The Impact of dot-art Schools – New Research Unveiled!

Earlier this year, dot-art Schools were delighted to be accepted for the CERI (Cultural Education Research Initiative) research project. CERI is a partnership between Curious Minds and Liverpool Hope University to support research-informed practice in cultural education.

The research offered an opportunity to examine what impact participating in the competition has had on both the school and students, and to map and learn more about the social, economic and educational context those schools sit within. We wanted to discover what motivates schools to take part in dot-art Schools competition, investigate the reasons for the diverse quality of artwork entered and address ways to support teachers to improve the quality of pupil’s art experiences. Does competing build quality, so schools produce better art as a result?

We looked at data about participating schools from 2012 – 2018 to give a demographic context of the schools that have taken part. We discovered that 64% of the participating primary schools and 50% of the secondary schools are in the most deprived quarter of the UK population. The researcher from Liverpool Hope University also conducted interviews with teachers from a representative range of schools and those competing regularly as well as for the first time.

You can download a summary of the report here