Quantitative Survey Results

This section presents the analysis of the quantitative data collected from the closed questions of the parent pre-program and post-program surveys.

Pre-program Survey Item 6 asked about museum visitation within the twelve- month period prior to the start of the CMA access program. Given the participants’ interest in art, it did not come as a surprise that all of the families had visited a museum at least once during that period of time. Parent responses are summarized in Figure 4.1.

Most families had been to a museum one-to-three times, as this response was chosen by six parents. Three parents indicated that their children had been to a museum four-to-six times within the previous year, and one family emerged as the most frequent museum- goers with ten or more museum outings in the twelve months preceding the study.

Figure 4.1 Number of Museum Visits within Previous Year

Pre-program Survey Item 7 asked about family motivations for visiting museums. Based on the literature review and numerous conversations with the CMA educators, the researcher created a list of characteristics typically associated with the museum

experience that ranged from being pleasantly occupied, expanding the child’s horizons and challenging his or her abilities to having a change from daily routine. The parents were asked to rate their responses to the question “What are your and your child’s motivations for visiting museums?” on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). Table 4.1 summarizes the parents’ responses to the motivation question. The numbers in Table 4.1 indicate how many parents selected each

response. The column containing the “Not Important” option is not presented in Table 4.1 because no respondents chose this option.

Table 4.1 Family Motivations for Visiting Museum

Motivations Slightly _Important Moderately _Important Important Very _Important n=10

To be pleasantly occupied 0 1 6 3

To enjoy ourselves 0 2 3 5

To be entertained 1 1 3 5

To use imagination 0 1 1 8

To spend time with family 0 2 3 5

To feel happy and satisfied 0 1 3 6

To socialize and build friendships 1 2 2 5

To discover new things 0 0 1 9

To connect with child’s interests 0 0 2 8

To get a feeling of achievement 0 3 3 4

To challenge his/her abilities 0 2 2 6

To connect child with things they are

learning at home/school 0 1 5 4

To have a change from daily routine 1 0 4 5

To expand child’s horizons 0 0 1 9

The parents’ responses to the motivation question revealed that there may be a variety of personal, social, and educational needs families seek to satisfy by visiting museums. The most significant motivations mentioned by the parents were to discover new things and expand the child’s horizons. Nine respondents rated these two reasons as very important while one respondent rated them as important. The next group of reasons rated by the majority of the respondents as very important was to use imagination and connect with the child’s interests, which indicated a perception of the museum visit as a family-bonding experience. Eight out of ten survey respondents noted that those two reasons were very important to them. Additionally, the respondents thought that such

motivations as feeling happy and satisfied and challenging the child’s abilities were important as well, the fact reflected in six parents’ responses.

The parents’ responses demonstrated that the two least important motivations for visiting were to socialize and build friendships as well as to get a feeling of achievement as a result of the museum experience (see Table 4.1). The choice of these two factors as the least important motivations can be explained by the spontaneity of a museum visit as an experience and the fact that it typically takes a considerable amount of time to build friendships. Moreover, while a museum visit normally provides plenty of interaction with the content of the collections, opportunities to engage in hands-on activities and thus develop a feeling of achievement may be limited due to the time a family gets to spend at the museum at any given point, the logistics of the visit itself, or other external factors beyond the visitor’s control.

Post-program Survey Items 1 and 3 asked about the parent perceptions of the museum experience and their overall satisfaction with the museum access program, respectively. Parent responses to Item 1 revealed that 50% of the respondents rated the museum experience as “very positive” while the other 50% rated it as “positive” for their children. As evidenced by Figure 4.2, none of the parents used the response options on the other end of the range, including the “slightly positive” and “negative” answers. The results of Survey Item 3 summarized in Figure 4.3 demonstrate that the majority of the parents were very satisfied with the CMA access program, since 70% of the parents chose “very satisfied” as their response and 30% marked “satisfied.” None of the

respondents rated their level of satisfaction in lesser terms, such as “somewhat satisfied” or “not satisfied.” These ratings are indicative of the success of the access program in the

parents’ eyes and the perceived positive impact of the museum experience on the participating children both as a social and educational activity.

Figure 4.2 Parent Ratings of Museum Experience

Post-program Survey Item 4 asked about the parents’ views on the changes in their child’s behavior that they believed could have been related to the participation in the CMA access program. Responses to Survey Item 4 proved to be critical for investigating the influence of the museum as an alternative learning environment on cognitive and social development of autistic children. Since the parents were present during the six museum visits and observed their children’s socialization and learning in the museum, parental feedback was important in the context of the study.

