Arts Education Partnership Launches ArtsEdSearch.org - Nation's First Research Portal to Strengthen Case for Arts Education in America's Schools

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Could the arts be America's secret weapon to student success? Decades of research, collected and analyzed by the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) suggest this possibility. Now a new website developed by AEP will make it easier for an educator, parent, business leader, funder, student, researcher, artist, policymaker -- or simply a concerned citizen -- to find the facts on the many ways the arts help students learn, create and achieve. The Arts Education Partnership has launched ArtsEdSearch.org as the nation's first research clearinghouse focused on the educational benefits that emerge when a student is given the chance to create, perform, learn about, and experience the arts -- in school or out-of-school.

In examining the full arts learning picture, ArtsEdSearch™ also provides valuable data on how teaching strategies based in the arts -- a core academic subject according to federal law -- influence educators' instructional practice and engagement in the teaching profession.

A first of its kind, ArtsEdSearch grew out of a need for high quality, centrally located, and user-friendly information on the essential role the arts play in developing students' creative thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration skills -- attributes many education and business leaders identify as important in preparing young people for college and career success.

"The findings in ArtsEdSearch point to the power of the arts to lead the way in helping every child realize success in our nation's schools," says Sandra Ruppert, AEP executive director. "This is especially true for underserved students who benefit most significantly from arts learning but are the least likely to receive a high-quality arts education."

ArtsEdSearch's easy-to-navigate design provides research summaries -- written in everyday language -- on the impact of arts learning on students' cognitive, personal, academic, social and civic development, and offers objective analysis on the implications for education policy. By identifying the gaps in current knowledge, ArtsEdSearch will also guide new research that tackles the most pressing educational issues of our time, such as the arts' role in increasing school attendance, reducing high school drop-out rates, and improving teacher effectiveness.

ArtsEdSearch was guided by a working group of arts and education experts with partial funding from the U. S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, and The Wallace Foundation.

About the Arts Education Partnership
The Arts Education Partnership -- a national coalition established in 1995 through an interagency agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education -- serves as the nation's "hub" for individuals and organizations committed to making high-quality arts education accessible to all U.S. students, improving arts education practice, and researching how the arts strengthen American education. http://www.aep-arts.org

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SOURCE Arts Education Partnership