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A STUDY OF PERCEPTUAL CHANGES OF PARTICIPANTS IN NEBRASKA INTEGRATED ARTS EDUCATION WORKSHOPS (MUSIC, DRAMA, ART)
Abstract
Over the past three years the Nebraska Shared Arts Team has conducted a number of one-week workshops for classroom teachers and arts specialists to promote integrating the arts into the general elementary school curriculum. The workshops were hands-on training experiences in dance, visual art, music, and dramatics. The purpose of this research project was to study the effects of the workshop on the participants. Specifically, did the workshop change participants' perceptions of integrated arts education; what were the long-term effects of the workshop on teachers' perceptions; and did the workshop actually make a difference in the frequency of arts activities in the classroom? A sample of 222 teachers was used in the study. Most of the participants were rural elementary classroom teachers. A survey instrument was developed and piloted specifically for this study. A reliability factor of .8 or higher was established for the appropriate sections of the research instrument. Mean scores on various portions of the survey instrument compared pretest, posttest, and follow-up information from participants. One-way and two-way ANOVA's were used to analyze the data. The following conclusions were drawn from the study: (1) In general, the workshop made a significant difference in teachers' perceptions toward integrated arts education. Once teachers returned to the classroom, however, there was a noticeable regression toward the mean. (2) The less-experienced teachers initially made the greatest gains by attending the workshop, but the greatest residual change was made in veteran teachers with 11 or more years of teaching experience. (3) Teachers who had the least prior experience in the arts also made significant gains by attending the workshop; however, unless they implemented the strategies suggested in the workshop, the workshop had virtually no long-term effect. (4) Teachers who were generally optimistic and saw their school as a positive work environment also promoted the arts to the greatest extent. The converse was also apparent. (5) Two years after the initial workshops participant teachers reported offering almost four times as many arts experiences for their classrooms than did teachers who had not experienced the workshop.
Subject Area
Art education
Recommended Citation
HEINRICH, MILTON BRIAN, "A STUDY OF PERCEPTUAL CHANGES OF PARTICIPANTS IN NEBRASKA INTEGRATED ARTS EDUCATION WORKSHOPS (MUSIC, DRAMA, ART)" (1984). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8423792.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8423792