| The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership (PAEP) asked PSA to assess the effects of its professional development and grant-making activities on classroom teachers, artists, principals, and arts organizations.
Among PSA’s research questions were:
- Were teachers who participated in PAEP activities learning new methods and strategies for teaching?
- Were teachers who participated in PAEP activities sharing their experiences with other teachers and administrators?
- Were teachers who participated in PAEP activities encouraging other teachers and school administrators to learn about and seek community art resources to support student learning?
Study findings indicated that PAEP promoted and strengthened the quality of arts-based education by creating collaborations among participants. Its grant program positively affected teachers’ professional practice and instilled a lasting commitment to arts-based education. Program participants experienced challenges in engaging non-participating colleagues in arts-based teaching, however. This finding suggests the need to incorporate techniques for building support for arts-based education into PAEP’s professional development strategies.
PSA obtained data for this evaluation from focus groups of participants, interviews with grantees and staff, and surveys.
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