Educational and Formative Value of Studying the Visual and Performing Arts

This qualitative study, conducted at Boston College, investigates the formative impact of undergraduate education in the visual and performing arts—specifically art, art history, dance, film, music, and theater—through the lens of Jesuit pedagogy. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), alumni were interviewed and asked to reflect on their academic, social, and spiritual development in relation to the university’s Jesuit mission. By focusing on alumni voices, the research examines who our alumni have become as a result of their visual and performing arts education. Participants’ responses dovetailed repeatedly with the university’s set of characteristics or principles considered to be formative, affirming that their education in an artistic field was central to the mission of holistic formation. The study contributes to ongoing discourse on how artistic practice animates Jesuit values and supports the formation of intellectually competent, morally grounded, and spiritually aware graduates.

Keywords:
Jesuit pedagogy; visual arts; performing arts; arts education

Introduction

This qualitative research, conducted at Boston College, examines the acquired skills and qualities of its alumni resulting from their participation in an artistic field of study. The objective is to document the educational formation and learned outcomes imparted via their undergraduate experience, specifically in the disciplines of art, art history, dance, film, music and theater. The semi-structured interview questions reference the framework of Boston College’s Jesuit educational formation as described in their essay, The Journey into Adulthood,^[1] a description of student’s intellectual, social, moral and spiritual growth intended to guide students through their college experience. Significant efforts by the institution have been made to articulate this vision, yet no assessment of the learning outcomes regarding these guidelines have been conducted for the art student. Data acquired in this study provides a basis to compare educational outcomes from the visual and performing arts with the goals of the University.

From the founding of the Jesuits in the 16^th century through the later part of the 18th century, the performing and visual arts were a significant component of a Jesuit education as a methodology to teach morality and social skills. Theater and dance provided a pedagogical tool to develop students’ skills in rhetoric, oration and poise while simultaneously imparting a moral lesson to its participants and audience members.^[2] While there are many current artistic practices whose foundation originates from these centuries-old methods, it is not the intent of this research to revisit historical descriptions of performances or the pedagogical purpose of past Jesuit teachings in the fine and performing arts. Rather, the study takes a contemporary look at the impact of an education in these artistic disciplines. Fortunately, there are numerous academic sources to gain this historical perspective, such as the works of Cristiano Casalini, Anne-Sophie Gallo, Kevin Wetmore, and Michael Zampelli, S.J.

Expectations and careers for students today look vastly different than three centuries ago. With that in mind, how does an education in artistic fields, as listed earlier, fit into our modern age? If a student expects to pursue a career in the arts, the set of skills acquired from these majors is directly applicable. But a student’s actual career path frequently diverges from their chosen major or minor. Questions remain regarding the educational value that the visual and performing arts provide students.^[3]

An efficacious approach to assess this value is discussed by Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. He posits that the real “measure of our Jesuit universities lies in who our students become.”^[4] That being the case, it stands to reason that the university’s level of success will be revealed if it investigates how their alumni have processed their education and who they have become as a result. This study also continues Boston College’s assumption that education is a never-ending conversation that helps students, now alumni, pay attention to their experience, reflect on its meaning and determine if their college experience provided the foundational skills to help students act on their understandings.^[5]

In-depth interviews with visual and performing arts alumni, who had several years of life experience after graduating, revealed the impact of their arts education and how that experience impacted their lives. Questions in the study focused on recollections of their college arts education with follow-up questions to expand upon what they believed was formative for their intellectual, spiritual, social and ethical growth. This research utilizes the data from the twenty-four in depth interviews to explore who the visual and performing arts alumni participants have become and what they retained from their educational experience years after leaving Boston College.

Boston College’s Description of Jesuit Formative Education

Boston College’s publication of The Journey into Adulthood (2007) proposed “an explicit and intentional approach to a broader vision of student formation, drawn from the understanding of what it means to be human that is at the heart of the Jesuit educational tradition. In this view, student formation has three interconnected dimensions—an intellectual dimension, a social dimension, and a spiritual dimension—and a student’s growth along all three dimensions ideally moves toward integration.”^[6]

“Based on The Journey into Adulthood’s description of formation, a Boston College working group (2018) was convened to operationally define formation so as to enable the measurement of formative education for accreditation purposes. This effort built upon previous work by identifying an evolving list of formative principles and/or attributes.” ^[7] The list of personal formation principles in its current form (shown below) provides useful descriptors to identify and discuss formative attributes when studying student’s experiences with artistic work.

Alumni’s perceptions were compared with these descriptors of educational formation and grouped by the salient subset of themes found within the interview transcripts. The themes are expanded upon in this essay and, where applicable, research findings from other interdisciplinary researchers or expert practitioners in artistic fields serve as additional support for these topics.

Research Methodology

I began this qualitative research study in 2021 to better understand the formative outcomes experienced by the performing and visual art students who studied at Boston College. Empirical evidence demonstrating acquired personal qualities and the formative value of an arts education for its own sake is lacking.^[8] However, as a theater professor and an accomplished scenic designer, I have been personally and profoundly formed by my participation in the arts. Many of my students have also experienced transformative moments within their arts education that, decades later, they still remember vividly. My phenomenological study, used as a basis for this paper, provides a deeper understanding of the formative value of an arts education providing data to compare with Boston College’s principles of personal formation listed earlier. As a qualitative study, results are not generalizable, but insights gained provide a blueprint for other institutions to follow as they investigate their institutions’ effectiveness of integrating Ignatian principles into their programming.

The methodology, interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA),^[9] was employed for collecting data and the subsequent evaluation examining how our arts alumni made meaning of their educational experience academically, socially, spiritually, and ethically. “Studies using IPA are not framed in established theories or bodies of literature. Instead, they are rooted in data.”^[10] The data, in this case, are transcripts from the recorded interviews that I conducted to delve into alumni’s perceptions of their educational experience.

As part of the research study, I developed a set of questions, vetted by the Vice Provost Office for Research, and maintained a consistency in inquiry across all the interviews. I held practice interviews with colleagues who provided feedback before I began with my sample population. The first few questions were simple confirmations of alumni’s majors, minors, graduation years, and their involvement in the arts and performance to put them at ease in the discussion. Then, taking the academic, social, spiritual, and ethical areas one at a time, they were asked if their arts education had an impact on each area and, if yes, to describe that impact. Follow-up questions prompted deeper examinations of their responses. The semi-structured interviews, each lasting about an hour, investigated alumni’s perceptions of their academic education, social development, spiritual and ethical connections with the arts, and what they found to be the most memorable and personally formative.

The sample of 24 participants, who graduated between 2000 and 2015, were chosen from a list provided by faculty and staff in three departments: Art, Art History, and Film; Music; and Theatre. There were eight participants from each department, all were heavily involved in one or more artistic fields during their undergraduate years. Throughout the article, the interviewees are identified only by their area of study, with ‘alumna’ or ‘alumnus’ and a number, to maintain anonymity as approved by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research at Boston College.

The one-hour long Zoom interviews were completed in January of 2022, and the recordings were transcribed and coded using MAXQDA software. Commonalities and recurring themes were noted and organized into categories, frequently connecting relevant ideas from the interviewees to Boston College’s principles of personal formation in the analysis of the data. The findings illuminate the lived undergraduate experience of arts and performance alumni and their relationship to Jesuit educational formation. These experiences, skills and qualities imparted from studying in an artistic discipline correspond with data acquired from similar studies in adjacent fields, namely psychology, education and sociology.

