The Impact of Music on Perceptions of Attitude, Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Academic Achievement among Students

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Chapter 4: Result and Discussion

Introduction

A correlation design was used to describe the degree of association between two or more variables. A pattern of responses and statistical procedures may determine the strength of the relationship as well as its direction (Creswell, 2002). Once student test scores were retrieved, data coding and input were administered and clearly labeled. The data were descriptively analyzed to identify general trends or patterns that may be occurring throughout the current study. In the current study, inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the sample tested. Version 17.0 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to code and tabulate scores collected from the survey and provide summarized values where applicable, including the median, mean, central tendency, variance, and standard deviation.

Demographic data were also processed using frequency statistics. The ANOVA statistical test was used to detect the amount of shared variance and strength of the relationship between the variables of interest. A statistical calculation was used to identify significance based on scores gathered in the data. A report on effect size was also used in the study. According to Creswell (2002), “Effect size is a means for identifying the strength of the conclusions about group differences or about the relationship among variables in a quantitative study” (p. 248).

Organization and Clarity

In the current study, facets of measurement between student TAKS test scores were investigated and analyzed. The facts presented whether or not a relationship took place in schools providing a music program and schools providing no music program. The quantitative method of research was best suited for the study to investigate problems in which trends needed to be described or relationships among variables were involved (Creswell, 2002). A correlative design was selected to estimate change and interrelationships with music and TAKS test scores. Correlational research identifies association of two or more variables.

The correlational design aided in explaining and predicting an outcome (Creswell, 2002). Summary The quantitative method with a correlational research design was used to determine if there was a relationship between student performance on the TAKS test and availability of a music program in elementary schools to elementary schools with no music program. The total TAKS scores of students in elementary schools with music programs were compared with the total TAKS scores of students in elementary schools without music programs. Selected schools consisted of elementary schools located within the inner city geographical location of the school district and labeled as an at-risk school within the school profile. Data were collected for the academic school year 2007-2008. Student TAKS test scores were collected for all students taking the TAKS test within the schools. The TAKS scores are available in an archival file kept current by the Texas Department of Education.

Data Analysis Procedure

Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the sample tested. The SPSS Version 17.0 program was used to code and tabulate scores collected from the ...