CULTURE SHOCK: INTEREST AND AWARENESS OF CULTURAL EVENTS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

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CULTURE SHOCKINTEREST AND AWARENESS OF CULTURAL
EVENTS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
Prepared by The Metropolitan Center Florida
International University

• Prepared for
• Department of Cultural Affairs
• Miami-Dade County

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Executive Summary Key Findings

• The Metropolitan Center conducted a series of
  surveys at high schools and colleges in
  Miami-Dade County as well as focus groups of
  college students, high school students, parents,
  and teachers.
• High school and college students use the Internet
  daily for social networking and checking email.
• Almost all students have an email account.
• For students, the Internet is replacing
  traditional media information sources.
• Most students use social networking sites and
  visit them daily
• The most popular for college students is Facebook
  and for high school students is MySpace.

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Executive Summary Key Findings Cont.

• Both high school and college students find
  cultural events entertaining, fun, and
  educational.
• Most high school and college students attended a
  cultural event within the last week or month
  especially musical plays, dance recitals, and
  theatre.
• Most parents agree it is important to expose
  their children to culture from an early age and
  all agree school is the best medium.
• Teachers believe parents should be the ones
  exposing children to cultural events.
• Culture Shock could benefit from more advertising
  among students, parents, and teachers. Ways to
  do this include billboards and advertisements in
  schools and public transportation.

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Methodology

• Surveys November-December 2007
• administered at different high schools to attain
  racial/ethnic geographic representation of
  Miami-Dade County
• administered on site at different colleges and
  universities
• Focus Groups May-June 2008
• 8 conducted on site in different high schools
• 2 college student groups
• 1 teacher group
• 1 group of parents of college and high school
  students

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College Student Surveys Participating Colleges

• 411 surveys administered at the following
  colleges and universities
• Florida International University, University Park
  Campus
• Florida International University, Biscayne Bay
  Campus
• University of Miami
• Barry University
• Miami Dade College, North Campus
• Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus
• Miami Dade College, Kendall Campus
• Florida Memorial University
• Johnson and Wales University

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College Student Surveys Demographics and
Academic Information

• 62 of respondents were female
• Racial/ethnic self-identification
• 44 Hispanic
• 36 Black
• 15 White
• 5 Other
• The vast majority of respondents are full-time
  students.
• Surveyed students have diverse majors.
• The vast majority of students are from the Miami
  Dade College or Florida International University.

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College Student Surveys Communication, Internet,
and Social Networking

• 93 have a computer at home.
• Three-fourths surf the Internet daily.
• Yahoo and Google are by far the most popular
  search engines.
• 45 of students rarely or never use YouTube.
• 98 of students have an email account.
• The vast majority have a personal page on a
  social networking site.
• 68 visit their favorite networking site daily.
• The most popular are Facebook (57) and MySpace
  (45).
• 74 of students text message daily.
• Most students drive themselves (69).

POPULAR SEARCH ENGINES
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College Student Surveys Information,
Entertainment, and Ticket Purchasing

• 41 of students read a local newspaper weekly.
• Most rely on the Internet and television for news
  with 3 out of 10 relying exclusively on the
  Internet.
• The most popular radio stations are Power 96 and
  Y100.
• Most students prefer to download music.
• Students prefer going to the movies and go at
  least once a month.
• The vast majority have access to credit cards and
  use them for online purchases.
• Most students rely on Ticketmaster Online to
  purchase tickets to events.

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College Student Surveys Cultural Events

• Most describe cultural events as entertaining,
  and fun.
• Most attended a cultural event within the last
  month.
• 3 out of 10 have never been to a cultural event.
  
• Almost half attended their last cultural event
  because they really wanted to go.
• Respondents express interest in music, dance, and
  theatre.
• 7 out 10 prefer to attend an event with friends.
• Despite some being willing to pay up to 25 to
  attend a cultural event, the price of the ticket
  was mentioned as the greatest barrier to
  attending a cultural event.

CULTURAL EVENTS DESCRIPTIONS
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High School Student Surveys Participating High
Schools

• 536 surveys administered at the following
  schools
• American Senior High School
• Barbara Goleman Senior High School
• Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
• Booker T. Washington Senior High
• Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart
• Champagnat Catholic School of Hialeah
• Christopher Columbus Catholic High School
• Coral Gables Senior High School
• Coral Park Senior High School
• Design and Architecture Senior High School
• Doral Academy
• Dr. Michael M. Krop High School
• John A. Ferguson Senior High School
• Maritime and Science Technology Academy
• Miami Springs Senior High School Miami Sunset
  Senior High School
• Ransom Everglades
• Saint Brendan High School
• William H. Turner Technical Arts Senior High

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High School Student Surveys Demographics and
Academic Information

• 40 of students are from general public schools,
  26 from magnet schools, and 23 from religious
  private schools.
• The majority of students are from twelfth grade
  followed by eleventh grade.
• The majority of students (54) are male.
• 3 out of 4 students were between 16 and 18.
• Racial/ethnic self-identification breaks down as
  follows
• 72 Hispanic
• 12 Black
• 65 White
• 4 Other

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High School Student Surveys Communication,
Internet, and Social Networking

• 9 out of 10 students have a computer at home.
• The majority of students use the Internet daily
  with Google and Yahoo as the most popular search
  engines by far.
• 40 of students rarely or never use YouTube.
• Almost all students have an email account.
• Close to 90 of students use social networking
  sites.
• The majority of those who use social networking
  sites have pages on these sites and check them
  daily.

