The paper deals with the degree of development of interest in arts in young
people, and the justifiability of the current tendency of revision and
abbreviation of the art curricula in schools. The research is focused on the
structure of interests in various artistic disciplines in secondary school
students, and the aim is to determine whether the degree of students?
interest depends on the school type, gender and previous experience. The
research was conducted on the sample of 555 students from 111 schools, who
filled out the questionnaire during one school period. The data were
processed by multifactor analysis of variance. There was a higher degree of
interest in video and performing arts, which are not present enough in
students? surroundings. The girls showed a higher degree of interest in all
disciplines, as well as grammar school students compared to their peers from
vocational schools. It was shown that the higher the number of programmes
attended, the higher the interest in all forms of art. Young people who were
completely inactive showed interest in video arts, which serves as an
important guideline in the process of moving and socialising them. The
results confirm that youth?s interests and needs are discrepant with what is
offered to them. It is necessary to introduce various artistic contents as
parts of the curriculum, which would make school an integral part of their
life, the part that directly influences the development of creativity and
increases responsible participation in the society.