On the Efficacy of an Integrated Curriculum of Social Studies and Art in Improving Academic Performance of Students in the Social Studies Course

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Masters of Curriculum orientation, Primary school teacher in Nazarabad Alborz kharazmi university, Faculty of psychology and educational sciences Educational curriculum

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an integrated curriculum of social studies and art in improving performance of students in the social studies course. Acquiring social skills is one of the main goals of social studies course at elementary school. Curricula should include such educational content and methods that can be effective in meeting the needs of today's generation. One of the most important goals of education and training is development of life skills and making adaptation to the environment. This requires life-related knowledge (Naghibzadeh, 2011). Art can make a major contribution to children's education in terms of academic performance and conception of learning [m1] ​​(Mahghoub, 2015).The theory of integrating art into education and training was first proposed by Plato in the fourth century. He believed  that art forms should be considered as the basis for education. Based on the theory of facilitation by Jean Gagnepain, humans interact with their surroundings in several different ways, including[m2]  signs, tools, societies, history, and norms (Mehr Mohammadi & Kian, 2018). Considering the above, discipline-based art education (DBAE)[m3]  can be the optimal approach to decent education. Regarding the "principles" dominating artistic education and based on the approach of DBAE, the objectives of the curriculum can be determined. From this perspective, cultural and artistic fields should be taken into account in determining primary goals and basic orientations because they can help in providing precise effective mechanisms for achieving ultimate goals (Kian et al., 2013). The integrated approach is significant because it can help establish communication between specific forms of art and curriculum. This can be considered as a successful strategy for effective learning and academic success. Integration of art into the social studies curriculum is an educational approach which can contribute to the improvement of students' personal skills and speed of learning (Biscoe & Wilson, 2015).
The Main Hypothesis
Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve academic performance of sixth graders in the social studies course.
Sub-hypotheses


 Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve  sixth graders' comprehension level in the social studies course.


Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve sixth graders' application level [m4] in the social studies course.


Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve sixth graders' analysis level [m5] in the social studies course.


Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve sixth graders' composition level [m6] in the social studies course.


 Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve sixth graders' assessment level [m7] in the social studies course.


Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve sixth graders' reception level [m8] in the social studies course.


Integration of art into the social studies curriculum can improve sixth graders' evaluation level [m9] in the social studies course


 
Methods
Quasi-experimental design, with pretest and posttest and control and experimental groups, was used for conducting this study. The study population of this study were female sixth graders at Nazarabad schools, Alborz Province, Iran, over the academic year 2017-2018. Concerning the study sample, 60 students, 30 for the experimental group and 30 for the control group, were selected through convenient sampling approach. The experimental group were offered the integrated course over 12 sessions, and the control group took the usual social studies course. The research data was collected using a researcher-made social studies test which was designed by taking into account the cognitive and emotional domains of learning. Face and content validity of the instrument was confirmed by nine experts. Cronbach's alpha was further used to assess reliability of the test, and a coefficient value 0.73 was obtained which indicated that the test was highly reliable. One-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was also used to determine if there was any significant difference between the groups.
Results: The academic performance of the experimental and control groups in the posttest was significantly different. The integrated course of social studies and art had improved performance of the experimental group in the cognitive domain. In other words, it had caused an increase in participants' levels of comprehension, application, analysis, composition, and evaluation. It had also affected performance of the experimental group in the emotional domain and increased this group of participant's' level of reception. However, no important change was observed in students' level of emotional evaluation after implementation of the integrated curriculum.
Discussion and Conclusion
The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of an integrated curriculum of social studies and art on academic performance of sixth graders in the social studies course. The findings indicated that the curriculum had a significant positive effect on improving students' academic performance. Moreover, there was a significant difference between learning rate of students who were following the integrated curriculum and those who were taught in the traditional way. Integrated curricula can help transfer the knowledge, skills, and attitudes which students need for living an active, balanced, and rational life, and can lead to meaningful learning. The results further revealed that the integrated curriculum can lead to an increase in the comprehension, application, analysis, composition, perception and evaluation levels, and thus students' total scores.  In this research project, first an integrated curriculum was proposed, and then the procedures for its application were presented; therefore, this study can be of both theoretical and practical significance. More significantly, students, themselves, took part in developing their curriculum. This could make their learning process more effective

 
 

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 28 April 2019
  • Revise Date: 31 May 2020
  • Accept Date: 21 June 2020

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