• The most popular sites are MySpace and Facebook.
• Slightly less than three-fourths of students text
  message daily.
• Unlike college students, high school students
  either rely on their parents or friends for
  transportation yet 40 drive themselves.

POPULAR SEARCH ENGINES
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High School Student Surveys Information,
Entertainment, and Ticket Purchasing

• 45 read a local newspaper weekly.
• Most students rely on Internet and television for
  information.
• 4 out of 10 rely exclusively on the Internet.
• The most popular radio stations are Power 96 and
  Y100.
• Like college students the vast majority of high
  school students prefer to download music and go
  to the movies as opposed to buying CDs and
  renting movies.
• Unlike college students, high school students do
  not have access to credit cards this is
  especially true of Black students.
• 82 of those with credit cards use them to make
  online purchases relying on Ticketmaster for
  ticket purchases.

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High School Student Surveys Cultural Events

• Most students describe cultural events as
  entertaining, fun, and educational.
• Bulk of students attended a cultural event within
  the last month or week.
• The last time most students attended a cultural
  event, they went because they really wanted to
  go.
• Students express interest in music, dance, and
  theatre.
• Most students would go to a cultural event with
  friends.
• Students indicated willingness to pay between 15
  and 45 to attend a cultural event.
• Despite this, ticket price was identified as the
  greatest barrier to attending a cultural event.

CULTURAL EVENTS DESCRIPTIONS
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High School Focus Groups Demographics and
Academic Information

• 8 high school focus groups were conducted on site
  at the following sites
• MAST Academy
• Miami Senior High School
• St. Brendan High School
• Miami Sunset Senior High School
• Miami Central Senior High School
• Barbara Goleman Senior High School
• Braddock Senior High School
• Overtown Youth Center

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High School Focus Groups Information Sources and
Interest in Cultural Events

• Most students are interested in sports, social
  networking, and hanging out.
• Students rely on the Internet or friends for
  information.
• Most do not read email announcements.
• Students think of cultural events as an
  expression of culture, focusing on food and
  bringing people together while a few others point
  to museums and musicals.
• When asked to describe cultural events many
  students think of them interesting and
  educational, and associate them with family.
  (Anything that expresses your way of life.
  Booker T. Washington student
• Most believe the cultural events offered in Miami
  Dade County are relevant to them.

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High School Focus Groups Cultural Events
Attendance, Motivations and Barriers

• 7 out of 10 students have attended a cultural
  event within the last 6 months
• Students prefer to attend cultural events on
  weekends, in the afternoon and evening.
• Most students would go with family and then
  friends.
• The most common reasons for not attending
  cultural events more often are lack of interest
  from family, gas prices, lack of transportation,
  and lack of information.
• Students realize there are plenty of free and
  inexpensive cultural events. If you really anted
  to go, you would find the money and time. Miami
  Sunset student
• Others point to a lack of interest.
• Most students would go to events focused around
  music, dance and theatre.
• Many students feel they cannot relate to opera
  and most students have never seen an opera.

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High School Focus Groups Culture Shock Awareness
and Interest

• Only 15 students had heard of Culture Shock,
  usually from teachers.
• Only 2 actually purchased discount tickets.
• Forms of advertising
• Radio
• TV
• Social networking sites
• Billboards and fliers especially on public
  transportation
• Internet
• School
• Most students agreed they were more likely to
  attend a cultural event using the discount
  tickets. (Since I can bring my family along,
  then yes. It makes it more fun.)
• Although most students liked the promotional
  cards, others had negative comments pointing to
  the lack of pictures, more detailed information,
  and examples of events.

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College Student Focus Groups Demographics and
Information Sources

• 2 focus groups were conducted with participants
  18-22 years old.
• Most participants were full-time students.
• The students come from the following
  universities
• Art Institute of Miami
• Miami-Dade College
• St. Thomas University
• University of Miami
• Florida International University
• Miami International Art and Design School.
• The ethno-racial breakdown is as follows
• Hispanic 8 students
• Non-Hispanic White 8 students
• Black/African-American 2 students.
• Most students use the Internet daily for
  information. (I probably spend probably over ten
  hours for sure a day. )
• All have an email address and most have a page on
  a social networking site which they check weekly.

