Creativity, encompassing cognitive and socioemotional abilities, is crucial for modern education. While efforts exist to improve public schooling, evidence-based studies on creativity, creative behavior, and academic achievement are lacking. This study investigates the Acciona Program (AP), a Chilean arts initiative designed to improve creative skills through workshops led by professional artists. The AP differs from traditional art education by using working artists instead of art teachers. Prior research shows correlations between arts participation and positive outcomes, but causal evidence is scarce, often hampered by selection bias. This study utilizes propensity score matching (PSM) and doubly robust reweighted regression analyses to address this methodological limitation and establish a more plausible causal link.

Numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between participation in artistic initiatives and better grades, higher creativity levels, and improved peer relationships. However, many lack causal evidence due to potential selection biases. These studies often rely on purely correlational data and do not account for factors other than the art program that might influence the outcomes. This study aims to address these methodological limitations and improve the reliability of conclusions about causality by employing more robust statistical methods.

This study employed a quasi-experimental design using propensity score matching (PSM) to create a suitable control group and minimize selection bias. Doubly robust reweighted regression analyses further enhanced the accuracy and efficiency of the estimations. The sample comprised 297 students (14-16 years old) from four Chilean high schools. The AP was implemented in some classes within each school, providing a natural comparison between treated and control groups. The allocation of students to AP workshops by the school principals was, in most cases, deemed to be random, reducing the potential for selection bias. The study focused on three outcome categories: creative behavior (creation and contemplation of cultural products), creativity (measured using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking – TTCT – in graphical and written forms), and academic achievement (GPA and willingness to pursue higher education). The PSM method was used to create balanced comparison groups and this was supplemented by a doubly robust reweighted regression model to adjust for demographic differences that might affect the outcome variables. The main variables used to calculate the propensity scores included student gender, parental education levels, family income, school and class, number of books at home, and prior participation in artistic activities.

Statistically significant results were found across three outcome measures. First, supporting Hypothesis 1, students participating in the AP demonstrated significant improvements in creativity measures, particularly in generating novel insights and manipulating abstract concepts. Second, supporting Hypotheses 2 and 3, AP participants showed better academic performance (higher GPAs, especially in language and math) and a greater inclination to pursue higher education. The magnitude of these effects was proportional to the intensity of AP participation; students in at least two semesters of workshops showed the most significant improvements. Table 2 and Table 4 present the impact estimates using propensity score matching. Table 5 displays the results from a doubly robust reweighted regression analysis. The results in Table 2 indicate that even one semester of the AP workshop had a positive impact on the Language and Art Grades. Participation in two semesters of the workshop demonstrated more significant positive effects on General and Language Grades. Table 5 shows that the AP significantly impacted creative thinking. Third, supporting Hypothesis 4, the AP positively impacted time spent on cultural activities such as watching films at home and creating cultural goods (Table 7). Table 6 illustrates the impact of the AP on willingness to pursue higher education. The results showed a 16% increase in the probability of pursuing higher education among students who participated in at least two semesters of AP workshops.

The findings address the research question by demonstrating a positive causal relationship between participation in an intensive art-based program and improved academic achievement, creativity, and creative behaviors. The results challenge the common assumption that the impact of art-based programs is limited to artistic skills. The significant improvements in academic performance suggest that art-based programs enhance skills transferable to other academic disciplines, potentially through improved creativity and problem-solving abilities. The results also highlight the importance of program intensity, with stronger effects observed among students with greater exposure to the AP. This supports the idea that consistent and high-quality arts education can foster broader human capital development. This research provides strong evidence for the positive effects of high-quality, sustained arts education on a range of outcomes.

This study provides robust evidence that intensive high-school art-based programs can significantly enhance creativity, creative behaviors, and academic performance. The findings have strong implications for educational policy, suggesting that integrating high-quality arts programs into public schooling can lead to substantial benefits. Future research could explore the long-term effects of the AP, expand the sample to different socioeconomic groups, and utilize a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to further strengthen causal inference.

The study's generalizability might be limited by the relatively small sample size and specific context of Chilean public high schools. Although propensity score matching was used to mitigate selection bias, the quasi-experimental design does not eliminate the possibility of unobserved confounding variables influencing the results. Future research using a larger and more diverse sample and an RCT would enhance the generalizability and robustness of the findings.