning In and Turning On: Public Participation in the Arts via Media in the 

United States, Charles M. Gray 

Seven of these have been condensed and published by Seven Locks Press as the 

following: 

Research Division Report #31: Jazz in America: Who’s Listening? Scott 

DeVeaux 

Research Division Report #32: American Participation in Opera and Musical 

Theater, 1992, Joni Maya Cherbo and Monnie Peters 
Other Reports on Arts Participation I 77 

Research Division Report #33: Turning On and Tuning In: Media Participation in the Arts, Charles M. Gray 

Research Division Report #34: Age and Arts Participation with a Focus on the 

Baby Boom Cohort, Richard A. Peterson, Darren E. Sherkat, Judith Huggins Balfe, and Rolf Meyersohn 

Research Division Report #35: American Participation in Theater, AMS Planning & Research Corp. 

Research Division Report #36: Effects of Arts Education on Participation in the 

Arts, Louis Bergonzi and Julia Smith 
NATIONAL ISBN 0-929765-47-8
 

ENDOWMENT 

FOR THE ARTS 

Seven Locks Press 

Santa Ana, California