Music Education and
Student Self-Concept:
A Review of Literature
Jeanne Wrasman Reynolds
Pinellas County Schools
Introduction
There
is tremendous interest in student self-concept in education today. Low
self-esteem is believed to underlie a myriad of diverse problems such as
academic underachievement, academic overachievement, drug addition, violent
behavior, teenage pregnancy, and criminal behavior (Adler, Cohen, Houston,
Manly, Wingert, & Wright, 1992). Sweeping educational reform movements
such as multi- culturalism and cooperative learning are motivated, at least
in part, to improve student self-concept (Ames & Ames, 1978; Aronson,
1977; Hale-Benson, 1986; Johnson, 1981; Kirkland-Homes & Federlein, 1990;
Slavin, 1982). As a result of this wide-spread interest, the body of
educational research literature pertaining to self-concept has grown to vast
proportions. Currently, there are over 10,000 scientific studies of
self-esteem measured by more than 200 different tests (Adler, et al., 1992).
The
wealth of educational literature regarding self-concept contrasts sharply
with the scarcity of research regarding music education and self-concept. The
general education community's interest in self-concept should not be ignored
by music educators. Students' willingness to participate in music programs
might be influenced by their self-concepts or, at minimum, by their music
self-concepts. Furthermore, when music programs become threatened in times of
financial hardship, research investigating the relationship between music
education and self-concept may influence decisions regarding the continuation
or termination of music programs.
This
article summarizes an extensive review of literature pertaining to the
relationship between music education and self-concept (Reynolds, 1992). The
literature review will be summarized by discussing representative research
findings and describing the conclusions which were drawn based on the review.
The discussion will be divided into five sections: (1) self-concept
definitions, models, and measurement, (2) self-concept of music ability, (3)
the relationship between general self-concept and music education, (4)
implications of the existing research, and (5) recommendations for future
research.
Literature
selected for the review was limited to studies which specifically
investigated the relationship between music education and student
self-concept, or related literature which augmented these studies. The
procedure used to identify studies for review involved several steps: (a) a
review of music education journals, (b) a search of the ERIC data base using
various combinations of pertinent descriptors regarding music and
self-concept, self-esteem, attitude, etc., (c) a review of Dissertation Abstracts
International, 1980-1992. (d) a review of bibliographies of the previously
mentioned sources, and (e) a review of the entries and bibliographies found
in the Encyclopedia of Educational Research (5th ed.) regarding music
education, affective education, and motivation. Additionally, in order to
augment this research, general educational psychology literature regarding
self-concept of ability and beliefs about the causes of success and failure
was selected for inclusion.
Self-Concept Models, Definitions, and
Measurement
Many
of the difficulties associated with self-concept research can be traced
directly to the ambiguity of the term (Wylie, 1974). Complications emerge
from the interchangeable use of such terms as self-esteem, self- worth,
self-identity, self-acceptance, self-regard, and self-evaluation. In both
casual and research contexts, self-concept and self-esteem are not
differentiated very clearly. According to Byrne (1984), there is no
"clear, concise, and universally accepted operational definition of SC [sic]"
(p. 429). For purposes of this article, self- concept will be considered
broadly to include the perception of oneself, including one's attitudes,
knowledge, and feelings regarding abilities, appearance, and social
relationships.
Most
researchers reject a strictly unidimensional construct of self-concept
because it does not adequately explain behavior in a wide variety of
settings. Scheirer & Kraut (1979) suggested that self-concept is a
multi-faceted construct and cautioned against oversimplifying the term. They
stated that "... self-concept should not be conceptualized as a
simple,unitary phenomenon, but as a complex construct, having descriptive,
evaluative, comparative, and affective aspects which can and should be discriminated"
(p. 141).
Marsh
and Shavelson (1985) also conceived of self-concept as a multi-dimensional
construct. They stated:
We
suspect that self-concepts in specific areas will provide better prediction
of most external criterion [sic] than will broad measures of general
self-concept, and we contend that the relationship between self-concept and
other constructs cannot be adequately understood if the multidimensionality
of self-concept is ignored. (p. 121)
Researchers
often distinguish between academic self-concept (reading, mathematics,
general school concept) and non- academic areas such as social prowess,
physical abilities, physical appearance, peer relations, and parent relations
(Marsh & O'Neill, 1984). Separating self-concept into constituent parts
such as these indicates that how one perceives oneself in one situation does
not transfer necessarily to another.