Intellectual

The Artist’s Cognitive Process

Participants in this study frequently perceived that artists think differently than non-artists. Hard work and problem-solving skills characterize their creative abilities, but it is the unique insights of artistic practice, according to the psychologist, Ellen Winner, that differentiate them from ordinary thinkers.^[11] Artists feel they are more open to new possibilities and typically consider how something could be changed or improved. “It’s a different way of thinking, whereas other people are a little more likely to accept the status quo.”^[12]

Research supports the claim that artists have unique ways of processing information that, while different from other disciplines, is equally as intellectual. An art alumna believes that “[Art] involves the level of critical thinking and interpretation that science courses don’t always allow. [It] removes some of that black and white thinking in the world.”^[13] Studies by Winner equate the discerning ability to process and manipulate symbols [by artists] to be as demanding as literacy in the sciences. Refusing to theorize that the arts are solely forms of leisure, play, or emotional activities, she claims “they are viewed, rather, as fundamental ways of knowing the world.”^[14]

The Phenomenological Learning Process

Curricula in the art, music and theater departments at Boston College include a combination of theoretical and practical hands-on experiences. Alumni remarked that the phenomenological experience of making art, not just the reliance on theoretical observations alone, allows one to understand artifacts more fully. The experience of making is critical to education. It allows an appreciation of the techniques, materials, culture, and artistic expression that brings a piece into being. One art alumna felt we “need to understand and give full respect to how something is made because that gets lost in a lot of our history curricula. You’re supposed to use your eyes, but using your hands is just as important.”^[15]

No matter how much preparation has gone into a project, creating an artistic piece in any discipline requires a certain amount of serendipity or faith. While the rational brain may implement many attempts at a solution, there are moments that are intertwined with inspiration from unknown origins.^[16] The sociologist, Robert Wuthnow, discovered that artists of all types have described moments of extraordinary creativity as transcendent, where time is altered or something is providing the solution in an instant—as if touched by the divine.^[17]

An alumnus in architecture credits his intuition for deriving solutions to problems, a gift that frustrates his business partner who does not possess the same creative ability.^[18] A music alumnus finds inspiration when he quiets his mind. This is different from forcing yourself to focus, which has the opposite result for him.^[19] Inspiration, wherever it comes from, is “the balance of discipline, along with a kind of open-mindedness to allow creative things to happen and setting up a sort of situational environment where you’re able to have creative ideas and you’re able to make things consistently.”^[20] Establishing the discipline of consistent practice prepares the artist for “that lightning bolt of inspiration.” ^[21] This problem-solving cognitive process is a co-dependency between rational hard-work and less conscious insights that cannot be rationally explained.

Self-awareness

The process of creating or making provides an important pedagogical tool for developing communication skills and self-awareness. An artist must be aware of, or at least empathetic to, how an observer will perceive their work. Consider the costume designer who creates the look for characters on stage. Those characters should be perceived to possess certain human characteristics to explain their role within the world of the play. That awareness is transferable to how one’s own look is perceived by others. “When you’re telling a story, whether it’s your story or someone else’s, . . . you just need to be so conscious of how you’re saying it, how it’s going to be perceived, how it might be perceived.”^[22] Awareness of others’ perceptions involves the ability to put yourself in the place of others, a type of empathy further addressed under solidarity.

An education in the arts also improves communication and people-skills transferable to any career. An economics and art history double major credits her ability to talk about art as the reason she was singled out and hired in the financial industry. “The fact that you talk about philosophy or theology or art, it brings so much depth to who you are, and it allows you to connect better.”^[23] One music and theater alumna, currently working in a medical field, uses her knowledge of the arts when talking with patients. She finds a path to connect on a personal level by discussing a play or a book. This can make an enormous difference when you need to connect with patients who may be nervous about their situation. She credits her theater training for developing an ease with talking to patients and doctors, a skill she claims her peers without an arts education lack. ^[24]

Problem Solving

To create art is to learn how to approach a problem and figure it out—to just dive in and get it done. Artists are doers. This alumnus liked taking “on a problem head-on. . . . It’s making the thing happen, and I feel very skilled at that, even when I am thrown into new things, because that’s what you do in the theater department.”^[25] Actively working on a theater production teaches you how to take all the theoretical ideas learned in other classes and put them into action.^[26] It is exciting to involve oneself in the process of turning concepts and ideas into a visual and visceral product.^[27] According to Winner, less original artists will apply common solutions to problems that are given to them. The most creative artists not only seek out problems they wish to solve, but they often seek out problems that are more difficult for them. ^[28]

Pedagogy, in part, is helping students to pay deliberate attention to experiences in the world with an open sense of curiosity and wonder.^[29] Evidence suggests that problem-solving and creating artwork reflects students’ quest for knowledge and discovery.^[30] A music alumnus recalls a class where he had to present a forty-five-minute analysis of a two-minute piece of music.

That was the first time in my life that I had looked at a piece of music without my instrument in my hand at a super granular theoretical level. . . .For an artist, it would be something like taking a microscope to a one-by-one inch square of a famous mural and just talking about that for a couple of hours.^[31]

This deep analysis is in pursuit of answers – in the same way a scientist analyzes data to make sense of the universe. A music alumnus remarked, “If you think about quantum mechanics in a particular way, that could provide you with the level of joy that analyzing a Beethoven symphony might provide me.”^[32]

Broadening Cultural Awareness

One of the difficulties in formative education is thoughtfully engaging students in discussions about human differences of race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status, etc.^[33] The alumni participants frequently credited their arts education for expanding their understanding about people and cultures unlike their own. An alumna, when she worked on a particular theatrical production, had to confront her conservative teachings from childhood. The show included two lesbians who discover their love for each other, a situation her religious upbringing taught her was wrong. “I just sometimes need to have that shake-up. . . . When we talk about changing mindsets and re-educating yourself—I always think of that moment.”^[34] The theater production offered a new perspective and invited her to think more deeply about the world and how she wanted to understand or accept it.

Novels, poetry, music, films, and theatrical productions are potential vehicles for introducing students to interesting or controversial topics, thereby stimulating engaging discussions and discernment. Art can provide a fresh perspective on what is happening in the world—offer a critique of a moment. It can inform, “or at least make you wonder if what we’re doing is right or ethical.”^[35]

Artists engage in a distinctive intellectual process that combines discipline with an openness to new possibilities. Unlike traditional analytical thinking, artistic cognition involves problem-solving, creativity, and a capacity for inspiration that defies strict rational explanation. Boston College’s arts education integrates both theoretical study and hands-on practice, reinforcing the idea that making art is essential to understanding artistic artifacts. Ultimately, artistic thought processes are presented as an alternative yet equally rigorous way of knowing, fostering intellectual and personal growth beyond the confines of artistic disciplines.

Collaboration

Men and Women for Others

“The imperative of directing one’s skills and talents to the benefit of one’s country and fellow citizens has been a central and consistent element in the [Jesuit] tradition.”^[36] At first glance, the correlation of artistic production as a benefit to the world may not be obvious. However, learning to collaborate and work with others in the arts is propaedeutic for larger civic collaborations later in life. An arts education facilitates the understanding of oneself and one’s colleagues, creating an environment to become a person for others in the future. In a study by LeRoux and Bernadska, it was found that “in most cases direct participation in the arts are unique significant predictors of an individual’s propensity for civic engagement, tolerance and other-regarding behaviors.”^[37]

A collaborative project begins as an idea and is born through planning and hard work. In the case of a theatrical production, it involves months of development, designing, construction, and rehearsing with multiple people, each contributing their own expertise. An alumnus emphasized how one must have a flexibility of thinking to engage with the team in the development phase. “You have to train your ability to go into a design and production meeting with ideas, backup ideas, and solutions to problems that you don’t even know are going to come up in that conversation.” It is necessary to be adaptable through the entire process and solve problems that arise along the way. A director/designer noted, “It’s very eye opening, when you’re doing a live theater production, how many things can go wrong and how many things can change in a second.”^[38] One learns to adapt quickly.

