Final Summary and Reaction

After having my survey out for a few weeks i have collected enough data to come up with some conclusions. Going over the data, 78 percent of the people who filled out the survey were females, the rest males. So i had to be aware that there would be a female bias in the answer. Also, many of the people who filled it was within the 16-20 year old range. So mostly students. I was glad because i would get a lot of data from current students who are experiencing the education system today.  As expected from my hypothesis, 81 percent of people said that they preferred liberal education system as opposed to structured. I am not surprised because most of the people who answered were students and that seems to be the shared opinion of many students today. They want to be able to learn what they want.  One thing that did surprise me was that students with a high GPA chose a liberal education preference. I assumed that people who preformed at a high level liked structure, but i guess that is not the case. The general opinion seems to be a liberal system is the way to go. In the open response, i got a lot of similar responses to the question: "Why do/did you or why do/did you not like coming to school?" Many said they liked learning but not the way they are currently being taught. They want to be taught lessons and skills that will benefit them int he real world. Also they would like to see a lot less "busy work" and excessive homework. Students and parents alike want to make the education more enjoyable and beneficial. I was surprised that the parents also valued a liberal system and wanted to see change. I usually would have thought that parents believe in a structured approach to learning. 

From this survey i came to the conclusion that students and parents alike are not happy with today's education system. They feel as though it is shaped to "teach to test" and not focused enough on promoting the teaching of life skills and developing the mind. 

Research Update

So far I am pleased with the amount of responses i have gotten after i posted my survey on Facebook. I only posted it last night but have gotten considerable amount of responses. I have started to already notice trends and patterns with the results. The results also may turn out to be a bit biased because many of the people responding have been aged between 16-20 years old. So many high school students are answering the questions and giving their opinions. I have seen many of these answers learn towards a a negative outlook toward school. I would like to see more responses from an older demographic. I want to get an equal spread of opinions in my results. But so far I have noticed that the high school students favor a more liberal education and feel that the school they are in doesn't prepare them with life skills and are focusing too much on testing and not learning. I look forward to seeing more diverse results hopefully.

Detailed Research Plan

I have decided to make a survey to discover how different age groups value education. For my survey i will target high school students and adults. Specifically parents of students. I will ask questions that will help me get an idea of the general opinion of education today. The demographic information i will request is age, gender, and level of education they have achieved. The reason I ask for what level of education is because i think that some of the views of education may be different depending on wether or not the individual continued education after high school.  Some of the questions i will be asking is (if they are students) an average GPA they hold. because that could give me an idea about if people with higher gpas value a more liberal education system or more structured system. I will be asking questions relating to that as well. As far as questions geared to adults, i'll pose questions like: Which is more important to you? Your child's gpa or the fact that they are developing their mind in school. Also i will include questions that help me get an idea of what type of education people prefer today. Do they like a more liberal, freedom giving one like they have in norway, or more strict, standardized test-preparing curriculum like in China. My survey will probably consist of 10-15 questions. I predict that the younger people who take the survey will prefer a more liberal education while the adults and parents will value a stricter education system. I look forward to collecting my data and coming to a conclusion.

Research Plan: Education Survey

My topic is education. I am planning on making a survey that focuses on the formality of education and which groups prefer what type of education. Basically i want to see how different ages value education. Im going to make a survey that consists of questions about learning and education. To find out what is more important. (ex: Do you think numbers represent intelligence more or less) I want to get a view on how the value of education has changed over the years and why.