There
are several theoretical models of self-concept based on the premise that
self-concept is a multi-dimensional construct. One model which has particular
relevance to music educators is the compensatory model proposed by Winne and
Marx (1981). The compensatory model indicates that aspects of self-concept
are related inversely rather than related proportionally or independently.
Being highly competent in one area and feeling good about one's performance
in that area offsets weaknesses in other areas. Winne and Marx found that
students who did not excel academically tended to see themselves as more
successful on the physical and social facets of self-concept. This finding
seems to suggest the possibility that if one is a good musician, this musical
area of expertise might contrast with, and could possibly make up for, a lack
of athletic, academic, or social prowess. There is ample anecdotal evidence
which suggests that some music teachers strongly believe that music classes
give academically unsuccessful or athletically unsuccessful students a place
to succeed (Reynolds, 1991).
Because
there is no consensus regarding the definition of self-concept, measurement
instruments vary widely in their conceptual organization. In particular,
there is tremendous diversity in the instruments used to measure self-concept
in studies which explore the relationship between music education and
self-concept.
One
of the decisions investigators must make in designing measurement instruments
is whether to use self-reports, behavioral measures, or some combination of
both. Discrepancies between self-reports and observer reports challenge the
popular notion that evaluations of self are merely the product of how others
see us. Shrauger and Schoeneman (1979) reviewed studies investigating the
relationship between self-reports and the judgment of others, and concluded
that "there is no consistent agreement between people's self-perceptions
and how they are actually viewed by others" (p. 549).
In
order to investigate the relationship between music education and
self-concept, music educators often select major self-reporting instruments
such as the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Coopersmith, 1967), the
Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (Fitts, 1965), or the Piers-Harris Children'
Self-Concept Scale, (Piers, 1984) as well as observation and case study
approaches. While the Tennessee Self-Concept scale and the Coopersmith
Self-Esteem Inventory have been used widely by music educators, these general
instruments do not include sections that measure music self- concept. There
are, however, a limited number of instruments which have been designed to
test music self- concept. The Self-Concept in Music (SCIM) by Svengalis
(1978) and the Self-Esteem of Music Ability Scale (SEMA) by Schmitt (1979),
are instruments directed toward this end.
The
SCIM (Svengalis, 1978) includes 36 items, to which a subject is asked to
respond either "yes" or "no". Fifteen of the 36 items are
concerned with singing. Other questions deal with music memory, skill of
reading and writing music,composition, and the student's perceptions of how
others view his/her musical ability. Additionally, there are items which ask
the student to estimate his/her ability to achieve musically.
The
SEMA (Schmitt, 1979) is a 43 item instrument designed for students aged
10-15. In general, the statements pertain specifically to music ability as
opposed to feelings of general self-worth. The items relate to
self-confidence, musical skills and abilities, and feelings of acceptance and
reinforcement from parents, teachers, and friends. The correlation between
SEMA scores and participation in musical activities was .60.
The
relationship between self-concept and achievement is often debated. The
common perception that there is a correlation between positive self-concept
and achievement is not well established in the research literature. As
attractive as this idea is, in a review of dissertations regarding
self-concept and achievement, Scheirer & Kraut (1979) concluded,
"The effects reported by these studies are strikingly simple to
summarize: in no case were changes in achievement unambiguously associated
with changes in self- concept" (p. 139). Eccles & Wigfield (1985)
stated "field studies suggest that self-concept is not a very powerful
determinant of achievement in and of itself" (p.190).
Perhaps
the difficulty associated with establishing a relationship between
self-concept and achievement is due to the terms themselves. Not only is the
meaning of self- concept ambiguous, but also there is a lack of agreement
regarding the definition of achievement. As a result, achievement and
self-concept measurement instruments are limited by operational definitions
of the terms and resulting test designs. These measurements also are
influenced by the values held by a particular culture or society. Different
individuals, cultures, and sub-cultures perceive achievement differently. For
example, a stellar academic record or a reward for model citizenship may do
little to enhance (or be the result of) a nonconformist's self-concept.
Self-Concept of Music Ability
The
notion of a discrete music self-concept is compatible with the majority of
multi-dimensional definitions and models previously discussed. In a multi-
dimensional model, music self-concept would be a subset of general or global
self-concept. For example, in the compensatory model (Winne & Marx,
1981), music ability would be not only discrete from other abilities, but
also might be developed as a compensation for shortcomings in other areas.
