University of Arkansas researchers who study the effect of cultural field trips on schoolchildren continued to draw a large number of readers with one of the most-read stories of 2014 in Education Next.

A study about the effect on students of field trips to see plays at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville was the second-most read article in Education Next this year. Jay Greene, Collin Hitt, Anne Kraybill and Cari Bogulski wrote the article describing the results of the study that found students gained in knowledge, tolerance and improved ability to read the emotions of others, compared to students who did not attend the theater performances.

Greene holds the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Reform, Hitt and Kraybill are doctoral students in education policy, and Bogulski is a research associate in the Department of Education Reform.

Last year, an article about a study by Greene, Dan Bowen and Brian Kisida of the effect of field trips to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was the most-read article of 2103. Bowen was a doctoral student in education policy at the time and Kisida is a research associate in the department.

A third article, summarizing the two research studies, is also attracting strong interest on the Education Week website. The Crystal Bridges study of nearly 11,000 students from 123 Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma schools, found students randomly assigned to receive a school tour of an art museum experience improvements in their knowledge of and ability to think critically about art, display stronger historical empathy, develop higher tolerance, and are more likely to visit such cultural institutions as art museums in the future. Technical versions of this research have been published in the leading journals, Sociology of Education and Educational Researcher.