Examining the Landscape of Performing Arts Initiatives for Children and Youth

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Description of Research Project

This research project involves a range of research tasks exploring children, youth and the performing arts.

The DARE student will explore contemporary child-centered work, examining how performing arts initiatives and tools are uniquely situated to support children and young people. For instance, recent research has shown that involvement in the performing arts can strengthen social and emotional skills, self-confidence, creativity, communication skills, and critical thinking.

This project will involve researching, exploring, and supporting workshop development related to at least three of the following key research areas of a performance-based initiative: (1) Lived Experiences, (2) Embodied and Participatory Methods, (3) Cultural Creation, (4) Relationships and Community, and (5) Identity and Expression. The student will work with their DARE supervisor to develop a relevant research question and plan.

Throughout the initiative, the DARE student will have opportunities to meet and work directly with researchers, artists, and practitioners as they develop research-based workshops. The student will provide on-the-ground support for the project team, while conducting their own research exploration into the conference’s thematic areas. The student will have opportunities to attend and learn from a wide range of session formats such as interactive workshops, collaborative roundtables, live performances, research presentations, community case studies, and panels, relevant to the project.

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Undergraduate Student Responsibilities

Student responsibilities for this project include: researching and developing their own exploration of these themes (as they relate to literature and presentations in the field), meeting with workshop presenters, working with community partners, and supporting presentation needs, supporting workshop development, analyzing findings, and presenting their work at the DARE poster session. Important aspects of this position will take place in-person in downtown Toronto, and applicants must be available for the full days on Friday, July 17, Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19.

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Qualifications Required

This position is open to a student in the third or fourth year of their undergraduate degree who has knowledge of children, childhood and youth studies, and the performing arts. Strong preference will be given to students who have past experience working at and attending previous iterations of the Children, Youth and Performance Conference, since familiarity with the format and culture of the event will significantly support this research project. Applicants should have excellent interpersonal skills, research experience, and strong writing and editing abilities in English. Experience working at academic conferences, experience in child-centered research courses, and experience with performing arts initiatives is an asset. In addition to DARE requirements, academic experience and alignment is important to the research: please also send a copy of your updated list of courses and grades (a screenshot is acceptable, or a transcript) to ashabtay@yorku.ca