When students are working together in clubs, their resources, or lack thereof, create the necessity to develop advanced team-based problem-solving skills. Theatre clubs, for example, lack time and manpower to fully produce a show, yet they demonstrate extraordinary determination to get the job done. “Do what you can with what you have. . . . We’re going to make the thing happen with a reliance on some sort of community.”^[39] High stress situations, such as working on a theatrical production, bring people together. Learning to embrace stressful situations allows students to work through the struggle and feel connected to one another.^[40] Through positive arts related social relationships, students acquire a greater sense of well-being and “find it easier to solve daily dilemmas.”^[41]

Academically, the broad assortment of classes necessary to complete a major provides “more perspective and more appreciation for things outside of [one]self and the jobs that other people are doing.”^[42] Often, as exemplified in one film class, students help each other on projects, even if they do not personally benefit from the outcome. “[Students] wrote, they directed, [and] edited [their own film], but they also had to help on somebody else’s, whether they were the [director of photography] or the assistant director or something like that to others.”^[43] Success was achieved when everyone assisted other student’s work. When you work with others, “you’re saying something about this person whose work I honor and who adds to what I can do.” ^[44]

Communal spaces also enhanced collaboration. Theater green rooms, art studios, and rehearsal halls all became formative social spaces. “It was a great environment, socially, communally, because it was a mixture of art students and students from all disciplines just coming in to get their homework done.”^[45] Alumni overwhelmingly credit their student art and performance experiences for providing profound connections with other students and lifelong friendships.

Being Attentive

Collaboration involves being attentive to all persons, no matter how talented one is individually, so the group can move toward aesthetic cohesiveness. As one music alumnus queried, “How do we get from just our own voices to making the best music that we can together? It’s the process of trying to negotiate our wants and our desires and our feelings about what we’re doing with one another toward a toward a common goal.”^[46] A music alumna remarked that you cannot have a narrow-minded focus when performing music. It is important to find a middle-ground for what the group thinks.^[47] Listening to one another in the collaborative arts leads us to understand “the value of all the other great things and talents that people are bringing to the table.”^[48]

Additionally, art requires the artist as well as the observer to be attentive and to make their own meaning of the art or performance they just experienced. “It’s not theater until somebody is watching it, and so you’re not doing it alone.”^[49] Attentiveness involves active listening skills, something all great performers do well. A theater alumnus noted how he felt more connected with people because “when you’re on stage, when you’re performing, it’s about listening to each other, making connections, real connections.”^[50] Similarly, a music alumnus noted that “It makes us better people to engage in music because it forces us to listen, which is one thing humans need to do more than anything else. And not only to listen, but then to respond appropriately within the context of listening.”^[51]

An artistic team must rely on each other to be candid, constructive, and to prepare the project for a future audience, who will also find their own connection with the work. A music performance, for example, “provides different layers of connection. . . . The composer has an idea about something that’s beautiful or interesting, and they put it on a piece of paper and musicians interpret it and then an audience hears it. There’s at least three different layers of groups of people who can connect with one another, and it’s all through the medium of music.”^[52] Artistic endeavors are replete with multiple social and aesthetic connections.

Responsibility to Others

Within artistic work the care of each person is particularly important. As an alumna explains, “theatre requires a level of vulnerability that I think other disciplines do not. . . . When you’re involved in theater, it’s important to accept people and show kindness and support to people who are doing their best to be themselves.” Acceptance and support go a long way to establish a community of trust where students are empowered to make brave choices artistically. One alumnus vividly remembers a musical theater course when he had an unexpected emotional moment in a performance that left him feeling vulnerable. He remembers that moment vividly, crediting his classmates and the theater department, who established an impressive level of trust and support for him. “We had that level of trust that you can build through those creative outlets that you don’t necessarily build in other classes.”^[53] Without the caring accompaniment of classmates and faculty, finding emotional depth in performances would not be possible.

Communal experiences in artistic productions provide an awareness that, together, artists are part of something much bigger than themselves. One story exemplifies the collaborative spirit and resiliency demonstrated by the artists’ dedication to one another. A theater alumnus was working at a children’s theater camp during an extremely hot summer. One performance day, with the parents all set to see their children perform, the power grid failed and the electricity went out. The kids were very distraught at the possibility of not being able to perform. And then:

Our resiliency and our desire to be able to see these kids smile and have fun and get their moment in the spotlight, without spotlights, really pushed us to think critically. . . . Very quickly, someone rushed off to the store and bought a bunch of [flashlights]. . . . We lit the stage up and the kids sang their songs and the performance still happened. And it was one of the greatest and most beautiful experiences that I have been able to have ever seen in my life. I feel like there was an element of spirituality there. . . . The magic was still created and accessed by the kids and the adults, and I feel like that has been a staying memory for me. . . . We literally lived and experienced something like that, and it was still magical, and it was still beautiful.^[54]

Artistic collaboration fosters not only technical skill but also social, spiritual, and intellectual development, reinforcing the Jesuit principle of being a person for others. Through communal experiences in theater, music, film and visual arts, students cultivate adaptability, problem-solving, and attentiveness—essential qualities for civic engagement and leadership. The arts provide a structured environment for negotiating different perspectives, fostering trust, and embracing vulnerability, which strengthens interpersonal and professional relationships beyond artistic disciplines. Moreover, collaborative artistic endeavors create profound connections, establishing a shared sense of purpose that extends into broader social and spiritual contexts. Ultimately, the creative process exemplifies solidarity, shaping individuals who actively contribute to their communities with empathy, resilience, and a deep appreciation for human expression.

Mindfulness and Reflection

According to Boston College’s The Journey into Adulthood, “Reflection is the way we discover and compose the meaning of our experience. It is partly an inward-looking activity—exploring the connections among our thoughts and feelings—but it also involves looking outward for resources to understand our experience.”^[55]

Self-Reflection

Several alumni equated their artistic work to an important inward-looking experience. Professors of acting often refer to the awareness of oneself as ‘being in one’s body,’ a method to direct the student’s attention inward and create a consciousness relative to the world around us. A theater alumna remembered this acting methodology distinctly as integral to her well-being. “I have remembered it many times since as something that I don’t really get in my life as a boring adult, who is still not a working artist.”^[56] In theatrical acting and design classes, paying attention to one’s emotions and reactions is a skill that enables one to transfer emotional qualities, through one’s artistic work, to an audience. A theatre alumnus remembered how important and formative his courses were that pushed him emotionally through self-reflection.

[The faculty] sort of forced me to reflect upon things in my past, reflect upon my wants for the future and reflect upon what was going on inside of me at any given time. . . . That reflection, that I was pushed to do in some of those performance-based courses, was subtly making me a more whole person.^[57]

In the Art department, a common classroom assignment required students to travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, choose a piece of art, and write about it. Two art alumni independently reflected on the meditative quality of this reoccurring assignment. The quiet experience of taking mass transportation by oneself was, as the first alumna stated, “a very tranquil experience” and it was “a privilege to be able to go and sit in front of a work of art for an hour.”^[58] The impact was significant enough that she clearly remembers the experience years later. The second alumni described the visceral soundtrack of visitors talking in the background, the flinty gray colors of stone, and the earthy smell of an Egyptian exhibit. The assignment filled him with a sense of gratitude.

[The] ability to just sit with something, whether it’s a piece of art or a problem, and deliberate and solve it or talk about it [creates a] kind of intellectual stillness. . . . It requires a degree of stillness and intellectual calm and focus to just sit there, and do it, and be in your head, and be with it to arrive at something worth talking about or worth writing about or worth making.^[59]

The requirement to have a visceral experience with real art, not in a picture in a book or on a screen, allowed students to be fully engaged and present with artwork, producing a formative experience and lasting memory.