For instance, a good music self-concept might make up for a poor athletic,
academic, or social self- concept.
Regardless
of the definition or model of self-concept preferred, a student's concept of
him/herself as a music student will influence classroom behavior and his/her
motivation to participate in music activities (Austin, 1990). There is no
shortage of anecdotal evidence supporting the conclusion that the poor music
self-concept of many adults can be traced to negative early childhood
experiences, such as being asked to be a "silent singer" or not
being permitted to participate in a musical ensemble (McLendon, 1982).
The
shortage of literature which specifically addresses self-concept in music is
enriched by research pertaining to the attributional theory of motivation,
and literature regarding self-concept of ability (Bandura, 1977, 1986;
Covington, 1984; Dweck, Goetz, & Strauss, 1980; Dweck & Henderson,
1989; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Weiner, 1986).
Attribution
theory (Weiner, 1979, 1986) indicates that students' perceptions of the
reasons for success and failure determine future behaviors. Outcomes can be
attributed to four causes: ability, effort, task difficulty, or luck. Ability
and effort are considered to be internal attributes, while luck and task
difficulty are considered to be external to the student. Ability and task
difficulty are perceived as stable and unchangeable (at least in
post-adolescents), while effort and luck are considered to be unstable and
subject to change (Frieze & Weiner, 1971). For example, if a student
attributes success to effort, he/she is likely to continue to persist when
faced with a new challenge. Conversely, if success is attributed to luck, the
student is not likely to make greater efforts in the future, nor is this
successful outcome likely to influence the student's perceptions of his/her
ability.
Self-worth
theory maintains that students who equate ability with achievement are more
likely to be motivated by the desire to protect their own self-esteem than by
the desire to master a task (Covington & Beery, 1976; Covington &
Omelich, 1979; Covington, 1983; Covington, 1984; Covington & Omelich,
1985). Covington stated, "failure to maintain a sense of ability
triggers shame and a loss of self-respect" (1983, p.50) and that
students feel that if they work hard and fail anyway, they lack ability
(Covington 1983, 1984). However, if their failure is a result of a lack of
effort, their ability status is uncertain and their self-worth can remain
intact. In a situation that is likely to threaten a student's self-image,
there is a very pronounced tendency to reduce effort.
From
this literature there are implications that students with high self-concepts
of musical ability and expectations for success will respond persistently to
a challenging musical task, whereas students with low self-concepts and low
expectations for success will tend to give up on the same musical task
(Weiner, 1986). Because music educators presumably are interested in
encouraging students to respond persistently to a musical task, the obvious
question becomes, how do students develop a positive self-concept of music
ability?
The
fact that self-concept is not well-defined for young children (Harter, 1982)
suggests that self-concept of music ability is malleable in young children.
Since self-concept is in the formative stages in young children (Coopersmith,
1967; Harter, 1982), early experiences may have a profound effect on
students' music self-concepts. It appears that the time to influence
students' self-concept of music ability is in the early years.
Casual
observations and anecdotal evidence indicate that a majority of very young
children participate eagerly in musical activities. This may be due in part
to the fact that effort is valued very highly by young children (Covington,
1983). Young children believe that effort increases ability, whereas older
students tend to believe that intelligence, talent, and ability are stable
traits, impervious to change through effort (Asmus, 1986; Covington, 1983).
Asmus
(1985) conducted a study of 118 sixth-grade students regarding student
beliefs about the causes of success and failure in music. The majority of
students selected ability and effort to be the major causes for success and
failure in music. Whether a student was successful or unsuccessful did not
appear to affect the attribution. The large numbers of effort attributions in
general supported the theory that effort is valued in preadolescent children
(Austin, 1990; Covington, 1983).
Using
Schmitt's (1979) Self-Esteem of Music Ability scale (SEMA), Austin (1990)
found vast individual differences in 252 fifth- and sixth-grade students'
beliefs about ability, skills, desire to perform, and recognition from
others. Results indicated that music self-esteem was higher for females, and
that music self-esteem scores proved to be a significant predictor of
participation in out-of-school or in-school music activities. In an earlier
study regarding the effect of music contest format on self- concept,
motivation, achievement, and attitude in elementary band students, Austin
(1988) found that self-concept in music was enhanced as a result of music
contest participation. The researcher randomly assigned 44 fifth- and
sixth-grade instrumentalists to a rated solo contest format or a
comments-only format. Significant gains in self-concept were made by both
groups as measured by the Self-Concept in Music (SCIM) test (Svengalis,
1978), yet only rated groups made gains in music achievement.
