During recent years, many scholars have argued about the relevance of the creative art-based projects (CABP) as a mean of fostering intercultural sensitivity in education (Byram, Fleming, 1998; da Silva, Villas‐Boas, 2006; Donelan, 2009; Eisner, 2002; Sinclair, Jeanneret, O’Toole, 2009; Volk, 1998). Accordingly, CABP including music, drama and other art forms have been widely promoted both in and out schools. Nevertheless, even though CABP are now popular as educational practices, we still lack a systematic analysis of the quality and the outcomes they achieve. 

Our paper aims to contribute filling this gap, focusing on CABP addressed to the children aged from 10 to 14. Research shows that this age range plays a crucial role in developing a personal orientation and sensitivity towards cultural differences (Gonzales, Knight, Birman, Sirolli, 2004; McCaig, 1994; Phinney, 1992; Pollock, Van Reken, 2001). To that end, we carried out two integrated lines of research aiming:

• - to build a list of quality indicators concerning CABP in intercultural education;
• - to develop the Children Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (CISI) to assess the efficacy of intercultural CABP.

For the first research line, we investigated three major CABP performed in Italy, to build a set of indicators able to provide a valid assessment of the educational and artistic dimensions involved. The projects were organized as workshops addressed to the children aged 10-14, covering intercultural subjects in the shape of tales, dramas, and illustrations which required the children active involvement. The inquiry resulted in a list of indicators which we will propose for discussion to the ECER Network as a mean to analyse the qualitative requirements implied by CABP. The list is not a prescriptive tool about how to manage CABP, as it would contradict the creative element of art-based experiences. Conversely, it is thought as an instrument aiming to stimulate a dialogic exploration which enables the stakeholders to contribute to the continuous improvement of the creative art-based practices in the intercultural education domain.

The second research line is devoted to the measurement of intercultural sensitivity of children aged 10-14 in CABP settings. In the last few years, many scales has been developed and validated in order to assess the amount of intercultural sensitivity (Chen, Starosta, 2000; Hammer, Bennett, Wiseman, 2003;West, 2009; Zea, Asner-Self, Birman, Buki, 2003). Such scales are currently used to test the ability of adults in dealing with cultural differences. Nevertheless, our hypothesis is that intercultural competences are developed throughout the childhood. As a consequence, achieving an earlier assessment of the degree of intercultural competences owned by children would be a desirable goal, enabling to improve both the planning and the evaluation of intercultural CABP. To this end, by comparing and systematically revising the adults’ scales we created a questionnaire (Children Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory, CISI), which provides a measure of preadolescents’ sensitivity to the cultural differences. Even though the validation of the questionnaire is still in progress, early data are now available and will be discussed during the session.  

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