Hyperfocus

Artists may experience an optimal state of mind when performing or creating that puts them “into a certain headspace that other things can’t put you in.”^[60] One alumnus equated engaging in music with the practice of zazen meditation, a practice that focuses on the body so the mind cannot wander off into random thoughts or philosophical concepts. “It brings you into very hyper sensory awareness and that really keeps you calm and focused. I think music can do something like that as well to bring you into a state where you can’t do too much else if you’re fully engaged.”^[61]

Similarly, theater rehearsals have exercises that develop an intense focus on the present action—a sense of being always ‘in the moment.’ Some of the activities employed are playful, like tossing a ball or mimicking others’ actions. A theatre alumna recalls playing these games with her cast: “All of our attention is here together. None of us are anywhere else. We’re doing something kind of magically attuned to each other in a way that doesn’t happen unless you do it on purpose, unless you give it space, unless you be a little vulnerable.”^[62] On the surface, these exercises look silly and fun. Subliminally they are an effective pedagogical tool designed to bring a group into focus with one another.

Artists feel as though they see the world more intentionally than other people because it is part of their psyche to do so. For studio artists, there is “an intent to notice things, specific things, in a kind of show and tell sort of mentality—finding things, holding them up and making a record of life experiences.”^[63] The intense attention paid to the world around them is the reservoir of knowledge necessary to fuel their artistic work. Acting and design require a “deliberateness of seeing where I am, and seeing where I am in the relation to the people around me, [and] the space around me. . . . We did it in a lot of our theater classes [and] I don’t really do [that] anywhere else.”^[64] One art alumnus even discussed his ability to “conceptualize being inside a space that an artist has come up with inside their head” and then he could “experience that with multiple senses.”^[65]

Discernment

The Journey Into Adulthood explains that “by internalizing the dynamic of paying attention, reflecting, and making good decisions, students lay the foundation for an adulthood where the practice of discernment about their experience and their actions becomes a way of life.”^[66] Reflection is a method to analyze what might be considered a failure and turn it around into knowledge for improving oneself. When actors do not get a role in a play, they have an opportunity to reflect on the reasons they weren’t chosen. After “seeing the performance of the people who might have gotten [the role, I ask] okay, what did they do differently than what I did? How is their approach different than what I did? And how can I incorporate that into my own work and not imitate it?”^[67] Reflection, in this case, serves as an evaluation of oneself, an honest look into weaknesses that can be improved upon in future work.

The intentional use of reflection, a methodology necessary to accomplish repeated revisions of artistic work in pursuit of perfection, will also prompt artists to be more ethical in their actions. A theater alumna observes herself, others and the world around her to improve her skills in acting. “That act of embodying other experiences or researching other things outside of your current knowledge . . . contributes to being an ethical person.”^[68] Leroux and Bernadska’s study “suggests that there is something about the creative process that puts people more in touch with their emotions, which manifests in helpful, caring, nurturing, types of actions.”^[69]

Mindfulness and reflection are essential components of artistic education, fostering deep self-awareness, attentiveness, and ethical discernment. Through embodied artistic practices such as acting, music, and visual arts, students engage in deliberate introspection that enhances their ability to connect with themselves and the world. Assignments like museum visits encourage contemplative engagement with art, reinforcing intellectual stillness and focus. Similarly, rehearsals and collaborative exercises cultivate an ability to remain fully present, strengthening communal bonds and emotional intelligence. Artistic perception itself requires an intentional approach to observing the world, creating an archive of lived experience that informs creative work. Reflection also plays a crucial role in learning from setbacks and refining one’s skills, instilling habits of discernment and ethical decision-making. Ultimately, an education in the arts aligns with the Jesuit tradition by shaping individuals who are attentive, reflective, and deeply engaged with their own growth and their relationships with others.

Spiritual

In a qualitative study, the sociologist Robert Wuthnow interviewed over one-hundred artists about their work, life, and spiritual journeys. He found that “many people indicate that the arts have significantly influenced their spiritual development.”^[70] Similarly, the participants of this study frequently spoke of their creative arts experiences as part of a larger spiritual exploration.

Experiencing Artworks

Religious and spiritual works of all types can be observed and experienced in religious buildings, museums, theater and concert hall venues across the globe. One art history alumna recalls the impact of paintings she saw in Rome. “The arts allow us to tap into a broader spirituality that can’t be denied, especially because so much art has to do with spirituality. . . . It’s a way for people to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.”^[71] Relating to a work of art is clearly a unique and personal experience. A different alumna relates to the world in a visual and tactile way, so artwork makes her very reflective and provides a level of calm,^[72] while a third alumna felt that viewing a piece of artwork could be an emotional experience that many people would describe as spiritual.^[73] Art historians tend to discuss the emotional resonance of artwork in non-emotional terms, so it is curious that there are stories of people being so moved when viewing a painting—they literally cried. Even the abstract expressionist paintings of Mark Rothko, as an example, elicit unexplainable tears to some who view them.^[74] It is enigmatic why some people react so emotionally while others are not moved at all.

Manipulating emotional reactions via music is a common and effective tool used in theater and cinema to assist the audience on an emotional journey through the storyline. For one alumnus, listing to music reminds him that his life has meaning. If you “had grave doubts about whether there is any reason for people being on the face of the planet” music can make you feel “that everything is okay.”^[75] This statement elevates the substantive value of music to a life affirming status. When asked if she could live without music, this alumna explained, “I’d be functionally surviving, I suppose, but I don’t know if what I’d be doing would be considered living for me by my definition.”^[76] While many people find enjoyment in the arts, artists consider their work essential to leading a fulfilling life.

Artistic Work as a Spiritual Necessity

Artistic work is perceived by many people as an extravagance; time spent on folly that could be better utilized in other endeavors. Makoto Fujimura, an internationally renowned visual artist, has written extensively to counteract that perception and considers the process of art as a worthy devotional act.^[77] As a Christian, he makes the case that “every act of creativity is an intuitive response to offer back to God what has been given to us.”^[78] Thus he considers his studio time to be both theological and aesthetic work in equal parts and experiences God in the creative process of artmaking.^[79]

Like Fujimura, the religious alumni participants in this study consider their art a service, not only to oneself or their audience, but to God. One Catholic alumna remembers that being a part of the liturgical arts group was her prayer, her religious practice.^[80] She sang at Catholic masses all four years at college and considered it an important part of her personal and spiritual identity. The church choir enabled her to have a closer relationship with God. She observed that music functioned as something meaningful for faith and many people experienced spirituality most profoundly through music, particularly choral music.^[81] A similar memorable experience also continues to permeate a music alumna’s secular work as a writer and singer. She incorporates the same positivity from her choral experience into every project, encouraging her students and audience to think and explore themselves in the world through music.^[82]

Though music ministry does not necessarily change people’s image of God, it may enhance people’s prayer or offer a transcendent experience.^[83] Even if performing music is not connected to a religious event, it could still provide intense emotional moments with the potential to connect a person, no matter what they believe, to something they consider spiritual. Those who are blessed with certain talents to create beautiful works experience a “partnering with God” because they feel they were chosen to do this.^[84] God, as they see it, is the ultimate creator, and therefore it is considered a privilege and a calling to be a part of that divine creative experience.

Alumni who consider themselves atheist or agnostic may view the Catholic Mass very differently from their religious peers. To them, it is a production that is “theatrical by design. . . . There has to be a good story. There has to be death. There has to be redemption. There has to be hell.”^[85] Without a strong religious faith, the Catholic mass becomes an interesting performative act that is very removed from the profound feelings a Christian might experience. However, the interviews in this study revealed that those who do not claim to be religious still overwhelmingly consider their art to be something spiritual.

