The Effects of Music Instruction on Behaviorally At-Risk Elementary Boys - Essay Example

In addition, research results from approximately 225 scholarly books, peer-reviewed journals, articles, paper reports and electronic dissertations were consulted through the University of Phoenix Library Internet search engine, the U.S. Department of Education, ERIC and Education Week, 98 percent of which was less than six years old. Chapter 4 reports the demographics, surrounding environment, and culture present during the data collection process. A situational assessment based on the profiles of each participant was developed.

The data obtained are described based on the procedures presented in chapter 3 for collecting and analyzing qualitative data. The final section of this chapter presents a brief summary outlining the key findings. The findings reported in this chapter are based on data analyses related to a single question which was designed to guide and frame the research process in this study. The question reads as follows: The study was conducted during the 2006-2007 school year. The school was selected because it houses the district’s Positive Behavior Support Program (PBS).

Permission to use the school as a research site was granted by the research committee for the school district and by the building principal (Appendix C). The students in the study were PBS students who had earned the privilege of having music instruction based on predetermined criteria. The students, as well as their parents/guardians, granted permission to the researcher for inclusion in the study (Appendix B). Data were collected from PBS students and their PBS teachers using structured and unstructured interviews and observations.

Other data collection sources included student journal writings, the researcher's field notes, and outside observers field notes and informal interviews.