Master's Theses

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Date of Award

Fall 1992

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Social Work

Advisor

Bill Daley

Abstract

The purpose of the researcher was to investigate the influence of instrumental music instruction on the academic achievement of fifth grade students. Independent variables were instrumental music status, gender, race, socioeconomic status, family structure (as defined by the school district involved), mother’s level of formal education, and length of time in the school district. The following scores form the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Fourth Edition, Level 14 were used as dependent variables: Reading Comprehension, Reading Vocabulary, mathematics Computation, mathematics Concepts and Applications, Reading Total, Mathematics Total, and Total Score. The following scores from the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Fourth Edition, Level 14 were used as covariate measures: reading Comprehension, reading Vocabulary, mathematics Computation, mathematics Concepts and Applications, Total Reading, Total Mathematics, and Total Score. The present research was conducted in a southwestern Kansas school district with an enrollment of approximately 4,500 students. The school district is located in a city of approximately 20,000 people. The sample included all fifth grade students enrolled in the school district during the 1991-92 school year who had scores for both Levels 14 and 15 of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, Fourth Edition. The total sample included 270 fifth grade students, 135 males and 135 females. The subjects self-selected participation in instrumental music instruction (band or orchestra) or nonparticipation in instrumental music instruction. Those who chose instrumental music instruction included 69 males and 95 females for a total of 164 students. Seven composite null hypotheses were tested employing a single-factor analysis of covariance. All comparisons were for main effects. A total of 49 comparisons were made. Of the 49 comparisons, ten were significant at the .05 level. The significant main effects were for the following: participation status for the dependent variables Reading Vocabulary and Reading Total; gender for the dependent variable Reading Vocabulary; race for the dependent variable mathematics Total; socioeconomic status for dependent variable Total Score; and mother’s level of formal education for the dependent variables Reading Vocabulary, Reading Total, Mathematics Computation, Mathematics Total, and Total Score.

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© 1992 Susannah Dryden

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