Transcendence

The interviewees also spoke of unforgettable transcendent moments occurring during performances. Being on stage requires considerable focus and an acute awareness of one’s co-creators. Moments when one is entirely engaged in the performance are described as wholly selfless, transcendent or spiritual. One music alumnus recounted a particular moment when he was playing for a large crowd. At some point, even though he was still playing the guitar, he felt like he was a listener, observing what was happening. To him it was “one of those out-of-body moments where . . . the physical engagement with the instrument isn’t there.”^[86] This type of experience is not uncommon for artists according to the sociologist, Wuthnow. Artists can become so absorbed in their performance that they are oblivious of being on stage. It is a transcendent moment, close to their soul, when they get “a taste of the eternal.”^[87] This speaks to the artist’s perception that they are connecting with something remarkable albeit intangible. “And in a sense, that’s what spirituality is—expressing [the] connection to one another . . . and the connection to something beyond our physical selves in artistic production.”^[88]

For the artists, creating visual art or being in a performance are all emotionally positive spiritual experiences. While their definitions of spirituality may differ, the artists feel as though they are a conduit that brings the art form to life in the moment. A musician alumnus talked of this conduit extending back centuries as if he were in a conversation with a different time and place.^[89] Musical performance opens a certain kind of communication with some part of yourself, the text, or “what the composer was thinking and feeling; it could be a deity or some element of the universe. But you know, when you play music, you’re never alone.”^[90] That connection may be between a character that the actor is portraying on stage, a composer from another place or time, or even something unknown that forms a connection for them personally.

Inspiration

Another aspect of artistic work, that remains something of an enigma, involves ‘inspiration’ and how it relates to the process of creativity. Where, for example, does inspiration come from? How do the kernels of a creative endeavor materialize? One theater alumna describes it as being “in the zone. It’s like this sort of magical place. . . . I’m not thinking about my spirituality. But I think that [artistic ability comes] from this magical place. . . . I think inspiration is divine, like striking. . . . I think positive energy moves through us as we create.”^[91]

Interviewees describe this zone of creativity in many ways. Some quiet the mind and dispense with thinking to accept whatever comes to them, and others describe it as a gift, in raw form, that needs further crafting.

It’s as if my cup is kind of overflowing constantly with this source of water. It’s just sloshing around. There’s this need to find another vessel to put it in, something that’s a bit more organized and intentional than like puddles on the floor around me. . . . As soon as I’m done, it disappears, and the extra water disappears, and things can just kind of settle for a little bit until I’m ready to play again. . . . It’s like an energy management solution.^[92]

For a Catholic alumnus, inspiration for composing comes to him from an unknown source. He can take the tune that was given to him and craft it into something, but whatever he is hearing to begin with is not of his own making.^[93] Even an atheist alumnus admits that artists need a spiritual position about their creations. Whatever the artist creates is a mirror of their mind, a response to the current discourse. It exposes the artist, like a confession, and they must be comfortable with the critique that follows.^[94]

Communal

There is a communal aspect to creating works of art, sharing a vision, and working together that feels inherently spiritual to the artists and audience. “It’s a moving thing to be in a space with a large group of people all focusing their energy in the same way.”^[95] This ‘energy’ in a space is possible when the norms of the group give permission to be emotionally available, to feel safe to take risks and to explore one’s emotions within the structure of a project. It is an energy that is felt by artists on an empty stage or in an artist’s studio. “The energy that we put into space stays there, so other folks that enter into that space within theatre can tap into those same energies.”^[96] If this energy, this anticipation and excitement, were not present, then the act of creation would be less desirable. There is something else at play, something felt but unseen, when people make art together. The combined experience of mindfully being in a community of people, even for the atheist, “is something very, very spiritual in that sense.”^[97]

Artistic experiences—both as creators and observers—serve as powerful avenues for spiritual exploration, often fostering profound emotional and transcendent moments. Alumni describe their encounters with visual art, music, and theater as deeply reflective, offering a sense of connection to something greater than themselves. The work requires the skill to focus intently and be acutely aware of co-creators on stage, sometimes taking the artist to a transcendent and inexplicable moment. Similarly, the source of inspiration is perceived as something beyond rational explanation, sometimes described as a divine or a mysterious force that moves through us.

For alumni who identify as religious, artistic endeavors have significant spiritual meaning and they consider their artistic work as a form of devotion or service to God. Even atheists acknowledge that there is an inherent spirituality in their artistic work. The communal nature of artistic engagement creates a shared energy and emotional openness, reinforcing the idea that art is an intrinsically spiritual experience.

Solidarity

Kolvenbach recognized the path to solidarity was not learned through theory, but through direct contact and experience with others. “When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change.”^[98] This concept is further supported by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences which asserts an education in visual and performing arts exposes students to more diversity, challenges preconceived notions, and builds empathy and acceptance of others.^[99] This educational experience creates a strong ethical foundation by engaging students in activities that broaden their worldly perspectives.

Other-centered

Several alumni stressed that studying visual art had a positive effect on their perspective of other cultures. One alumna remembered that her class museum trips motivated her to expand her research and learn more about different cultures. She believed the arts had a unique way of inspiring this attitude in her, made her more knowledgeable about world cultures, and lead her to make more ethical decisions because of that knowledge.^[100] Similarly, after taking an Islamic art course, another alumna developed a passion for this field, and it quickly blossomed into her new academic focus. Studying a foreign culture felt, to her, like a moral imperative that would counteract the Islamophobia she witnessed in the United States. This course of study created a sense of solidarity between her and the Islamic world.^[101]

A music alumna vividly remembers her world music class and how profound it was to learn about culturally diverse musical traditions. In particular, she recalls being presented with Native American music for the first time. When she listened to the music, it did not resonate with her at all. Yet, over time, she grew to appreciate and enjoy the music. Learning to appreciate music from an unfamiliar culture was a steppingstone on a path to understand a multitude of behavioral differences. Later in life she had a better understanding of the kids in her classroom who, on face value might appear disruptive, but then recognized that their behavior stemmed from their unique personal culture.^[102]

On the surface, a theater education addresses the various skills necessary to produce a script on stage. Below the surface, students are cultivating working relationships with the entire production team and communicating the vision of the show to the various production departments. Decisions cannot be made selfishly. Every time a decision is made, it has the potential to impact the entire team and possibly disrupt the schedule leading to opening night. “That leads directly to just being a good human. Because at the end of the day, you want to choose the thing that is going to benefit the most people.”^[103] Teams that understand the necessity for open communication and the care of others are typically the most successful.

Participation in the arts creates communal expression, builds honesty between people, and fosters a connection with others in a transformative way.^[104] As an example, conductors in music need to know their musicians well and, when misunderstandings occur, resolve them through honest communication. Otherwise, the group dynamic can quickly fall apart. “We continue to work with one another and listen to whatever’s going on; so, my artistic work is deeply connected to being an ethical person.”^[105] When music is created, it connects to other people and enriches everyone.^[106]

Artists may connect with the public when a community experiences trauma and thereby serve as a salve for the shared pain. “In Ministry you do have moments like [September 11th] when there’s a crisis and you’re called to respond even though people might think, what does someone need church music for at this time? But, in our environment, that’s part of what we do.”^[107] Offering songs of comfort serves to bring people together, to alleviate trauma, and to provide solace through one’s artistic talent.

Empathy

Of the many the self-reported skills and qualities gained through the alumni’s arts education, empathy was mentioned significantly more times than any other personal trait. Research supports that empathy is a causal effect of an arts education.^[108] Performers, for example, learn to listen with intention to others around them on stage, a critical skill for understanding other’s perspectives. It “cultivates empathy, which ultimately leads you to become a more ethical person.”^[109] Artists train their senses to pay attention to the world and to value life’s mysterious details.^[110] The very nature of being an artist requires highly developed listening skills and intentional observations of the world.

