This quantitative study examined the relationship between students’ engagement in the arts and their engagement in both academic classes and the broader school community within a diverse, urban, public charter high school. Using survey data from 251 students in grades 9–12, analyses explored whether arts engagement was associated with academic and school-community engagement and whether these relationships differed across English Learner (EL), low-income (F/R), and foster-youth subgroups. Results revealed that arts engagement was moderately and positively correlated with both academic engagement and school-community engagement confirming consistent cross-domain associations. ANOVA analyses detected no statistically significant differences in engagement levels by EL, F/R, or foster-youth status. This outcome, while failing to reject the third null hypothesis, suggests that arts engagement may function as an equalizing force that benefits students across demographic boundaries rather than serving as a narrowly targeted intervention. Interpreted through the lenses of critical pedagogy and social capital theory, the findings indicate that arts classrooms foster agency, belonging, and networks of reciprocity that support engagement across academic and social domains. In a post-pandemic policy context increasingly focused on short-term academic recovery, these results underscore the systemic contributions of arts engagement to students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development. The study also refines and validates the Arts, Academics, and School Engagement Survey (AASES) as an evolving instrument with acceptable to strong reliability across indices. The analysis identified contextual anomalies in the attendance item, likely reflecting transitional interpretations of “attendance” following pandemic-era disruptions, offering insight for future calibration. Taken together, the results position sustained access to arts education as both an equity and accountability strategy. Rather than functioning as a short-term remediation tool, arts engagement should be viewed as a cultural catalyst that strengthens school climate, re-engages marginalized learners, and enriches the conditions for learning in California’s post-pandemic era.
","abstract_html":"<p>This quantitative study examined the relationship between students’ engagement in the arts and their engagement in both academic classes and the broader school community within a diverse, urban, public charter high school. Using survey data from 251 students in grades 9–12, analyses explored whether arts engagement was associated with academic and school-community engagement and whether these relationships differed across English Learner (EL), low-income (F/R), and foster-youth subgroups. Results revealed that arts engagement was moderately and positively correlated with both academic engagement and school-community engagement confirming consistent cross-domain associations. ANOVA analyses detected no statistically significant differences in engagement levels by EL, F/R, or foster-youth status. This outcome, while failing to reject the third null hypothesis, suggests that arts engagement may function as an equalizing force that benefits students across demographic boundaries rather than serving as a narrowly targeted intervention. Interpreted through the lenses of critical pedagogy and social capital theory, the findings indicate that arts classrooms foster agency, belonging, and networks of reciprocity that support engagement across academic and social domains. In a post-pandemic policy context increasingly focused on short-term academic recovery, these results underscore the systemic contributions of arts engagement to students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development. The study also refines and validates the Arts, Academics, and School Engagement Survey (AASES) as an evolving instrument with acceptable to strong reliability across indices. The analysis identified contextual anomalies in the attendance item, likely reflecting transitional interpretations of “attendance” following pandemic-era disruptions, offering insight for future calibration. Taken together, the results position sustained access to arts education as both an equity and accountability strategy. Rather than functioning as a short-term remediation tool, arts engagement should be viewed as a cultural catalyst that strengthens school climate, re-engages marginalized learners, and enriches the conditions for learning in California’s post-pandemic era.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Treesuwan, Paul"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Education, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kyo Yamashiro","Tessa Hicks Peterson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:20Z","subjects":["Arts Engagement","English Learners","Foster Youth","School Accountability","Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students","Student Engagement","Art Education","Educational Leadership","Education Policy"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1128","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kyo Yamashiro","Tessa Hicks Peterson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Treesuwan, Paul"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-06-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Education, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Arts Engagement","English Learners","Foster Youth","School Accountability","Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students","Student Engagement","Art Education","Educational Leadership","Education Policy"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1128"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This quantitative study examined the relationship between students’ engagement in the arts and their engagement in both academic classes and the broader school community within a diverse, urban, public charter high school. Using survey data from 251 students in grades 9–12, analyses explored whether arts engagement was associated with academic and school-community engagement and whether these relationships differed across English Learner (EL), low-income (F/R), and foster-youth subgroups. Results revealed that arts engagement was moderately and positively correlated with both academic engagement and school-community engagement confirming consistent cross-domain associations. ANOVA analyses detected no statistically significant differences in engagement levels by EL, F/R, or foster-youth status. This outcome, while failing to reject the third null hypothesis, suggests that arts engagement may function as an equalizing force that benefits students across demographic boundaries rather than serving as a narrowly targeted intervention. Interpreted through the lenses of critical pedagogy and social capital theory, the findings indicate that arts classrooms foster agency, belonging, and networks of reciprocity that support engagement across academic and social domains. In a post-pandemic policy context increasingly focused on short-term academic recovery, these results underscore the systemic contributions of arts engagement to students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development. The study also refines and validates the Arts, Academics, and School Engagement Survey (AASES) as an evolving instrument with acceptable to strong reliability across indices. The analysis identified contextual anomalies in the attendance item, likely reflecting transitional interpretations of “attendance” following pandemic-era disruptions, offering insight for future calibration. Taken together, the results position sustained access to arts education as both an equity and accountability strategy. Rather than functioning as a short-term remediation tool, arts engagement should be viewed as a cultural catalyst that strengthens school climate, re-engages marginalized learners, and enriches the conditions for learning in California’s post-pandemic era.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Arts and Student Engagement: Correlational Insights for School Accountability of Low Income, English Learners, and Foster Youth"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kyo Yamashiro","Tessa Hicks Peterson"],"dc:creator":["Treesuwan, Paul"],"dc:date.available":["2026-06-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This quantitative study examined the relationship between students’ engagement in the arts and their engagement in both academic classes and the broader school community within a diverse, urban, public charter high school. Using survey data from 251 students in grades 9–12, analyses explored whether arts engagement was associated with academic and school-community engagement and whether these relationships differed across English Learner (EL), low-income (F/R), and foster-youth subgroups. Results revealed that arts engagement was moderately and positively correlated with both academic engagement and school-community engagement confirming consistent cross-domain associations. ANOVA analyses detected no statistically significant differences in engagement levels by EL, F/R, or foster-youth status. This outcome, while failing to reject the third null hypothesis, suggests that arts engagement may function as an equalizing force that benefits students across demographic boundaries rather than serving as a narrowly targeted intervention. Interpreted through the lenses of critical pedagogy and social capital theory, the findings indicate that arts classrooms foster agency, belonging, and networks of reciprocity that support engagement across academic and social domains. In a post-pandemic policy context increasingly focused on short-term academic recovery, these results underscore the systemic contributions of arts engagement to students’ social, emotional, and cognitive development. The study also refines and validates the Arts, Academics, and School Engagement Survey (AASES) as an evolving instrument with acceptable to strong reliability across indices. The analysis identified contextual anomalies in the attendance item, likely reflecting transitional interpretations of “attendance” following pandemic-era disruptions, offering insight for future calibration. Taken together, the results position sustained access to arts education as both an equity and accountability strategy. Rather than functioning as a short-term remediation tool, arts engagement should be viewed as a cultural catalyst that strengthens school climate, re-engages marginalized learners, and enriches the conditions for learning in California’s post-pandemic era.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1128"],"dc:subject":["Arts Engagement","English Learners","Foster Youth","School Accountability","Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students","Student Engagement","Art Education","Educational Leadership","Education Policy"],"dc:title":["The Arts and Student Engagement: Correlational Insights for School Accountability of Low Income, English Learners, and Foster Youth"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Education, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:20Z"}