Predictors of Instrumental Music Enrollment


Book Description

The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the academic and demographic characteristics of 6th-grade instrumental music students attending selected public schools of contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds, (2) examine the retention patterns of students who were required to enroll in 6th-grade instrumental music compared to those who elected to do so, and (3) construct a predictive model of student retention in middle school instrumental music programs. Individual student data (N = 1052) were gathered from beginning instrumental 6th-grade programs at selected schools in a large, urban school district in Texas. Data included students' 5th and 6th standardized test results, 7th-grade class schedules, and demographic information. Data were analyzed according to the 6th-grade campus the students attended (Title I/non-Title I) and the type of school (elementary school with required music programs or middle school with elective music programs) to identify demographic and academic factors associated with 6th-and 7th-grade music participation. I examined students' schedules for retention patterns associated with individual school scheduling and academic remedial policies. I used logistic regression to develop predictive models of retention based on the following factors: gender, ethnicity, special education, at-risk, gifted, 5th and 6th-grade standardized test results, 5th-grade campus and pre-AP enrollment. Only the 6th-grade standardized tests, either math or reading, predicted retention in instrumental music in all of the school settings. Ethnicity, at-risk, and 5th-grade standardized tests did not predict retention in any school setting. Each school setting was unique in the factors that predicted instrumental music retention. For example, in the Title I setting, giftedness and 6th-grade reading test results predicted retention whereas in the non-Title I setting, gender, pre-AP enrollment and 6th-grade math results predicted retention. I also observed that 6th-grade required music programs were, by default, more inclusive than elective programs, and that the diversity in the student population of the 6th-grade required programs was maintained during the 7th-grade when music became elective. Results from this study suggest that offering only one elective choice per year may exclude access to music education for low academic achievers and reduce enrollment in music ensembles.













Factors Influencing Student Continuance in Instrumental Music Classes


Book Description

In this quantitative study I investigated relationships between motivation, music aptitude, academic achievement, race, gender, and instrument type and student continuance in their first year of instrumental music study. Beginning instrumental music students (n = 30) completed the EVC Survey (Kosovich et al., 2015) to determine expectancy, value, and cost. I collected data on music aptitude, gender, race, and instrument type from teacher and school records, and conducted binary logistic regression and Chi-Square tests in order to determine predictors of continuance in instrumental music classes. I excluded gender, race, and instrument type from the logistic regression model because they did not meet assumptions. My analysis showed that expectancy, value, cost, and music aptitude significantly predicted student continuance after their first year of instrumental music instruction. Findings offer an initial model for predicting student continuance and suggest implications for future research and practice.







The Effects of Participation in School Instrumental Music Programs on Student Academic Achievement and School Attendance


Book Description

This study examined whether or not students that participated in a school sponsored instrumental music program had higher academic achievement and attendance than students that did not participate in a school sponsor instrumental music program. Units of measurement included standardized test scores and attendance, without taking into consideration variables such as gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. This study concentrated on participants from three middle schools (6-8) and three high schools (9-12) in Baltimore County, Maryland. Data were gathered on Maryland School Assessment (MSA) and Maryland High School Assessment (HSA) scores and federally reported school attendance rates were accessed based on the 2007-2008 school year. Four research questions were investigated and six null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance. Independent samples t -tests were used to compare enrollment in instrumental music classes to student's academic achievement and attendance rate. There were statistically significant differences among the high school students enrolled in an instrumental music class and those that were not enrolled in instrumental music class on the English and algebra sections of the HSA, and in the attendance rates. The HSA scores of the students that were enrolled in an instrumental music class were significantly higher on both sections of the test. They also had significantly higher attendance rates than the students that were not enrolled in an instrumental music class. These findings suggest the high school students that participate in a school sponsored instrumental music program have higher academic achievement and attendance rates than high school students that do not participate in a school sponsored instrumental music program. The results of data analysis showed that in middle school there were no statistically significant differences among the students from the three middle schools that were enrolled in an instrumental music class and the middle school students that were not enrolled in an instrumental music class on the reading and mathematics sections of the MSA or in attendance rates. These findings suggest that participation in an instrumental music class on the middle school level had no significant impact on student achievement or attendance.