Date

5-2015

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Kimberly Lester

Keywords

academic achievement, brain research, engagement, mathematics, motivation, music

Disciplines

Education | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology | Science and Mathematics Education | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Abstract

It is hypothesized that participation in non-band music has a positive impact on mathematics achievement. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the theory of self-determination, multiple intelligence theory, and brain research provide a theoretical foundation in support of this conjecture. This causal comparative study seeks to address three questions related to the hypothesis: a) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade mathematics students based on non-band music participation status; b) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade males based on non-band music participation; and c) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade females based on non-band music participation? In order to conduct the study, the researcher was granted access to digital spreadsheets of 6th grade scores, from the 2013-2014 administration of the Northwest Education Association's Measures of Academic Progress assessment. After sorting scores for students who participated in instrumental music class (or band), scores were separated into two groups, scores for students who participated in non-band music class, and scores for students who did not. The data for each group was analyzed by: constructing frequency polygons, developing sets of descriptive statistics, and examining the means and standard deviations. This process was repeated to examine scores for each set of students. Subsequently, Mann-Whitney U Tests were used to compare medians. The research found that participation in non-band music class had a positive impact of mathematics achievement.

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