The Arts Council has published research and reports regarding young people’s engagement with the arts. These provide insights and evidence that inform our own work, and that of our partners, and help us to improve planning and provision for children and young people.  A full list of Arts Council research and publications can be accessed here. 

Report on Children, Young People and the Arts

This report describes the results of research carried out by the Arts Council in 2022 with children and young people about the arts and creative activities.

The Arts Council would like to thank all of the children and young people who shared their views. Special thanks to the child and youth advisory groups who helped to develop and design the surveys, and to make this report.

Read the English version here: Report on Children, Young People and the Arts

Turascáil maidir le Páistí, Daoine Óga agus na hEalaíona

Pléitear sa tuarascáil seo torthaí taighde a rinne an Chomhairle Ealaíon sa bhliain 2022 le páistí agus daoine óga maidir leis na healaíona.

Is mian leis an gComhairle Ealaíon buíochas a ghabháil leis na leanaí agus daoine óga ar fad a roinn a gcuid tuairimí. Gabhaimid buíochas speisialta leis na grúpaí comhairleacha leanaí agus daoine óga a chabhraigh na suirbhéanna a fhorbairt agus a dhearadh, agus an tuarascáil seo a réiteach.

Is féidir an leagan Gaeilge a léamh anseo: Turascáil maidir le Páistí, Daoine Óga agus na hEalaíona

Time, Vocabulary, & Art’s Thoughtful Uses of Feeling?

Forty years on from the publication by the Arts Council of, The Place of the Arts in Irish Education, known also as “the Benson Report”, the Arts Council was invited to mark the anniversary of this seminal report with a lecture delivered by Ciarán Benson at Dublin City University, organised by Encountering the Arts Ireland. The event, which took place in February 2019, provided an opportunity to celebrate the advancements made over the past four decades, while also reminding us of all that remains to be achieved.

The Arts Council has partnered with Encountering the Arts Ireland to publish Ciarán Benson’s lecture, along with the reflections and responses that were shared as part of the anniversary event. This publication includes valuable insights as we continue to plan and provide for children and young people. We hope our colleagues and partners, researchers, and students will find this to be a useful resource, and a thought-provoking read.

Read the publication here (520 KB, .PDF)

Arts and cultural participation among 17-year-olds (Arts Council/ESRI 2020)

This report draws on information on the 6,216 17-year-olds who took part in the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) longitudinal study to document their involvement in a range of cultural activities. The study adopts a broad definition of cultural participation, including: reading for pleasure; singing/playing a musical instrument; taking music/drama/dance lessons; going to the cinema; and involvement in digital culture (as measured by watching TV and playing computer games). It builds upon 2016 research on these young people when they were nine and 13 years of age (see below).

Read the publication here (46.2 MB, .PDF)

The webinar launch of the report includes key findings from the lead researcher Emer Smyth, along with presentations from the Directors of the Arts Council and ESRI, and from young people regarding their participation in the arts at age 17.

0:00 Introduction - Digital Dances by Dublin Youth Dance Company
2:30 Alan Barrett
3:45 Emer Smyth
24:50 Maureen Kennelly
32:13 Noon Abubakar
38:22 Eoin O’ Loughlin
42:40 Questions and answers

Slides from the presentation can be viewed: https://www.esri.ie/events/arts-and-cultural-participation-among-17-year-olds. 

Arts and cultural participation among children and young people – Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland study

The research, conducted by the ESRI on behalf of the Arts Council, draws on Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) data to assess arts and cultural participation specifically among 3, 5, 9 and 13-year-olds. Growing Up in Ireland is an initiative of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in association with the Department of Social Protection and the Central Statistics Office. The study measures the impact of arts and cultural participation on the cognitive development and emotional wellbeing of children and young people in Ireland.

Read the publication here (10 MB, .PDF)