Goldstein-Research Blog Lesson 5

I believe that I will be able to prove, through mostly mixed research methods, that the arts curriculum has a positive impact on student’s grades, test scores, attendance, and discipline violations. I am still in the process of securing more resources, but it appears that there is sufficient research to support my claim. I will be utilizing surveys and conducting interviews with my students, parents and teachers. I will also be looking at documents referenced previously (grades, test scores, attendance and discipline records). I hope to be able to present this to my administration and other teachers and parents to disprove the belief that the art curriculum is not just filled with “fun classes” and should not be considered to be a “dumping ground” for lower academic level students to fulfill academic goals. The skills taught within the arts curriculum strengthens a student’s self esteem as well as their reading and writing skills. The skills they learn within the arts extend the support to their other academic class requirements, which (in turn) increase the student’s test scores as well.

A potential flaw would be if the interview forms and permission slips are not all returned in the time requested, if at all. The honesty in which my interview questions are responded to could also be somewhat questioned, but I am hoping that if someone agrees to be a part of my project, it is because they realize that valid responses are their responsibility. I am limited in the scope of those who will be involved in my study, as I only have access to the population within the Middle School I teach at. Another thing is maybe looking at a handful of students that I don’t actually have as students and perhaps relating that to the study as well. I just don’t know if that would be beneficial and how I might approach or incorporate that angle.

What is missing from previous studies? In looking at some of the research on this topic, I have not found any specific research from a student’s point of view, which is what I am incorporating into my study.

Right now, I think that my research questions have been answered. I think that with more research and with getting my documentation complete with all the data then my answers will be complete. At this point, it’s all a hypotheses.

The research method I have chosen is the mixed method of research. I will be giving students a survey with open-ended questions and then pulling some of those students for interviews. The focus is on collecting and analyzing the information.