Diamond Adele
University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Res Hum Dev. 2015;12(3-4):288-294. doi: 10.1080/15427609.2015.1068034. Epub 2015 Aug 27.
Schools are curtailing programs in arts, physical exercise, and play so more time and resources can be devoted to academic instruction. Yet indications are that the arts (e.g., music, dance, or theatre) and physical activity (e.g., sports, martial arts, or youth circus) are crucial for aspects of children's development - . Thus in cutting those activities, schools may be impeding academic success, not aiding it. Correlational and retrospective studies have laid the groundwork, as have moving personal accounts, case studies, and theoretical arguments. The time is ripe for rigorous studies to investigate causality (Do arts and physical activities actually academic benefits or would kids in those activities have succeeded anyway?) and what characteristics of programs account for the benefits. Instead of simply claiming that the arts and/or physical activities can transform kids' lives, that needs to be demonstrated, and granting agencies need to be more open to funding rigorous research of real-world arts and physical-activity programs.
学校正在削减艺术、体育锻炼和玩耍方面的课程，以便能将更多时间和资源投入到学术教学中。然而，有迹象表明，艺术（如音乐、舞蹈或戏剧）和体育活动（如运动、武术或青少年马戏团活动）对儿童发展的多个方面至关重要。因此，削减这些活动，学校可能会阻碍学业成功，而非促进学业成功。相关性研究和回顾性研究已经奠定了基础，感人的个人叙述、案例研究和理论论证也起到了同样的作用。开展严谨的研究以调查因果关系（艺术和体育活动实际上是否能带来学业益处，或者参与这些活动的孩子无论如何都会取得成功？）以及课程的哪些特征能带来这些益处的时机已经成熟。不应只是简单宣称艺术和/或体育活动能够改变孩子的生活，这需要得到证明，而且资助机构需要更愿意为对现实世界中的艺术和体育活动项目进行严谨研究提供资金支持。