Hedden
(1982) investigated predictors of music achievement in 144 upper elementary
general music students. He found that self-concept in music, as measured by
the SCIM test (Svengalis, 1978), was a significant predictor of music
achievement.
Klinedinst
(1989) conducted a study to examine the ability of 11 selected variables
(including self-concept in music) to predict performance achievement, teacher
rating of musical achievement, and retention of beginning instrumentalists.
The study involved 205 fifth-grade beginning instrumental music students.
Self-concept in music, socio-economic status, reading achievement, scholastic
ability, and math achievement were found to be valid predictors of student
retention in the instrumental program. These studies suggest that music
self-concept is related to student participation in music activities.
Furthermore, there is limited evidence to suggest that music self-concept may
be related to music achievement.
To
date, there has not been a significant body of research developed regarding
specific music curriculum approaches and their effect on music self-concept.
However, there has been some research conducted concerning the relationship
between music attitude and curriculum approaches. Although music attitude is
not synonymous with music self-concept, researchers have found that attitude,
self-concept, and musical background appear to be significantly related
(Klinedinst, 1989; Svengalis, 1978).
Pogonowksi's
(1985) research regarding a process-oriented music curriculum suggests that
students participating in this type of curriculum maintain positive attitudes
about music class. A process-oriented curriculum encourages all students to
participate actively by providing appropriate challenges involving singing,
playing, composing, and listening. It is possible that students'
self-concepts of music ability will be affected positively by this type of
curriculum. However, in order to make that claim convincingly, further
research is warranted.
Among
secondary school students there is an increase in the number of ability
attributions regarding success and failure in music and a decrease in the
number of effort attributions as grade level increases (Asmus, 1986;
Covington, 1983). These findings corroborate Raynor's (1981) stages of career
striving which indicate that in the early stages of striving a student is
"becoming" and places greater importance on effort. When a student
reaches Raynor's final stage of "having been," students and adults
are more likely to indicate internal stable (ability) attributions in order
to protect the ego (Covington, 1983).
In
a study involving 589 students in grades 4-12, Asmus (1986) found that 80% of
the reasons cited for success and failure in music were attributed to
internal causes (ability or effort). A greater number of stable (ability or
task difficulty) attributions were cited for success while more luck
attributions were cited for failure. Additionally, females cited more ability
attributions than males. With age, the ability attributions increased while
the effort attributions decreased. Asmus stated that the shift between
effort-related and ability-related attributions occurs during the sixth and
seventh grades, often the time teachers have difficulty keeping students
involved with music.
Chandler,
Chiarella, and Auria (1988) surveyed 234 high school band participants and
found that students who perceived success and satisfaction with their current
level of performance participated more readily in band challenges and
attributed their success to natural musical ability, effort, or technical
knowledge. Conversely, failure and lack of satisfaction resulted in fewer
challenges and more external attributions.
In
addition to classroom experiences, it should be noted that societal beliefs
potentially affect students' music self-concepts. Societal beliefs impact
students' music self-concepts in at least two ways: (a) the degree of
importance placed upon musical participation, and (b) gender association and
music activities.
In
the United States, music does not enjoy the same status as other subjects in
the school curriculum as evidenced by such documents as America, 2000: An
Education Strategy (United States Department of Education, 1991). The
requirements for music instruction do not equal other academic requirements
(MENC, 1991). With such minimal demands placed upon students, there seems to
be little imperative from the school to develop a good music self- concept in
order to be academically or socially successful.
Not
only is music less valued than other subjects, but also in this society it is
more acceptable for female students to excel in music. Hoffer (1992) stated
that, "There has been a long tradition in America that males are
supposed to be interested in sports and things like that, not in the
arts" (p.720). Research suggests that female students have better
attitudes toward music and more positive music self-concepts than male
students (Austin, 1990; Haladyna & Thomas, 1979). It is possible that
this is a reflection of the societal viewpoint that it is more acceptable for
female students to excel in music.
