Evaluating arts education policies: cultural redistribution and school remediation

Evaluating arts education policies: cultural redistribution and school remediation

PhD Defense, Julie Pereira, Tuesday April 1st, 2025, 2:30 pm, at Sciences Po Paris. 

Jury members: Philippe COULANGEON, Senior researcher CNRS - Sciences Po - CRIS (supervisor), Jérôme DEAUVIEAU, Professeur of Sociology, ENS-PSL (examiner), Géraldine FARGES, Associate Professor of Education and Training, Université Bourgogne-Europe (examiner), Pablo GRACIA, Research Professor in Sociology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Elise HUILLERY, Professor in Economy, Université Paris Dauphine - PSL, Lidia PANICO, Professor of Sociology, Sciences Po.

Musical education is often associated with extrinsic benefits such as improvements in cognitive, executive, and socio-emotional skills. Although observational data frequently show positive correlations, the causal nature of these links remains debated. This thesis evaluates the impact of a music education program aimed at disadvantaged young children in the Val d'Oise. Funded by a private foundation, the program includes two to three violin lessons per week during school hours over four years, with the goal of improving students' academic performance. Using mixed methods and a quasi-experimental design, this study analyzes nine waves of data collected over four years, involving approximately 1900 children from 57 schools. By applying entropy balancing as a statistical weighting technique, the study highlights a positive effect on preschool academic outcomes. However, by the end of CE1, the program has a significant negative impact on reading skills, particularly affecting disadvantaged students. Interviews and classroom observations contextualize these findings, revealing variations in program implementation. This thesis contributes to debates on the role of arts education in reducing educational inequalities and raises questions about the opportunity cost of school time. If the total instructional time is not increased, adding new content to the school curriculum can compromise foundational learning, especially for the most disadvantaged students.