The research project is assigned to INDIRE pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree no. 60 of 13 April 2017 (Regulations on promoting humanistic culture, on enhancing heritage and cultural assets, and on supporting creativity) which, in article 5, provides for: the adoption, on a three-yearly basis, of an Arts Plan to ensure that every school student, at every grade and level, has access to Italian culture and artistic heritage through the promotion of theoretical and practical activities, including with workshop methods, related to the “themes of creativity”, besides monitoring carried out by INDIRE on the implementation of the Arts Plan.

The Arts Plan is a particularly innovative tool for promoting the arts and culture in the school system. In line with European educational policies, it is a new concept of the school, wherein learning/knowledge of artistic creation and expressivity is fully embraced. The practice and study of the arts are, in fact, a fundamental aspect of growth and knowledge; a complete educational experience, where mind and body, creativity and dexterity, practice and theory, uniqueness and sociality, meet harmoniously in an ongoing and virtuous dialogue. From a scientific point of view, as put forward by the numerous studies on the subject in recent years, the practice of the arts has an important impact on the improvement of cognitive, emotional, psychomotor, social and communicative skills, as well as on the development of creativity. Knowledge acquired by scientific research on the educational potential of the arts has greatly expanded in recent years, also through the contribution of neurosciences. This has given impetus to studies and theories on the educational value of performing arts, including expressive forms – such as music, drama and dance – which have long played a more marginal role in the Italian school system, compared to others, such as graphic-drawing disciplines.

Specific objectives associated with the subject

• To document the activities proposed by schools.
• To analyse the methods (didactic, organisational, etc.), the educational objectives and the learning results of the projects carried out.
• To identify and disseminate good practices found in the various school levels and grades.

Research questions

• What are the total volumes relating to: schools adhering to the Arts Plan, the teachers involved, the projects carried out and the relative users?
• What distribution is found in the choice of the various subjects of creativity promoted by the Arts Plan, including from an interdisciplinary perspective?
• What are the main characteristics of the projects carried out?
• What are the most used teaching methodologies for project implementation?

Recipients

Educational institutions adhering to the Arts Plan: kindergartens, primary schools, lower and upper secondary schools.