Art & Foundational Learning - Impact Assessment Study


About the Study
Emerging from a partnership with Wipro Foundation, in conjunction with Azim Premji Foundation and The Urban School Project, this qualitative case study aims to explore how a 14-week art-integrated program is supporting a group of Grade 1 students at VV Puram Government School in developing foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills. Through drawing, painting, collage, clay, puppetry, and explorations with natural materials, the study is looking at how multimodal, experiential, and inquiry-driven learning is enabling children to communicate ideas, tell stories, represent their thinking, recognise shapes and patterns, explore spatial relationships, and engage with counting and quantity.

Key Findings
  • I. Findings with Implications for Foundational Literacy
    (i) Symbolic Representation — Children increasingly using visual elements intentionally to communicate ideas, experiences, and observations with greater confidence and detail.
    (ii) Oral Expression & Vocabulary — Children increasingly describing their artworks, explaining their choices, sharing experiences, and using descriptive language while engaging with peers and facilitators.
    (iii) Sequential Storytelling — Children demonstrating a growing ability to organize ideas into simple narratives, connect events, and communicate sequences through both visual and verbal expression.
  • II. Findings with Implications for Foundational Numeracy
    (i) Shape & Pattern Recognition — Children increasingly identifying, combining, comparing, arranging, and applying shapes and patterns through hands-on art-making and material exploration.
    (ii) Spatial Relationships — Children increasingly applying concepts of placement, size, proportion, and arrangement while constructing and representing people, places, and familiar experiences.
    (iii) Basic Counting & Quantity — Children increasingly engaging with counting, grouping, comparing, classifying, and estimating quantities through meaningful art-making processes.
  • Increase in Confidence, Participation & Communication, with children becoming more willing to share ideas, initiate conversations, respond independently, and explain their artworks and processes.
  • Increase in Engagement, Focus & Sustained Involvement, with children remaining engaged for longer periods and showing sustained attention during hands-on, material-based explorations.
  • Growth in Independence, Experimentation & Decision-Making, with children increasingly initiating tasks, making creative choices, testing possibilities, and modifying their work with less adult prompting.
  • Learning Through Observation, Interaction & Shared Participation, as children increasingly used peer observation, conversation, material-sharing, and collaborative exploration to build confidence and extend their own ideas.​

​Read the Impact Assessment Study Report below.
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