Volume 39, Issue 2, April 2023, Pages 973–985
Omar El Blidi1 and Khadija El Blidi2
1 Laboratory of cultural industry, Faculty of letters and human sciences, Mohamed 1st University, Oujda, Morocco
2 Educational technologies department, Faculty of educational sciences, Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco
Original language: English
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This research focuses on the question of whether arts use in education can be shown to increase levels of creativity and affect the academic achievement in middle school of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Multi-method approach was chosen for the present study. The operationalization of creativity was based on its definition as a cognitive skill but took two different perspectives: one of creativity as a product and the other of creativity as a process. The methods used to explore the problematic were quantitative, in the form of standardized creativity testing and grade point averages analyzing, combined with descriptive observation. The use of these different procedures contributes to scientific validity. Results show a positive correlation between the artistic program of research and the improvement of the cognitive skill creativity in the Moroccan middle school. However, quantitative creativity testing results left some questions on validity and reliability, and the grade points analysis has proven almost no relationship between arts use in education and academic achievement. Creativity did demonstrate to be more methodically understood when examined in the context of the creative process, and the quantitative testing could be combined to a qualitative study ensuring the validity of research in this case. Finally, the present research led to numerous discussion points and recommendation for future research.
Author Keywords: Creativity, art, education, academic achievement, middle school.
Omar El Blidi1 and Khadija El Blidi2
1 Laboratory of cultural industry, Faculty of letters and human sciences, Mohamed 1st University, Oujda, Morocco
2 Educational technologies department, Faculty of educational sciences, Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco
Original language: English
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This research focuses on the question of whether arts use in education can be shown to increase levels of creativity and affect the academic achievement in middle school of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Multi-method approach was chosen for the present study. The operationalization of creativity was based on its definition as a cognitive skill but took two different perspectives: one of creativity as a product and the other of creativity as a process. The methods used to explore the problematic were quantitative, in the form of standardized creativity testing and grade point averages analyzing, combined with descriptive observation. The use of these different procedures contributes to scientific validity. Results show a positive correlation between the artistic program of research and the improvement of the cognitive skill creativity in the Moroccan middle school. However, quantitative creativity testing results left some questions on validity and reliability, and the grade points analysis has proven almost no relationship between arts use in education and academic achievement. Creativity did demonstrate to be more methodically understood when examined in the context of the creative process, and the quantitative testing could be combined to a qualitative study ensuring the validity of research in this case. Finally, the present research led to numerous discussion points and recommendation for future research.
Author Keywords: Creativity, art, education, academic achievement, middle school.
How to Cite this Article
Omar El Blidi and Khadija El Blidi, “The impact of arts employment on creativity and academic achievement in Morocco’s middle schools: A descriptive study,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 973–985, April 2023.