The imaginative power to put oneself in someone else’s shoes is a unique form of empathy. Actors regularly embody various characters who may be unlike themselves. Musicians work to understand the intentions of composers to perform their music. Art historians “have to think about who [artists] were as a person and what their ideals and hopes and beliefs were and what may be the issues that they faced in their life work.”^[111] Curiosity and imagination about other people, real or fictional, leads to a deeper connection and acceptance of others.

Even the audience member who passively observes a performance is seeing characters and stories in a new light. In a live performance, there is no “substitute for the kind of catharsis or that experience you get with other strangers in a dark room experiencing one storyteller who is physically present breathing the same air.”^[112] This communal experience often impacts, educates, and may even change our perspectives.

Civic Contributions

Civic contributions in the arts come in many forms and have great potential for positive transformations. ^[113] Powerful artistic moments sway public perceptions and garner greater support. In the 1980s and 90s, activists generated awareness and sympathy for the AIDS crisis through the AIDS Quilt Project and with a Broadway production of Angels in America. A well-told story allows the audience to examine the consequences of imagined actions and avoid making the same mistakes in real life. “We evolve storytelling in theater as a safety to keep us from killing each other.”^[114] Documentary filmmakers explore historical events hoping to make a lasting impression in some basic human way through their lens.^[115] Once an issue has been brought into the spotlight, people can no longer look away in good conscience. It might even spur one on to participate in social justice actions.^[116]

Two alumni, during their college years, had internships at Boal’s workshops in Brazil where they experienced his socio-political movement, Theater of the Oppressed. One participated in interactive street performances that brought life-changing resources to Brazilian house cleaners.

I was watching it happen in front of my eyes. People who don’t have the means to learn about what you do when you’re being physically or sexually abused by the person who’s hiring you to clean their house; this is a number you can call. And then you would see women taking down numbers. So, I was just like, oh, my God, we’re helping people, from the grassroots up.^[117]

The other alumna who interned with Boal says her desire to seek out opportunities to empower the arts for social change has only increased since leaving college.^[118]

Alumni actions of solidarity manifest in a multitude of ways. Some alumni chose eco-friendly or recycled materials in their artwork as a step towards helping the environment. Others employ their artistic talents to enrich their teaching methods, social work, or medical practice. When seeking insights into who the Boston College alumni have become, the benchmark of the success of the university, many anecdotal examples of their work as ‘men and women for others’ materialized.

In a hospital pediatric ward, one alumna staged theatrical shows using the hospital staff as musical theater actors. Afterwards, they would remain in costume and converse with the children to provide an afternoon of joy for their young patients.^[119]

A theatre alumnus produces and fundraises for a theater company as an act of love for others. He truly believes his theater is making the community a better place.^[120]

A skilled social worker employs theatrical skills to engage effectively with her clients. “The key to being a good social worker is not commenting or trying to make people feel better, but, . . . in parallel with theatre, it’s presenting a story or sharing a perspective.” ^[121]

In the classroom, theater games become effective tools for helping the kids unknowingly learn collaboration and focus through practice and play.^[122]

Music lessons provided a breakthrough with a young student who recently lost his mother. The alumna put aside the music intended for the course and taught him to play his favorite piano music instead, producing a remarkable transformation in this child. This teacher, who claims she is not a spiritual person, thought of the phrase, “In those moments, I see God.”^[123]

An actress—inspirational because she is the first smart, capable Latina female character in the game world—connects with her fans no matter how different they are from herself. She will “connect with them as humans and respect them and show them the love that they want.” This, she says, has made her a better person.^[124]

The alumni interviewed in this study share a common concern for others and each, in their own way, have found a way to practice solidarity, bringing meaning to their work. Research by Kisida and Bowen “supports the claims [that] among adults, arts participation is related to behaviors that contribute to the health of civil society, such as increased civic engagement, greater social tolerance, and reductions in other-regarding behavior.”^[125] Similarly, the National Endowment for the Arts, referencing multiple research studies, affirms the communal and civic benefits of participating in the arts.

The arts and humanities help us develop the skills needed to find connection, common purpose, and recognition of our shared humanity. [It] recognizes the role of the arts in preventing radicalization by building empathy and strengthening mutual understanding, providing solace in the direct aftermath of incidents of hate-motivated violence, and building community resilience and recovery.^[126]

Discussion

This qualitative study investigated how alumni of Boston College’s visual and performing arts programs made meaning of their undergraduate education and the ways in which it has shaped their development over time. Through semi-structured interviews, participants reflected on their experiences in the arts, years after graduation, offering insight into the enduring influence of their formative education. The interview protocol focused on three dimensions of student formation central to the University’s mission—academic, social, and spiritual. Across narratives, participants articulated nuanced connections between their artistic training and broader personal development, illuminating how core formative principles continued to inform their lives and vocational trajectories. These accounts underscore the profound and lasting educational value of the arts within a Jesuit framework.

Engagement with coursework and creative practice in the visual arts, music, and theater served as a gateway to cross-cultural understanding and alternative modes of thought, challenging students to move beyond familiar perspectives. This exposure aligns with O’Malley’s articulation of humanistic education, which seeks to “lift [students] beyond the quotidian” by introducing them to diverse cultures and intellectual frameworks.^[127] Empirical research supports the assertion that sustained involvement in the arts not only expands cultural awareness but also fosters social-emotional growth and interpersonal competence. ^[128] Such integrative learning cultivates both mindfulness and ethical responsibility, preparing students to navigate the complexities of a pluralistic world with empathy and discernment.

Parallel learning of theoretical concepts alongside hands-on experiences increased the quality and retention of learned outcomes. Alumni easily recounted their performance experiences years after graduation, while the lecture material had disappeared from their memory. A joyful attitude permeated their demeaner when they spoke of their artistic process. However, for those who do not to participate in the arts currently, the sense of loss was palpable. Arts alumni see their practice as an integral component to their personal well-being.

This study underscores a perception that artistic thinking is different from other disciplines, albeit equally rigorous, intellectually demanding, and deeply transformative. The ability to reimagine, to push against the status quo, and to find meaning in ambiguity defines the artistic mindset. This cognitive process—marked by discipline, intuition, and openness to inspiration—blends structured problem-solving with insights that transcend rational explanation. In essence, artistic practice is not an ancillary skill but a fundamental way of knowing, shaping individuals to be insightful, reflective, and engaged thinkers.

Collaborative artistic endeavors create profound connections, establishing a shared sense of purpose that extends into broader social and spiritual contexts. Theater, music, and studio art demand flexibility of thinking and the ability to embrace stressful situations with grace, fostering resilience that extends beyond artistic disciplines. The creative process itself is an act of solidarity, shaping individuals who engage with their communities through empathy and trust. Moreover, the act of making does not merely refine technical skills; it deepens self-awareness and nurtures a communal spirit, preparing students to navigate complex interpersonal and professional landscapes.

Self-awareness, attentiveness, and ethical discernment is fostered through the mindful and reflective practices of an artistic education; it requires the artist to have a point of view. Each nuance of a character, every tone of music, every quality of a brush stroke imbues the art with intentional meaning. Even if those choices come from a subconscious feeling that guide choices, the artist is still discerning an infinite number of individual decisions in every minute of the process. Since artistic work is also open to interpretations and critiques from its audience, artists require an ability understand their work from perspectives other than their own. Research affirms that “the arts challenge us with different points of view, compel us to empathize with ‘others,’ and give us the opportunity to reflect on the human condition.”^[129] Through embodied artistic practices, artists engage in deliberate introspection that enhances their ability to connect with themselves and the world.

Participants in the artistic process often describe it as a spiritual encounter where the boundaries between self, other, and the divine are momentarily dissolved. Inspiration, for many, emerges as a kind of sacred mystery, producing not only artwork but an energy that renews, connects, and transforms. In this way, the practice of art becomes a form of service to self, to community, and to God. Within a Jesuit framework, such practice is deeply aligned with the formation of the whole person, elevating the arts as both a spiritual experience and a profound contribution to the common good. Here, creativity is not simply a skill—it is a calling.

