Results of Questionnaire

RESULTS:

These are the results of the questionnaire. All percentages have been rounded in order to view data more easily. Data recorded here are from the first 100 responses to the questionnaire, and while some of them did not complete all 10 questions (only 94 out of 100 participants’ completed q 1 – 9) I have kept all the data available nonetheless.

If this data and analysis were to be presented on a more high-stakes academic forum to inform even more people, I could potentially explore the data more closely eg. Examine the differences between female and male responses, or the age of those people who considered themselves ‘active’ citizens etc.

I will discuss each question to an extent which I believe necessary, providing, if applicable, the conclusions that can be made and the application for classroom teachers.

1.       Gender:

Male = 38%         Female = 62%

A disproportionate number of females to males responded to this questionnaire. As was alluded to earlier in this blog, through others research in social studies, females, in the past, have had a lesser interest in social studies learning areas potentially due to the dominant role of males prominent in history and government (Corbin, 1994). However, I have chosen not to deal with the current differences in attitudes between NZ male and female students but with ‘young-adults’ as a whole.  

2.       Ethnicity:

NZ European = 72            South African = 7              Chinese = 6         Maori = 3             Samoan = 2         British = 2                Taiwanese = 2                   Other = 6

The majority of responses (72%) were from NZ European ethnicity, which probably does not give a very fair representation of the ethnic demographic in the increasingly multi-ethnic school classrooms of today.

3.       School Years:

16-19yrs (2006-2003) = 32%,
20 – 25yrs (2002 – 1997) = 58%,
30-35yrs (1992 – 1987) = 5%,
40+ (earlier than 1980) = 4%

The most well represented age group is between 20 and 25 years – meaning that they finished intermediate between 1997 and 2002. I knew this would most likely be the case when I posted the questionnaire up on Facebook. The second group (32%) were the 16 – 19 year olds who completed intermediate between 2003 and 2006. Both these groups could potentially be valuable participants as it has not been very long since they were a part of primary social study learning, and are less likely to confuse it with high school social studies learning. Further, these students’ experiences of schooling in general are more likely to reflect the modern experience when considering the time in which they attended school. Lastly, I feel that over 16 years olds would be able to answer the questions reflectively and maturely, however I am aware that, by not offering a younger year level and keeping the survey public, some younger people may have lied about their age.

4.       Often schools neglect calling the Social Studies learning area 'Social Studies'. Alternatively, they could name it Unit Study, Current events, Topic, or Research etc. Did you understand what Social Studies was before attending secondary (Yr9+10) Social Studies classes?

Yes and I had a better experience in my primary education = 9%

Yes but I got better understanding in secondary education = 24%

No it wasn't clear at primary, but I can see how the topics we explored fit into social studies from my experience at secondary = 63%

No, I still don't understand what Social Studies is about = 4%

I believe the major response saying that the social studies learning area was not clear during primary school (63%) reflects a lack of teacher transparency when discussing topics. Although, I have not yet noted the necessity to label social studies education as such, I believe this is the cause of a lack of understanding and confidence in social studies as a whole. Potentially, this is due to teachers’ uncertainty and lack of confidence themselves when it comes to the broad scope of social studies education in the curriculum. Another reason could be due to the constraints of time on a large curriculum to cover, where social studies often gets integrated (appropriately, I might add) with other ‘more important’ learning areas such as literacy and maths – where the focus for learning is split. Excuses aside though, I firmly believe that to improve students attitudes towards social studies and a desire to take social studies to a higher level teachers must firstly, clearly express what social studies is through effective learning experiences; and to encourage students who are showing success in this area, by providing them with additional resources and activities from a young age.

5.       When compared to other academic learning areas (English, mathematics, science, technology, physical education, languages, art) how would you rate your experiences in social studies?:

Least liked (1) – Most liked (5)

Mean average = 3.45, mode average = 4 (40%)

This result is similar to the findings of Corbin (1994) (discussed on Thursday 21^st October) and Alazzi & Chiodo (2004) (discussed on Monday 1^st November). Although social studies are not often students’ favourite subject the participants of this questionnaire, as a whole, enjoy being involved with social studies learning.

6.       Attitudes towards Social Studies:

Pleasant – Agree (72%), Strongly Agree (17%), Disagree (10%)

Valuable – Agree (55%), Disagree (24%), Strongly Agree (20%)

Meaningful – Agree (54%), Disagree (31%), Strongly Agree (13%)

These results are displayed in decreasing order of number of responses. As you can see, most young adults remember their primary social studies learning to be pleasant, valuable and meaningful. However, while a large portion would have considered their experience pleasant or very pleasant, there was a bit of disagreement over whether the learning was valuable or meaningful. 24% of participants disagreed that social studies education was valuable while they were at primary, and 31% disagreed that it was meaningful. Although, this is not completely conclusive as it may be necessary to understand their attitudes towards their whole primary school experience. However, it does show that a greater effort needs to be put into making discussions in class relevant to students and facilitating inquiry skills over transmission of content knowledge. "We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future." — Franklin D. Roosevelt

7.       Further pursuit of Social Studies:

No = 21%                             Geography = 39%                           History = 38%     

Economics = 22%                Classics = 20%                               Media Studies = 21%     

Sociology = 9%                    Psychology = 13%                           Legal Studies = 5%

These are promising results that show an attitude of interest in the social studies areas. However, what these responses do not show is to what extent they furthered their education in these areas ie. whether it was only one more year of study at high school or a bachelors degree at university.

8.       Value of Social Studies:

(Strongly Disagree – 1, Unsure – 3, Strongly Agree – 5)

Increased my interest in the courses = 3.34 (mean)

Increased my interest in current and historical events = 3.66 (mean)

Involved interesting topics = 3.81 (mean)

Involved valuable topics for my future = 3.49 (mean)

Helped me to better understand myself = 2.88 (mean)

 Helped me to better understand the values I hold = 3.04 (mean)

Helped me to appreciate other cultures = 3.85 (mean)

Helped me to become a more active citizen = 2.96 (mean)

9.       Active Citizen:

I play an active role in NZ societal events: Agree (43%), Disagree (34%), Unsure (12%)

This is very telling of NZ modern society, that only 43% of participants considered themselves active New Zealand citizens. However, when considering the various perspectives on what makes a ‘good’ citizen (Gibson & McKay, 2005); if I presented some other perspectives the response could have been different.
At first glance, unfortunately, this data does indeed bring New Zealand into the forum, when it has been said that ‘youth today in Canada, Australia, the United States, and Great Britain have been characterised as knowing less, caring less, voting less, and being less critical of leaders and institutions than their predecessors of the last fifty years (Kymlicka, 1992; Longstreet, 1996; Print, 1996 as cited in Gibson & McKay, 2005, p167).