Teaching Psychological Concepts Through a Hip-Hop Pedagogy

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the impact on students’ academic performance, student engagement, and overall attendance in a PSYC 1101 “Introduction to Psychology” course taught by incorporating a culturally relevant pedagogical concept of hip-hop into the course content. The study used descriptive statistics to form a comparative analysis of academic performance, class attendance, and student engagement comparisons of two courses taught with the incorporation of hip-hop pedagogy into the course versus two courses without the incorporation of hip-hop pedagogy in the course at an HBCU in Georgia. The study’s outcome showed students whose course used hip-hop pedagogy had better final grades, attended class more regularly, and were more engaged than students whose course did not incorporate hip-hop pedagogy into the course. Findings indicate the incorporation of hip-hop pedagogy is correlated with improved academic performance, class attendance, and student engagement in the course which are all factors that contribute to student success.

Plain language summary

Hip-Hop in the Classroom: An Effective Way to Engage Students

The Researcher investigated the impact of using hip-hop as a teaching tool in an introductory psychology class at a historically Black college in Georgia, comparing two student groups: one learning through hip-hop-inspired methods and another through traditional instruction. The results were promising, revealing that students in the hip-hop-integrated classes earned higher grades, attended more consistently, and demonstrated greater engagement. This approach suggests that incorporating culturally relevant pedagogical techniques can make learning more dynamic and effective, particularly by connecting educational content with familiar cultural expressions that resonate more deeply with students.