The Relationship between General Self-Concept
and Music Education
The
popular notion that music has the power to influence general self-concept is
firmly established in the educational community (Brandt, 1980; Martin, 1983;
McLendon, 1982; Sarokon, 1986; Sunyak & Kaufman, 1983). There is no
shortage of anecdotal evidence or philosophical statements describing the
effect of music on self-concept. The Tanglewood Declaration states,
"Music and other fine arts, largely nonverbal in nature, reach close to
the social, psychological and physiological roots of man in his search for
identity and self-realization" (Choate, 1968, p. 139). Research which
addresses these beliefs falls into three broad categories: (a) music therapy,
(b) educational practices, (c) classroom research projects.
By
definition, music therapy uses music to accomplish non- musical goals. One of
these goals is the enhancement of self-concept. Research studies generated by
the music therapy community often involve very specific, atypical
populations. As a result, generalizing from these studies to wider
populations may be problematic.
The
results of music therapy research reports surveyed as part of this research
are generally inconclusive. For example, Henderson (1983) conducted a study
to determine the effect of 18 one-hour music therapy sessions on the self-
esteem, awareness of mood in music, and group cohesion of 13 subjects
diagnosed with adjustment reaction to adolescence. Subjects were assigned
randomly to either an experimental or a control group. Control group subjects
received no music therapy. From pre-test to post-test there were no
significant changes in self-esteem for either the control or the experimental
groups as measured by the Coopersmith Self- Esteem Inventory (1967). However,
anecdotal accounts by the staff members indicated that subjects in the
experimental group displayed increased confidence.
Much
of the therapy research, as well as some of the educational research,
indicated that while traditional measurement instruments did not show any
statistically significant changes in self-concept, researchers did observe
changes in the subjects' behavior or attitudes (Henderson, 1983; Kivland
1986; Michel and Farrell, 1973, Morrison and Thomas, 1975; Perrine, 1989).
This suggests that while a measurement instrument may be appropriate in one
context, its use may be limited in other contexts where the researcher's
self-concept construct does not match that of the instrument. Other
possibilities are that behavioral changes that occur over relatively short
periods of time are precursors of eventual self-concept changes not detected
by traditional self-concept measurement instruments until much later.
Educational
practices often are built on the broad assumption that music enhances
self-concept. This is illustrated not only in textbooks, but also in
documents pertaining to state educational objectives (Kentucky Plan for
Comprehensive Arts in Education, 1981; Montgomery County, 1980; Schumacher,
1981). Additionally, research literature addressing the "at risk"
population of students, and descriptive studies regarding the effect of music
education on student self-concept often are built on the assumption that
music and/or the arts have the ability to enhance self-concept (Barry,
Taylor, Walls,& Wood, 1990; Mehuron, 1990; Sarokon, 1986; Smith, 1988).
Draper
and Gayle (1987) surveyed 108 early childhood education textbooks published
between 1887-1982, with the majority published between 1973-1982. From these
textbooks, the reasons cited for teaching music clustered into 10 categories.
Several of these categories implied a connection between self-concept and
music study. Eleven percent of the authors believed that music instruction
helped a child to feel positively about him- or herself. The most commonly
cited reason for teaching music, cited by 70% of the authors, was to provide
an opportunity for self-expression and creative pleasure.
Like
Draper and Gayle (1987), Payne (1990) also investigated beliefs regarding the
value of music education. In her dissertation study, Payne surveyed Ohio
education personnel, including school superintendents, school board
presidents, building principals, and music teachers regarding the
justification for music education. Music teachers and school superintendents
put a higher value on statements regarding music as aesthetic education than
did building principals and school board presidents. Instead, principals and
school board presidents selected statements regarding the development of
self-esteem as the most accurate statements in describing the value of music
education.
Several
classroom studies have been undertaken which investigated the relationship
between general self-concept and music education (Bragg, 1980; Ford, 1981;
Greenberg, 1970; Lillemyr, 1983; Lukitsch, 1987; Murdock, 1991; Perrine,
1989; Whalen and Csikszentmihalyi, 1989). Although the results of much of
this research are inconclusive, there are three studies which merit mention
here.
The
first study describes a pilot project which investigated music attitudes,
self-esteem, and socioeconomic status (Nolin and VanderArk, 1977). These
researchers found that ninth-grade band and choir students had significantly
higher self-esteem scores than non-music students as measured by the
Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (1967). This research project was important
because Nolin and VanderArk suggested that economic status, music attitude,
and self-esteem should be considered together.
