Empirical Study of the Effects of Creative Arts Participation on Academic Performance and Wellbeing Among Secondary School Students in Kwara State

Creative arts participation in secondary education is associated with broader educational benefits beyond artistic skill development, including improved academic engagement, emotional regulation, and social development, but empirical evidence for these benefits within Nigerian school contexts is sparse. This study empirically examined the relationship between creative arts participation and academic performance and psychosocial wellbeing among Senior Secondary School students in Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. A quasi-experimental design was employed, comparing academic performance (mean school examination scores) and wellbeing (assessed through the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale adolescent version) between 150 students with regular creative arts participation (at least two hours weekly in structured art, music, or drama activities) and 150 matched students with no regular creative arts participation, drawn from six secondary schools. Post-analysis controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, and prior academic attainment revealed that regular arts participants showed significantly higher wellbeing scores (p < 0.001) and academic performance in both arts and non-arts subjects (p < 0.01) than comparison group students. Drama participation specifically was associated with significantly improved English Language examination performance (p < 0.001). The study fills an empirical gap and provides evidence supporting investment in creative arts co-curricular programming in Nigerian secondary education. Recommendations include policy reform requiring access to structured creative arts activities in all secondary schools and wellbeing-targeted arts programming within the Kwara State Schools Management Board framework. Keywords: creative arts participation, academic performance, student wellbeing, secondary school, Kwara State