Effects of ADHD Medication and Student Performance - Essay Example

A baseline will be established for each student prior to the study based on the pretests. The study will be conducted for four months during the academic year. This experimental research design utilizes quantitative methodology with a randomized pretest-posttest control group and treatment group. The research will include 60 students from a fourth grade elementary school who will be randomly assigned to either an experimental treatment or control group, consisting of 30 students in each group.

Table of Contents Main Body I. Problem to be investigated 4-5 A. Purpose of the study 4 a. Assumptions 4 B. Justification of the study 5 C. Research question and null hypothesis 5 D. Definition of Terms 6 a. Constitutive Definitions 6 b. Operational Definitions 6 E. Brief overview of the study 7 II. Background and review of related literature 8 A. Theory 9 B. Studies directly related 9-10 C. Studies tangentially related 10-11 References 12 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD is a disorder characterized by lack of attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior (PubMed Health, 2011).

Due to these characteristics, children with ADHD have difficulty in school, possibly due to multiple factors. Children with ADHD may be unable to keep up with the lessons due to lack of concentration, or they may be seen as disruptive by their teachers. Consequently, they may be deemed unfit to progress in their schooling and be retained in their current grade, which is something that may have grave consequences on the children’s educational and global development. Parents and teachers must recognize that ADHD is not something to be taken against a child, but a disorder that can be overcome with proper and adequate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions.

Teaching interventions that are more suitable for children with ADHD may help enormously with the children’s proper education and development. Poor outcomes may also be seen in children diagnosed with ADHD who do not receive medication. The goal of this research project is to determine the effectiveness of pharmacologic medication in improving academic outcomes of children diagnosed with ADHD. In the following sections, topics related to the issues discussed above will be addressed. The sections include: the purpose of the study and related assumptions, justification of the study, research question(s) and hypothesis, definition of terms, a brief overview of the study, and a conclusion.

Problem to be Investigated The problem to be investigated is determining effective solutions to ensure students diagnosed with ADHD do not suffer academically. Stimulant medication has been suggested as one such solution. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of ADHD stimulant medication on improving the academic achievement of students diagnosed with ADHD. Assumptions The following assumptions will be made during the study: 1. This sample is representative of the population of elementary students. 2. The instrument used will measure the desired outcome of the research study. 3. The predictive information from this study will be used by counselors, teachers and parents.

Justification of the Study Children who are diagnosed often exhibit problem behaviors in the classroom such as inattentiveness,