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College Student Focus Groups Interest in
Cultural Events Attendance

• Students seemed uninformed about cultural events
  and defined them in general terms emphasizing
  music, food, wine, and ethnic festivals.
• Most students indicated cultural events are
  interesting and educational. A few pointed to the
  uniqueness of these events.
• The last time the majority attended a cultural
  event was either within the last six months to
  over one year ago.
• In terms of popularity, opera and ballet are the
  least popular and most students have not attended
  either type of event.
• The most popular types of cultural events are
  theatre, museums, and musical plays. (You get
  culture from pretty much anything.)

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College Student Focus Groups Events Attendance
and Culture Shock Awareness and Interest

• The majority felt interesting events cost around
  60.
• Most felt cultural events are not easy to attend
  pointing to the lack of parking, gas costs,
  distance, and traffic as the greatest obstacles.
• Both males and females felt cultural events are
  not relevant to them.
• Most students prefer to attend theatre/drama
  performances, musical festivals, art galleries,
  comedies, and museums.
• Students prefer to attend events on weekend
  nights and would drive themselves.
• Participants cited the most well-known venues
  like Bayfront Park, and the American Airlines
  Arena.
• Three-fourths of those who had heard of Culture
  Shock were non-Hispanic Whites, only one of which
  purchased tickets.
• Students heard of the program from family or
  friends.
• Most indicated they were more likely to attend a
  cultural event.
• Students prefer to receive information about the
  program via email or mail and would also like to
  see billboards and TV commercials.
• Most students loved the promotional cards.

Yes, its Miami-theres a lot going it.
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Focus Group Parents of High School and College
Students Information Sources and Interest in
Cultural Events

• 10 parents of high school and college students
  participated.
• 9 out of 10 use the Internet daily as their
  primary source of information.
• Participants watch local television channels and
  listen to the following radio stations 91.3,
  99.3, 96.5, and 99.1.
• None of the participants has signed up to receive
  information about events via email.
• Parents described cultural events as exciting,
  interesting, and informative.

You go to be exposed to something that you are
not normally exposed to.
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Cultural Events Attendance, Opportunities for
Children, and Culture Shock Awareness

• Only two had never been to a cultural event in
  Miami-Dade County.
• Most had been to a cultural event within the last
  one to six months.
• In terms of obstacles, parents mainly pointed to
  cost of the event as well as food and drinks.
• Art fairs, dance and music recitals, and museums
  are the most popular events.
• All parents noted the importance of involvement
  of cultural activities for children and preferred
  an early exposure.
• Many parents have difficulty convincing their
  children to attend cultural events.
• Parents claimed that musical plays, art
  festivals, and museums are the most appealing for
  their children.
• The ticket for an adult is really important given
  how most would not allow their children to attend
  an event without adult supervision.
• None of the parents had heard of Culture Shock.
• Parents prefer advertising on billboards, TV, and
  the newspaper.
• All liked the Culture Shock cards and suggested
  they be distributed at schools.

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Focus Group High School TeachersInformation
Sources and Interest in Cultural Events

• 12 teachers from the following schools
• Robert Morgan Senior High
• La Salle
• Miami Sunset Senior High
• Ferguson
• Booker T. Washington
• Corporate Academy North
• Maritime and Science Technology
• Coral Park Senior High
• Felix Varela Senior High
• Coral Gables Senior High

• Teachers rely mostly on the Internet for
  information and for class materials.
• All teachers check their email daily and a few
  receive information about cultural events via
  email.
• Most listen to the radio and prefer the following
  stations 91.3, 101.5, and 102.7.
• Teachers are interested in cultural events,
  especially art festivals, film festivals, plays,
  and musical performances.

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Cultural Events Attendance Motivations and
Barriers

• Most teachers identified cost as the greatest
  obstacle to event attendance.
• Most teachers had been to a cultural event within
  the last six months and mentioned cost, distance
  and time as the reasons for not attending more
  frequently.
• Teachers attended mostly art festivals,
  galleries, and museums.
• Teachers mentioned the need for an advertising
  campaign for cultural events.

There is a lot of stuff to do, its just not put
out there.
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Cultural Opportunities for Children and Culture
Shock Awareness and Interest

• All agreed children should be exposed to cultural
  events.
• Some even give students extra credit for
  attending cultural events since it is hard to get
  them to be interested.
• Many felt parents should be responsible for
  exposing children to cultural events.
• Two of the four who had heard about the program
  learned about it at school.
• All teachers indicated they would look at the
  website and relay the information to students.
• Teachers were hesitant about promoting cultural
  events at school and preferred advertising on
  social networking sites and text messaging.

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Recommendations

• Culture Shock should use traditional advertising
  like billboards, mass transit, and radio.
• Advertising should be aimed at students, parents,
  and teachers.
• The use of advertising options such as social
  networking sites may be enhanced.
• The program should be promoted in high schools,
  colleges, and universities.
• Discount tickets for musical plays and theatre
  should he highlighted on the advertising
  materials.
• Students should be involved in the design of
  promotional materials.