Arts projects have become an important part of community development strategies. In addition to any creative achievements, projects are expected to have positive and measurable impacts on local social capital. Evidence for this is routinely demanded by funding organisations, and formal evaluations of projects have become a condition of investment. However, quantifying the impact of the arts in terms of social gain presents considerable difficulties, arguably greater than in any other field of evaluation. These problems are not just methodological. They also raise the question of the extent to which creative processes can-or should-be managed and controlled. This paper discusses these issues and reviews evaluations of community based arts programmes.
A BST RA CTThe authors report on a study of student attitudes towards disabled students in three colleges of further education. They found that many non-disabled students were not aware of the various issues facing disabled students at the colleges. Social contact between disabled and non-disabled students was not extensive, although those who had attended school with disabled pupils were more likely to have friendships with disabled students at college. Whilst non-disabled students were strongly supportive of inclusive education in principle, m any saw inclusion in the mainstream as conditional on the particular impairm ent of an individu al. Disabled and non-disabled students supported the view that early social and educational contact results in greater mutual understanding, and is of bene® t to all students.
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