At its most transformative, an arts education does not merely cultivate aesthetic sensibilities or technical prowess; it shapes individuals attuned to the world’s complexities and injustices and prepares them to respond with creativity, empathy, and moral imagination. Psychologist Ellen Winner notes that “the artist is motivated not solely by the desire to solve a problem but also often by the desire to find a problem to solve,” ^[130] a disposition that aligns powerfully with the demands of civic engagement. Artists are trained to notice, to probe, and to hold space for ambiguity. This active seeking becomes foundational for responsible citizenship and social inquiry.

A visual or performing arts education deepens empathy—an essential ingredient for fostering social justice—and invites students to develop an ever-expanding awareness of society and culture. As Kolvenbach articulated, “tomorrow’s ‘whole person’ cannot be whole without an educated awareness of society and culture with which to contribute socially, generously, in the real world.” ^[131] When the artistic impulse is paired with this Jesuit vision, it forms individuals who not only imagine a more just world but also possess the inner resources to help bring it into being.

The Value of the Visual and Performing Arts in Jesuit Formative Education

Boston College has devoted significant resources to student development including spiritual and career discernment retreats, service-learning programs, and volunteering opportunities. In the essay, The Journey into Adulthood, the University has alluded to the success of these programs while simultaneously identifying several areas where their programs fall short. A few of these shortcomings are: (1) students are too intellectually passive; (2) online content is distracting students from real life experiences; (3) students are too ‘nice’ to engage in serious conversations about others who are unlike themselves; and (4) students do not connect their academic learning to the larger context of their lives.^[132]

Participants in this study have bridged the previously mentioned shortcomings via the intrinsic content and experience provided by a visual and performing arts education. Alumni expressed a deep and meaningful engagement with their chosen artform, as well as their collaborators, integrating art as a meaningful component of their life. The very nature of making manifests a deeper understanding and a disciplined commitment to the art process and content.

Participating in the arts also addresses the second concern regarding the distracting influence of technological gadgets and addictive online social content. Involvement in design and performance requires electronic devices be put aside. Playing a musical instrument, for example, is impossible while scrolling on a cell phone. Students must be physically and mentally present in rehearsals and performances, in the art studio, or choreographing a dance. This results in experiences that foster attentiveness to others, improved listening skills, and a sense of solidarity with the team.

Educators are aware of the difficulties of trying to lead discussions of uncomfortable cultural topics; students do not want to appear insensitive. The arts, however, provide opportunities to examine characters and cultures from a less vulnerable position—namely in texts, scripts, films, music, etc.—and provide an inroad to these important conversations. The alumni participants recounted numerous educational moments when the arts exposed them to cultural differences, prompting them to re-examine their personal perspectives. Research confirms that an arts education builds cultural awareness and empathy that, in turn, develops into greater civic engagement.^[133]

The visual and performing arts bring together students in processes that connect them socially, academically and spiritually. Humanists believed that studying moral and political philosophy in drama, poetry, novels, and foreign languages “widened students’ perspectives, excited their imaginations, and made them sensitive in the weighing of options and in assessing the relative merits of competing probabilities and competing values in the conflict of human situations.”^[134] The alumni in this study frequently describe their artistic work as a form of spiritual exploration—one that transcends technical achievement to become an integral expression of their identity, values, and purpose. This study illustrates clear connections of the academic arts education with the broader context of lived experiences.

According to Kolvenbach, “Our universities also boast a splendid variety of in-service programs, outreach programs, insertion programs, off-campus contacts, and hands-on courses. These should not be too optional or peripheral, but at the core of every Jesuit university’s program of studies.”^[135] This qualitative research project affirms that the arts are not an ancillary aspect of Jesuit education but a vital and integrative force within its formative mission.

Notes:

^[1]          The Journey into Adulthood: Understanding Student Formation (Boston College, 2007).

^[2]          Elena Rossi, “Season 2 Episode 12: Performance Nineteenth Century Jesuit Schools with Michael Zampelli, SJ,” History of Education Society (blog), November 21, 2022, https://historyofeducation.org.uk/season-2-episode-12-performance-nineteenth-century-jesuit-schools-with-michael-zampelli-sj/.

^[3]          The Journey into Adulthood, 25–26.

^[4]          Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in Jesuit Higher Education,” keynote address presented at the conference on the Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Santa Clara University, October 6, 2000, https://www.scu.edu/ic/programs/ignatian-worldview/kolvenbach/.

^[5]          The Journey into Adulthood, 17–20.

^[6]          The Journey into Adulthood, 1.

^[7]          Greene, email message to author, July 16, 2024.

^[8]          Brian Kisida and Daniel H. Bowen, “New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education,” The Brown Center Chalkboard (blog), February 12, 2019, 1, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2178816854/abstract/1D6DB9DB1732464CPQ/1.

^[9]          Michael Larkin, Rachel Shaw, and Paul Flowers, “Multiperspectival Designs and Processes in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Research,” Qualitative Research in Psychology 16, no. 2 (2019): 182, https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2018.1540655.

^[10]         Alyssa Emery and Lynley H. Anderman, “Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to Advance Theory and Research in Educational Psychology,” Educational Psychologist 55, no. 4 (2020): 222, https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2020.1787170.

^[11]         Ellen Winner, Invented Worlds: The Psychology of the Arts (Harvard University Press, 1982), 50.

^[12]         Music Alumna 3, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, October 13, 2021.

^[13]         Arts Alumna 2, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 2, 2021.

^[14]         Winner, Invented Worlds, 12.

^[15]         Arts Alumna 6, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 29, 2021.

^[16]         Winner, Invented Worlds, 39.

^[17]         Robert Wuthnow, Creative Spirituality: The Way of the Artist (University of California Press, 2003), 262–64.

^[18]         Arts Alumnus 2, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, November 24, 2021.

^[19]         Music Alumnus 2, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, October 6, 2021.

^[20]         Arts Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[21]         Music Alumnus 1, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 29, 2021.

^[22]         Music Alumnus 4, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 30, 2021.

^[23]         Arts Alumna 3, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 2, 2021.

^[24]         Music Alumna 1, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, August 13, 2021.

^[25]         Theatre Alumnus 4, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 7, 2021.

^[26]         Theatre Alumna 2, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 10, 2021.

^[27]         Music Alumna 1, Zoom interview.

^[28]         Winner, Invented Worlds, 387.

^[29]         The Journey into Adulthood, 19.

^[30]         Winner, Invented Worlds, 387.

^[31]         Music Alumnus 3, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 22, 2021.

^[32]         Music Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[33]         The Journey into Adulthood, 27.

^[34]         Theatre Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[35]         Arts Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[36]         John W. O’Malley, “Jesuit Schools and the Humanities Yesterday and Today,” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 47, no. 1 (2015): 29, https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v47i1.5924.

^[37]         Kelly Leroux and Anna Bernadska, “Impact of the Arts on Individual Contributions to US Civil Society,” Journal of Civil Society 10, no. 2 (2014): 17, https://doi.org/10.1080/17448689.2014.912479.

^[38]         Theatre Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[39]         Theatre Alumna 3, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 2, 2021.

^[40]         Theatre Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[41]         Zbigniew Marek and Anna Walulik, “Ignatian Spirituality as Inspiration for a Pedagogical Theory of Accompaniment,” Journal of Religion and Health 61, no. 6 (2022): 4482, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01628-z.

^[42]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 22, 2021.

^[43]         Arts Alumna 4, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 10, 2021.

^[44]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[45]         Arts Alumnus 1, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 15, 2021.

^[46]         Music Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[47]         Music Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[48]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[49]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[50]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[51]         Music Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[52]         Music Alumnus 3, Zoom interview.