The
findings of this study may provide some limited evidence that the set of
circumstances associated with self-esteem development may be more complex
than merely teaching music to students in school as compared with students
not having school musical experience. (p. 42)
The
results of a subsequent study are particularly promising (VanderArk, Nolin,
& Newman, 1980). This study investigated the relationships between music
attitude, self- esteem, social status, and grade level in 5642 third-,
fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students from 16 suburban, Midwestern
elementary schools. Rather than investigate only linear relationships, the
investigators chose a curvilinear analysis based on the premise that
relationships between self-esteem, music attitude, and other variables could
be more accurately represented this way. Findings suggested that: (a) there
was a significant relationship between sex and self-esteem in predicting
attitude toward music activities, (b) middle social status students had
significantly higher attitudes toward music than did lower or high social
status students, and perhaps most significantly, (c) results indicated that
self-esteem, as measured by Coopersmiths's Self-Esteem Inventory (1967),
accounted for a significant amount of variance in predicting attitude toward
classroom music experiences.
Hylton
(1981) investigated the meaning of the high school choral singing experience.
Although Hylton's research did not investigate self-concept specifically, his
findings indicated that choral singing experiences might influence students'
self-knowledge. Statements for a Likert-type assessment instrument were
developed from responses to open- ended questions collected in a pilot study.
The instrument was administered to 673 high school students in 14 different
performing groups. This study, in combination with the pilot study which
preceded it, generated six broad categories which described the meaning of
the choral experience. Of these six categories, at least three had some
relationship to self-concept (communicative, integrative, achievement). Additionally,
the psychological dimension of this study directly related to self-concept
because it dealt specifically with the development of the self. Hylton stated
"...knowledge of self gained through musical experiences may lead to an
enhanced self-concept and sense of worth" (p. 289). The following
statements regarding the choral music experience were rated highly by
participants: (1) to help me get to know myself better, (2) to feel more at
ease, and (3) to help me be at peace with myself.
It
is possible that social factors involved in the music experience are
responsible for much of the perceived gains in self-concept. Music provides
an opportunity for students to participate on a social level through ensemble
activities. These increased social opportunities possibly affect students'
social self-concepts. At this time, there has not been much effort made to
isolate the social factor in self-concept research regarding music students.
However, Murdock (1991) found that music students differed significantly from
non-music students regarding social self- concept, although it was not
possible to conclude this was the result of the choir experience alone.
Hylton (1981) also found that social factors were a significant part of the
choral experience.
Implications of the Existing Research
From
the research reviewed, it is possible to draw several conclusions. There is
evidence to suggest that self-concept is a multi-dimensional construct and
that music self-concept can be measured separately from general self-
concept. Music education may impact self-concept of music ability to a
greater degree than it impacts general or global self-concept. Research
regarding self-concept of ability is grounded more firmly than general
self-concept research, perhaps because self-concept of ability is more
specific and easily defined than is general self-concept. Intervention
procedures designed to raise children's confidence of their abilities in
specific subject areas by insuring the acquisition of prerequisite skills can
lead to achievement gains. Therefore, one is more likely to find a
relationship between self-concept of music ability and music achievement than
one is to find a relationship between general self-concept and music
achievement.
Literature
regarding the relationship between general self- concept and music education
is inconclusive. This may be the most important finding of this research.
However, just as a not-guilty verdict in our judicial system does not reflect
innocence, this lack of conclusive evidence does not guarantee that music
education and development of self- concept are unrelated.
In
roughly half of the music education and music therapy studies cited, there
was no strong indication that music positively affected self-concept or that
music students possessed better self-concepts than non-music students. These
findings may have been the result of the small number of studies conducted in
combination with the wide variety of self-concept definitions and measurement
tools used in these studies. A greater number of similarly designed studies
may yield more conclusive results.
In
spite of the lack of empirical data to support such beliefs regarding music
and self-concept, descriptive literature describing the positive relationship
between the arts (including music) and general self-concept continue to
proliferate (Kalliopuska, 1989; Sarokon, 1986; Sunyak & Kaufman, 1983).
Such literature suggests that there is a discrepancy between common
perception and conclusive evidence. It appears there are four major reasons
for this discrepancy. These are: (a) the lack of a single, universally agreed
upon operational definition of self- concept, (b) the selection of
inappropriate measurement instruments which do not necessarily measure
changes stemming from experimental treatments, (c) inconsistencies between
observed behavior and self-reports, and (d) research designs which fail to
recognize music's potential to affect not only self-concept of music ability,
but also other facets of self-concept, including social and emotional
components as well. Additionally, the lack of conclusive evidence regarding
music education and self-concept may simply reflect the scarcity of research
specifically related to this topic.
