Date
4-2013
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Leonard Parker
Primary Subject Area
Education, Music; Education, General; Education, Secondary; Music
Keywords
academic achievement, mathematics, musical intelligence, Music participation
Disciplines
Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Liberal Studies | Music | Music Pedagogy
Recommended Citation
Boyd, Joshua, "The Relationship between Music Participation and Mathematics Achievement in Middle School Students" (2013). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 674.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/674
Abstract
A comparative analysis was used to study the results from a descriptive survey of selected middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8. Student responses to the survey tool was used to compare multiple variables of music participation and duration of various musical activities, such as singing and performing on instruments, to the mathematics results from Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (Georgia Department of Education, 2011. The results were analyzed with the use of the Pearson r correlation coefficient. The intensity of relationships was assessed with analysis of variance (ANOVA). A final t-test of means was conducted to compare the mathematics achievement of students, who reported that they participated in musical activities vs. students, who reported no participation in musical activities. It was found that there was a positive correlation between students' participation in music and their achievement in mathematics. In addition, there was a positive correlation between the variables of participation in vocal music and brass music, respectively, and mathematics achievement. The greatest correlation was between years of vocal music participation and mathematics achievement. The results from the ANOVA indicated that, when students participated in music for 3 years or more, there was a significant increase in mathematics scores. A final t-test of means indicated that there was no significant difference in the means of mathematics scores between students who had participated in musical activities in comparison to students who did not participate in musical activities.
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Music Pedagogy Commons
