Effects on Students of an Interdisciplinary Program Linking Social Studies, Art, and Family Volunteers in the Middle Grades

Abstract

This study explored several components of middle grades reform including school and family partnerships, interdisciplinary units of work, and student outcomes to increase art awareness, appreciation, and criticism. The case study was an empirical evaluation of the effects on student learning of the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) Social Studies and Art Volunteers program in an urban middle school. The program organized parent and other volunteers in order to create opportunities for students to study interdisciplinary connections between art and social studies curricula in the middle grades. The volunteers prepared and presented discussions of prints of well-known art in students' social studies. Data were collected from over 400 students in Grades Six through 8 in a Baltimore City middle school to evaluate the effects of the TIPS Social Studies and Art Volunteers program. Results show that students increased their awareness of art, developed attitudes toward and preferences for different styles of art, and were able to express their likes and dislikes. Students' comments reflect variations in early adolescents' transitions from concrete to abstract thinking. The data support the viability of the program as one that may help other middle grades schools organize volunteers as part of a comprehensive program of six major types of school, family, and community partnerships.

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