^[53]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[54]         Theatre Alumnus 3, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 1, 2021.

^[55]         The Journey into Adulthood, 19–20.

^[56]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[57]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[58]         Arts Alumna 1, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, August 30, 2021.

^[59]         Arts Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[60]         Music Alumnus 4, Zoom interview.

^[61]         Music Alumnus 3, Zoom interview.

^[62]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[63]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[64]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[65]         Arts Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[66]         The Journey into Adulthood, 21.

^[67]         Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[68]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[69]         Leroux and Bernadska, “Impact of the Arts on Individual Contributions to US Civil Society,” 17.

^[70]         Wuthnow, Creative Spirituality, 39.

^[71]         Arts Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[72]         Arts Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[73]         Arts Alumna 6, Zoom interview.

^[74]         James Elkins, Pictures & Tears: A History of People Who Have Cried in Front of Paintings (Routledge, 2001), 21.

^[75]         Music Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[76]         Music Alumna 4, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 21, 2021.

^[77]         Makoto Fujimura, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, Kindle (Yale University Press, 2020), 115.

^[78]         Fujimura, 117.

^[79]         Fujimura, 3.

^[80]         Theatre Alumna 4, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 6, 2021.

^[81]         Arts Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[82]         Music Alumna 2, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, August 16, 2021.

^[83]         Music Alumna 2.

^[84]         Music Alumna 2.

^[85]         Theatre Alumnus 2, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, September 28, 2021.

^[86]         Music Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[87]         Wuthnow, Creative Spirituality, 122.

^[88]         Arts Alumna 5, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, December 13, 2021.

^[89]         Music Alumnus 4, Zoom interview.

^[90]         Music Alumnus 3, Zoom interview.

^[91]         Theatre Alumna 1, Formative Education of an Arts Education @ Boston College, Zoom interview for qualitative research, August 26, 2021, 1.

^[92]         Music Alumnus 3, Zoom interview.

^[93]         Music Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[94]         Arts Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[95]         Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[96]         Theatre Alumnus 3, Zoom interview.

^[97]         Theatre Alumnus 4, Zoom interview.

^[98]         Kolvenbach, “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice.”

^[99]         Brian Kisida and Angela LaPorte, Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education (American Academy of Arts and Sciences, September 14, 2021), 14, https://www.amacad.org/publication/case-for-arts-education.

^[100]       Arts Alumna 1, Zoom interview.

^[101]       Arts Alumna 6, Zoom interview.

^[102]       Music Alumna 4, Zoom interview.

^[103]       Theatre Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[104]       Music Alumna 4, Zoom interview.

^[105]       Music Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[106]       Music Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[107]       Music Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[108]       Daniel H. Bowen and Brian Kisida, “Investigating the Causal Effects of Arts Education,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 42, no. 3 (2023): 624–47, https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22449.

^[109]       Theatre Alumnus 1, Zoom interview.

^[110]       Fujimura, Art and Faith, 107.

^[111]       Arts Alumna 2, Zoom interview.

^[112]       Theatre Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[113]       Kisida and LaPorte, “Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education,” 18.

^[114]       Theatre Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[115]       Arts Alumna 4, Zoom interview.

^[116]       Music Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[117]       Theatre Alumna 1, Zoom interview.

^[118]       Theatre Alumna 3, Zoom interview.

^[119]       Music Alumna 1, Zoom interview, 1.

^[120]       Theatre Alumnus 2, Zoom interview.

^[121]       Theatre Alumna 4, Zoom interview.

^[122]       Theatre Alumnus 3, Zoom interview.

^[123]       Music Alumna 4, Zoom interview.

^[124]       Theatre Alumna 1, Zoom interview.

^[125]       Kisida and Bowen, “New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education,” 1.

^[126]       “United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture,” United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture, accessed June 25, 2024, https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/united-we-stand.

^[127]       O’Malley, “Jesuit Schools and the Humanities Yesterday and Today,” 28.

^[128]       Brian Bowen and Daniel H. Kisida, “The Fine Art of School Engagement,” Education Next (blog), May 2, 2023, https://www.educationnext.org/fine-art-of-school-engagement-how-expanding-arts-education-affects-learning-behavior-social-emotional-growth/.

^[129]       Kisida and Bowen, “New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education,” 1.

^[130]       Winner, Invented Worlds, 33.

^[131]       Kolvenbach, “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice.”

^[132]       The Journey into Adulthood, 25–27.

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^[134]       O’Malley, “Jesuit Schools and the Humanities Yesterday and Today,” 31.

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Bowen, Daniel H., and Brian Kisida. “Investigating the Causal Effects of Arts Education.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 42, no. 3 (2023): 624–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22449.

Elkins, James. Pictures & Tears: A History of People Who Have Cried in Front of Paintings. Routledge, 2001.

Emery, Alyssa, and Lynley H. Anderman. “Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to Advance Theory and Research in Educational Psychology.” Educational Psychologist 55, no. 4 (2020): 220–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2020.1787170.

Fujimura, Makoto. Art and Faith: A Theology of Making. Kindle. Yale University Press, 2020.

Kisida, Brian, and Angela LaPorte. Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education. American Academy of Arts and Sciences, September 14, 2021. https://www.amacad.org/publication/case-for-arts-education.

Kisida, Brian, and Daniel H. Bowen. “New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education.” The Brown Center Chalkboard [BLOG]. The Brookings Institution, February 12, 2019. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2178816854/abstract/1D6DB9DB1732464CPQ/1.

Larkin, Michael, Rachel Shaw, and Paul Flowers. “Multiperspectival Designs and Processes in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Research.” Qualitative Research in Psychology 16, no. 2 (2019): 182–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2018.1540655.

Leroux, Kelly, and Anna Bernadska. “Impact of the Arts on Individual Contributions to US Civil Society.” Journal of Civil Society 10, no. 2 (2014): 144–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448689.2014.912479.

Marek, Zbigniew, and Anna Walulik. “Ignatian Spirituality as Inspiration for a Pedagogical Theory of Accompaniment.” Journal of Religion and Health 61, no. 6 (2022): 4481–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01628-z.

O’Malley, John W. “Jesuit Schools and the Humanities Yesterday and Today.” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 47, no. 1 (2015). https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v47i1.5924.

Kolvenbach, Peter-Hans, S.J. “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in Jesuit Higher Education.” Presented at the Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Santa Clara University, October 6, 2000. https://www.scu.edu/ic/programs/ignatian-worldview/kolvenbach/.

Rossi, Elena. “Season 2 Episode 12: Performance Nineteenth Century Jesuit Schools with Michael Zampelli, SJ.” History of Education Society (blog), November 21, 2022. https://historyofeducation.org.uk/season-2-episode-12-performance-nineteenth-century-jesuit-schools-with-michael-zampelli-sj/.

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United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture. “United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture.” Accessed June 25, 2024. https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/united-we-stand.

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APA

Tiala, C. (2025). Educational and formative value of studying the visual and performing arts. Jesuit Educational Quarterly, 1(3), 455–485. https://doi.org/10.51238/JcqHVSA

CMOS

Crystal, Tiala. 2025. “Educational and Formative Value of Studying the Visual and Performing Arts.” Jesuit Educational Quarterly, 2nd ser., 1, no. 3: 455–485. https://doi.org/10.51238/JcqHVSA.

MLA

Crystal, Tiala. “Educational and Formative Value of Studying the Visual and Performing Arts.” Jesuit Educational Quarterly, 2nd ser., vol. 1, no. 3, 2025, pp. 455–485. https://doi.org/10.51238/JcqHVSA.

Turabian

Crystal, Tiala. 2025. “Educational and Formative Value of Studying the Visual and Performing Arts.” Jesuit Educational Quarterly, 2nd ser., 1, no. 3: 455–485. https://doi.org/10.51238/JcqHVSA.