The data in Figure 4.4 show that six out of ten parents fully agreed that their children’s behavior had changed because of the participation in the museum program, while only two parents disagreed. Two survey respondents were not sure whether their children’s behavior changed and noted that a longer intervention would be needed for the children’s behavior to change.

Post-program Survey Item 7 asked the parents whether or not the museum experience influenced the way their child interacted with art. The majority of the

respondents recognized such impact. Specifically, 90% of the parents mentioned that the museum program had affected their child’s interaction with art, and only one parent was not sure (see Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.5 Program Influence on Child Interaction with Art

Post-program Survey Item 8 asked the parents whether or not the museum

experience influenced the way their child interacted with others. In their responses, seven parents acknowledged the influence, two parents stated that there was no influence on their child’s interaction with others, and one respondent picked “not sure” as the answer noting that their child’s interaction with others depended on the environment, the topic, and the level of interest in the subject of the communication (see Figure 4.6).

Figure 4.6 Program Influence on Child Interaction with Others

Post-program Survey Item 5 asked about particular social behaviors of the participating children during the six museum visits. Data were collected through a

measure that involved the parents’ rating of the behavior on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never exhibited) to 5 (always exhibited). Table 4.2 presents data summarizing the parents’ perspective of the frequency of social behaviors of their children during the program. Among the most frequently exhibited behaviors, the parents identified participation in group activities, following directions, and making requests for self. According to the results from Table 4.2, nine parents marked “often exhibited” and “always exhibited” for the participation in group activities, while eight parents marked “often exhibited” and “always exhibited” for the instances of following directions and making requests for self. Also noteworthy was the fact that seven out of ten parents marked sharing objects and toys as a behavior they frequently saw their child exhibit. This can be interpreted as a positive sign of the museum program impact on the social awareness of the participating children.

The less frequently exhibited behavior categories, from the parents’ perspective, included taking turns in conversation and paying attention to the museum instructor. Fifty percent of the parents rated taking turns in conversation as an “occasionally exhibited” category while 40% rated paying attention to museum instructor as “occasionally exhibited” and another 40% rated it as “often exhibited.”

Table 4.2 Frequency of Social Behaviors during Museum Visits

Social Behavior Never

Exhibit Exhibit Rarely Occasionally Exhibit Exhibit Often Always Exhibit n = 10

Asking and answering questions 0 1 3 4 2

Paying attention to museum instructor 0 0 4 4 2

Following directions 0 0 2 7 1

Making requests for him/herself 0 0 2 5 3

Sharing objects and toys 0 1 2 7 0

Taking turns in conversation 0 0 5 3 2

Participating in group activities 0 0 1 7 2

Post-program Survey Item 6 asked about the benefits derived by the children from participating in the museum access program. Data were collected through a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Table 4.3 illustrates how many parents selected each response on the Likert scale. The most notable program benefits identified by the surveyed parents were providing joy and motivating to learn new skills, followed by providing a sense of accomplishment. Regarding the benefit of providing a sense of accomplishment, the parents rated this option higher than the similar response option to the motivation question on the pre-program survey. In other words, before the program the parents did not consider getting a feeling of achievement as one of

the top motivations for visiting museums, whereas after the program they acknowledged that it was on of the major benefits.

On the other hand, more than half of the surveyed parents did not see reducing self-stimulatory behaviors as one of the benefits of their child’s participation in the

museum access program. In addition, four parents did not agree that the museum program played a role in improving their child’s gross and fine motor skills.

Table 4.3 Parent Perspective of Museum Program Benefits

Program Benefits Strongly _disagree Disagree Somewhat _agree Agree Strongly _agree n = 10

Provided a sense of accomplishment 0 0 1 2 7

Provided joy 0 0 0 3 7

Increased choice and control 0 0 3 6 1

Taught how to interact with peers 0 0 5 2 3

Provided a way to comfortably meet

others 0 0 3 3 4

Enhanced self-control 0 1 3 4 2

Reduced self-stimulatory behaviors 1 2 3 4 2

Improved gross and fine motor skills 1 0 3 4 2

Motivated to learn the skills 0 0 0 7 3

Increased social and communication

skills 0 2 1 3 4