Arts integration: a survey of attendance at school and community arts events in Florida

Abstract

This paper presents a background of the rates at which educators, teaching artists, college students, retirees, parents, and the public attend arts programs in their schools and communities. The researcher circulated a 19-question online survey to measure the rates of attendance to visual and performing arts events, such as music, dance, arts community workshops, concerts, and festivals across Florida during the 2018–2019 academic year. The total sample size was 619 adults over 18 years of age. This paper applies a quantitative methodology to examine the respondents’ dispositions of the arts in education and communities. The questionnaire requested that the respondents rank the importance of benefits of the arts in schools and share their attendance at school and community arts events. Findings from the study show that the respondents agreed on the importance of integrating arts in education, and that they possess the ability to advance a community’s understanding of arts integration. Tangible results of arts attendance in schools and communities are presented, which could help arts school-community leaders in discussing ways to develop, promote, and cultivate resilient arts environments.