For the ABCDirekt study, data from more than 400 children in schools in several European countries has been collected to assess the impact of this new approach to literacy.
Teachers were amazed: even pupils, who did not speak the language and had refused the school's educational activities for one year already, spontaneously joined the ABCDirekt activities and ceaselessly kept training even beyond the lessons.
AbstractThe study was accompanied by researchers from the Université de Lumière 2, in Lyon, France, which had published in 2015 the bestseller „Un college saisi par les arts“ (A secondary school conquered by the arts).*
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* "The adventure of a school that has made this bet to 'shape up' and to give prominence to art and artists at the heart of learning."
This book immerses us in the heart of an extraordinary educational and human adventure: in a vulnerable neighborhood of Montpellier, during four years, pupils from the Collège des Escholiers-de-la-Mosson have been educated in art - choreography, music, drama – for six hours a week. From about 12 up to the age of 15, this experimental artistic class (initiated by Hérault Musique Danse) mobilized the entire teaching team and was evaluated by a team of researchers led by Prof. Alain Kerlan.
Their investigation invites us to better understand what is at the heart of the pedagogical triangle of artists / pupils / teachers and to approach the educational effects of art, without concealing the hazards: personal development, self-confidence, autonomy, socialization, cognitive development and academic achievement, but also, beyond this, that form of achievement that allows a genuine aesthetic experience.
The living demonstration of this collective experience of students, artists and teachers "seized by the arts“ is served by a fluidity of writing which, in addition to a fine and precise analysis, is a real pleasure to read.
Teachers, artists, students and parents will find grain to grind.
The book was realized with the assistance of Françoise Carraud, Céline Choquet and Samia Langar. Françoise Carraud is a lecturer at the Université Lumière-Lyon II and a member of the Laboratoire Éducation Cultures Politiques. Drr. Céline Choquet is founder of .
With the support of Hérault Musique Danse and the Laboratory Éducation Cultures Politiques of the University Lumière 2 in Lyon (University / IFE-ENS / USM).
An extraordinary educational and human adventure: these vocational students in the socially disadvantaged neighborhood were allowed to dance, to do theater and to make music for 4 years. The entire workforce of the school got momentum: "Confidence, autonomy, socialization, cognitive development, academic achievement, and beyond of all, this fulfillment an authentic aesthetic experience can provide."
Something to think about for all of us!