RSC LAUNCHES MAJOR NEW FINDINGS ON THE IMPACT OF ARTS LEARNING

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The Royal Shakespeare Company today released the results of a major research study which reveals ground-breaking insights into the impact arts learning has on young people’s language development and confidence.

Time to Act, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, highlights why Shakespeare and arts learning matters in education. The study included a randomised control trial (RCT) with schools that had never worked with the RSC, plus a research programme led by teachers. Children’s work was analysed against 42 measurements with those in the target group outperforming their peers in 98% of them.

The results reveal a positive connection between the combination of Shakespeare’s language and RSC teaching approaches on children’s academic, social and emotional development. The researchers found two key areas of impact:

• significant improvements in the way young people use language, both written and spoken
• increased self-confidence with young people reporting they felt more confident as learners and better able to deal with problems and challenges

Jacqui O’Hanlon, RSC Director of Creative Learning said:

‘The results provide data that supports what we have known for many years – that arts education plays a significant role in improving the life-chances of young people. Expressive arts subjects and experiences significantly contribute to children’s development.

‘We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. We want all young people to be resilient and feel confident in their ability to overcome challenges and solve problems. These are capabilities that expressive arts subjects build and which young people will use throughout their lives.’

The significance of the Time To Act results has led the RSC to work alongside Arts & Culture Finance (by nesta) to pilot a new approach to funding arts education. The model is based around social impact measures, an approach not widely used in the arts sector. The model relies on investors committing to payments if pre-agreed impact targets are met. If successful, the pilot could create new ways of funding the arts sectors work.

More detailed analysis of the Time To Act research study can be found HERE

ENDS

For further enquiries, please contact:

Kate Evans 07920 244 434, email: kate.evans@rsc.org.uk

X: @TheRSC

Instagram: @thersc

Notes to Editors

The RSC was awarded Independent Research Organisation Status in 2021 – the only arts organisation with IRO status.

The RSC uses rehearsal room teaching methods to teach Shakespeare. Imagine the students are the actors and the director is the teacher. In the rehearsal room, they bring the stories to life by reading aloud, understanding Shakespeare’s language, and working on the plays in a very active way. This is mirrored in a classroom setting.

NESTA is the UK’s innovation agency for social good.

Time To Act methodology:

• the study used a randomised control trial (RCT) model – a research design usually reserved for clinical medical trials.
• It involved year 5 pupils at 45 state primary schools across the country who had never worked with the RSC.
• The schools were randomly divided into two groups (target and control), with teachers in the target group given training on how to use RSC rehearsal-based methods and those in the control group given no training.
• After 20 hours of teaching a Shakespeare text, the children in both groups were then asked to produce the same two pieces of writing.

   

• The research also showed after 20 hours of teaching using RSC methods, children had:

• A richer, broader, more sophisticated vocabulary
• A better understanding of linguistic structures
• Higher cognitive capabilities
• Better inferencing and comprehension skills
• An increased confidence and knowledge of words and language.

• The researchers used a validated tool called ‘Myself As a Learner’ to explore the impact of the work on children’s perceptions of themselves and their learning ability.
• Results indicated a sharp increase in children’s confidence in themselves and their ability to solve problems and approach challenging situations. The research found that after 20 hours of the intervention, children were:

• 17.3% more confident in their ability to work out what to do when stuck
• 13.8% more confident with language
• 12.6% more confident in taking a considered approach to tackling work
• 11.3% more confident in their own ability as a good learner
• 9.9% more confident in their wider problem solving

• Teachers who helped scope and design the research model, also reported improvements to children’s speaking and listening skills, well-being, engagement, attendance and peer and interpersonal relationships in the classroom.

The RSC is supported using public funding by Arts Council England 
The work of the RSC is supported by the Culture Recovery Fund
The RSC is generously supported by RSC America

The research was funded through a grant from Paul Hamlyn Foundation

The work of the RSC Learning and National Partnerships department is generously supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The Clore Duffield Foundation, Foyle Foundation, GRoW @ Annenberg, The Polonsky Foundation, The Mackintosh Foundation, Stratford Town Trust, LSEG Foundation, The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, John S Cohen Foundation, HDH Wills 1965 Charitable Trust, Teale Charitable Trust, The Grimmitt Trust, Sir James Knott Trust, The Oakley Charitable Trust, Misses Barrie Charitable Trust, and The Wyfold Charitable Trust

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) creates exceptional theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, London and around the world, performing plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as commissioning a wide range of original work from contemporary writers. Our purpose is to ensure that Shakespeare – and theatre as a whole – is for everyone, and we do that by unlocking the power of his plays and live performance, and with our learning and education work throughout the UK and across the world. 

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk.

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of the bodies responsible for administering the Government’s unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, of which we delivered over £1 billion to the sector in grants and loans. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19.