The reflection of artworks onto murals and their effects on high school students

This research aims to examine the effects of famous artworks on students by bringing them to the walls of educational institutions. The cognitive, affective, educational, aesthetic and cultural effects of these visuals painted on school walls on individuals were analyzed according to gender and class levels. The students who participated in the mural activity consisted of 25 students from different grade levels at Anatolian High School in Diyarbakır province in the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. A work plan was prepared in a way that would not interrupt the lessons of the students in order to transfer the artworks determined by taking expert opinion to the walls with the participation of volunteer students. The student groups transferred the visuals to the interior walls of the school within an eight-week period under the supervision of the researcher. The study was designed with a mixed method in which both qualitative and quantitative data were used. Within the framework of this model, in the research, the effects of artworks on the walls of educational institutions and the effects of artworks made with the mural painting application on individuals were presented to the opinions of the students. In the qualitative research method, an interview form was applied to 25 students who participated in the mural application. In the quantitative research method, a questionnaire form, one of the measurement tools, was applied to 210 students in the school. Content analysis was used for the qualitative data obtained in the study, and SPSS 24 was used to analyze the quantitative data. Among the statistical analysis methods, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used and r values were reported to determine the effect size. As a result of the research, the students who participated in the mural painting application stated that their aesthetic perceptions changed, they had the opportunity to beautify the area they were in, their sense of belonging developed, and they had the opportunity to discover themselves. It was observed that the students of the school participating in the survey increased their knowledge, skills and happiness levels. As a result, it can be said that such activities, which reveal cognitive and affective creativity, increase communication and interaction with individuals in the school, increase mobilization, trust and motivation. Based on these results, it is suggested that similar practices can be carried out within the scope of art education by taking into account the effects of wall painting studies in various institutions and organizations in schools, increasing the visual quality of students in daily life, their ability to establish dialogue and their happiness levels.