CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

This report uses data from the latest Survey of Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to present an overview of children in the Australian Capital Territory and their interaction with the cultural sector.

Conducted in April 2012, the survey collected information about the out of school hours participation of children (aged 5-14 years) in five organised cultural activities, seven selected leisure activities, and attendance at selected cultural venues and events. The 2012 survey expanded the list of organised cultural activities (i.e. playing a musical instrument, singing, dancing and drama) to include organised art and craft. Recreational art and craft remains a leisure activity. In addition to these activities, information was also collected about children’s participation in organised sport.

The data contained in this report, including additional demographic data pertaining to the children participating in the cultural sector, is available in the data cube for the Australian Capital Territory attached to Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, Apr 2012 (cat. no. 4901.0) on the ABS website.

PARTICIPATION IN ORGANISED CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

In the 12 months to April 2012, 40% (17,100) of children aged 5-14 years in the Australian Capital Territory participated in at least one of five organised cultural activities outside of school hours.

Playing a musical instrument was the most popular organised activity with 21% of children in the Australian Capital Territory involved. By comparison, 17% were involved in dancing, 10% in singing and organised art and craft and 4% were involved in drama.

When compared with the national participation rates, children in the Australian Capital Territory had higher rates of participation for the majority of organised activities.

Participation by age, sex and family type

More than half of all girls (52%) in the Australian Capital Territory participated in at least one organised cultural activity compared with just over a quarter of boys (27%).

The most popular activities for girls were dancing and playing a musical instrument with 5,900 (28%) and 5,400 (26%) participants respectively. Of the children who danced, 94% had taken lessons in the 12 months prior to interview.

For boys the most popular activity was playing a musical instrument, attracting 3,800 (17%) participants. The majority of children who played a musical instrument undertook formal instruction (81%).

Children aged 12-14 years played musical instruments at a participation rated more than twice that of those in the 5-8 years age group (32% and 14% respectively). Survey results show varying rates of participation across the age groups for all other activities however, there is not enough evidence to conclude that these differences are statistically significant.

Reported estimates indicate that children from couple families (42%) were more likely to have participated in at least one of the organised cultural activities than those from single parent families (30%). However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that this difference is statistically significant.
CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN OTHER LEISURE ACTIVITIES

In the 12 months to April 2012, 73% (31,800) of children aged 5-14 years in the Australian Capital Territory had participated in at least one organised sport outside of school hours. More information about children's participation in organised sport is available in the data cube for the Australian Capital Territory attached to Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, Apr 2012 (cat. no. 4901.0) on the ABS website.

In addition to participation in organised activities, the 2012 ABS survey also collected data on a range of other activities to provide an overall picture of what children did outside of school hours. Whilst mainly leisure activities, the list did include homework or other study. The results showed that in the two school weeks immediately prior to interview 99% of children in the Australian Capital Territory had watched TV, DVDs or videos outside of school hours; 90% had done homework or other study; 87% had participated in other screen based activities; 80% read for pleasure; 71% had ridden a bike and 60% had been skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter. Over half (53%) of children in the Australian Capital Territory participated in recreational art and craft.

The leisure activity with the greatest differences between age groups was recreational art and craft with participation by those aged 5-8 years (75%), more than twice that of those aged 12-14 years (34%). Rates of participation by 12-14 year olds were also significantly lower than those of the other age groups for the activities of bike riding and skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter. Participation rates for other screen-based activities were highest in the 12-14 year age group.
 



CHILDREN’S ATTENDANCE AT SELECTED CULTURAL VENUES AND EVENTS

In the 12 months to April 2012, 83% of all children in the Australian Capital Territory aged 5-14 years attended at least one of the selected cultural venues or events outside school hours. Around two thirds (65%) of children visited a museum or art gallery, whilst 60% visited a public library and 46% attended a performing arts event.

Survey results show variations in rates of attendance across all age groups for each of the selected venues or events. However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that these differences are statistically significant.