Although
inconclusive research results make it challenging to propose recommendations
for the music classroom, such results do not suggest abandoning all
activities which are thought to improve self-concept. Elementary music
education, particularly in the early grades, is critically important to the
development of music self-concept. Pogonowski's (1985) research regarding a
process-oriented music curriculum suggests that this type of curriculum
potentially could influence positively students' self- concepts. Curricular
approaches and activities should be selected with this in mind.
Although
participation in group success can be a very positive experience for
students, music classes which place tremendous emphasis on group achievement,
rather than individual growth, do little to encourage individual effort or
foster individual self-concept gains. Students in classes with a heavy
emphasis on group achievement often are not evaluated on individual musical
growth but rather on attendance and participation in group activities. Such
evaluation may affect positively a student's social self- concept, but may
have little effect on their self-concept of music ability (Hylton, 1981).
In
order to impact individual students' self-concepts of music ability, music
educators may wish to schedule opportunities for small group performance.
Because small ensemble activities have been traditionally used for evaluative
purposes only, and often have been reserved for students believed to be
musically gifted, generally, they are perceived negatively and evoke high
anxiety. Such small ensemble activities should be structured to minimize
anxiety so that students perceive the task positively and feel empowered to
meet appropriate music challenges.
Music
classes should be structured to foster the belief that music ability is not a
stable trait and can be developed through effort. At the secondary level,
entry level non- auditioned classes should be provided in a variety of areas.
Although general music classes are open to all students, in many secondary
schools there are no general music classes offered. It is hard to imagine a
high school where students would have severely limited access to English,
math, science, or history classes. However, it is not difficult to find high
schools where many students are unable to meet the requirements necessary to
register for music performance classes. By being highly selective about the
students they teach, music educators reinforce the idea that music ability is
not subject to improvement through effort.
Recommendations for Future Research
The
problems associated with self-concept research, including the definition and
measurement of self-concept, initially might appear to be insurmountable.
This is not to suggest that music educators abandon research in this area.
Rather, in designing future research regarding student self- concept and
music education, one must be aware of the difficulties inherent in the
process.
It
is important to integrate findings from the educational and psychological
fields in the design of future research regarding music education and
self-concept. For example, widely used self-concept measures such as the
Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (1967) or the Tennessee Self-Concept (1965)
scale may be of questionable value in short term pre- posttest designs or
inappropriate for a wide variety of cultural settings.
There
are two recommended avenues for continued research regarding music education
and student self-concept. The first is further investigation of self-concept
of music ability. Suggested projects might include: (a) an investigation of
the relationship between self-concept of music ability and specific
curricular approaches, or (b) an investigation of the relationship between
self-concept of music ability and participation in elective music activities
at different developmental stages.
A
second area of research pertains to the more challenging area regarding the
establishment of a connection between music education and general
self-concept. Future research might include: (a) a longitudinal study
comparing the self-concepts of non-music students with the self-concepts of
music students, (b) an investigation of the effect of music instruction on
social facets of self-concept measurement instruments, (c) an investigation
regarding the relationships between self-concept of music, music attitude,
and general self-concept, and finally, (d) the development of qualitative
research projects. A qualitative approach might circumvent difficulties
associated with self-concept measurement. Furthermore, the holistic approach
advocated by qualitative researchers indicates that self-concept might be
studied more effectively by gathering a broad spectrum of data within the
total context of a music classroom. Bresler and Stake (1992) stated that
"Qualitative researchers can examine events that reflect latent as well
as manifest learning" (p. 83). Neither self-concept nor the
meaningfulness of music is translated easily into words. Some might argue
that it is futile, perhaps even misguided, to attempt such a translation. As
a result, the relationship between these two areas is interesting to discuss,
yet frustrating to quantify. Cooperation between classroom teachers and
researchers of differing fields may help in designing effective projects for
future research. At this time, however, empirical evidence and anecdotal
evidence continue to move in opposite directions. This is likely to continue
until researchers can translate observations and perceptions regarding
self-concept into quantitative measurements or until qualitative research is designed
which breaks away from traditional conceptual frameworks.
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