ABSTRACT

Internationally, research documents a link between children’s creative engagement in Arts and their experiences of positive wellbeing. Yet this is at odds with both the provision of Arts curricula in England’s education system (which continues to decline including substantial cuts to resources and staff), and longitudinal research reporting a decrease in children’s wellbeing. In this article, the authors present findings from a qualitative study conducted as part of a mixed methods project in a Secondary school in England exploring how performing arts curricula (dance, drama and music: ‘PA’) nurture pupils’ hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. 11 pupils (aged 11–16) engaged in participatory creative projects as a means of expressing their PA experiences. Their projects served as a springboard for in-depth individual interviews. Thematic analysis revealed that Arts curricula are uniquely need-facilitating environments that nurture pupils’ wellbeing in school. Pupils’ experiences suggest that PA curricula positively impacted their eudaimonic wellbeing, satisfying their innate psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy and competence, as theorised in Self-Determination Theory. Pupils’ experiences also underlined the benefits of Arts engagement for their hedonic wellbeing, including increased positive affect and providing a space for regulating emotions. Collectively, the qualitative and quantitative findings from this mixed methods project suggest some pupils engaged in PA are vulnerable, and Arts play a critical role in facilitating their wellbeing. The positive implications of retaining Arts curricula, versus the potential damage to pupils’ wellbeing and wider engagement with school caused by continuing to devalue Arts, is discussed.

摘要

在国际上，研究记录了儿童对艺术的创造性参与与他们的积极幸福体验之间的联系。然而，这与英格兰教育系统中艺术课程的提供（包括资源和人员的大幅削减）以及纵向研究报告儿童福祉下降的情况不一致。在本文中，作者介绍了一项定性研究的结果，该研究是英格兰一所中学混合方法项目的一部分，旨在探索表演艺术课程（舞蹈、戏剧和音乐：“PA”）如何培养学生的快乐和幸福。11 名学生（11-16 岁）参与了参与式创意项目，以此表达他们的 PA 经验。他们的项目成为深入个人访谈的跳板。主题分析表明，艺术课程是一种独特的需求促进环境，可以培养学生在学校的幸福感。学生的经验表明，PA 课程对他们的幸福生活产生了积极影响，满足了他们与生俱来的相关性、自主性和能力的心理需求，正如自决理论所理论化的那样。学生的经历还强调了艺术参与对他们享乐福祉的好处，包括增加积极影响和提供调节情绪的空间。总的来说，这个混合方法项目的定性和定量结果表明，一些从事 PA 的学生很脆弱，而艺术在促进他们的幸福方面发挥着关键作用。保留艺术课程的积极意义，