Learning to play an instrument and level of self-concept

The methods explained by Snijders and Bosker (1999) can also be used for testing for the significance of a factor, such as learning to play an instrument, on an array of scores, such as self-concept scores. The SPSS procedures described by Peugh and Enders (2005) were again used to conduct the omnibus test for the effect of kind of school and learning an instrument on all six domains of the self-concept taken together. The results are given in Table 5.19.

Source df F ratio Sig.

Kind of school 6,5921 0.157 0.988

Learning to play an instrument 6.155 3.627 0.002 Interaction - kind of school and learning to

play 6.155 1.074 0.380

Table 5.19 Multivariate F Tests of influence of kind of school (school type) and learning to play an instrument on self-concept.

The multivariate test shows that one or more of the domains of the self-concept is influenced strongly by learning to play an instrument (F(6,155)=3.627, p=.002) but there is no influence of kind of school (F(6,5921)=0.157, p=.988). From the same statistical procedure, the particular domains that are influenced can be identified (Snijders and Bosker, 1999, pages 204-205). The statistics for identifying the particular domains affected are given as Table 5.20

Effects of learning to

Scholastic self concept 17.78 0.89 2.20 0.61 3.61 <.0001 Relations with peers 17.93 0.93 0.15 0.72 0.21 .830 Athletic self concept 16.53 0.92 -0.31 0.68 -0.45 .653 Physical appearance 17.12 0.96 -0.52 0.76 -0.68 .495 Behavioural self

concept 17.79 0.91 2.23 0.56 3.96 <.0001

Global self worth 18.60 0.92 -0.50 0.66 -0.76 .448

Table 5.20 Significance testing for identifying which domains of the self concept were significantly affected by learning to play an instrument

In Table 5.20, the column labelled ‘mean for children not playing’ (labelled ‘the significance tests for the individual domains. Table 5.21 shows that the score for scholastic self-concept (sense of academic competence) would be just over two points higher (2.20) if learning to play a musical instrument. This difference is significant (t(159)=3.61, p<.0001). The mean score for behavioural self-concept

can also be expected to be just over two points higher (2.23) if learning to play an instrument: this is also significant (t(159)=3.96, p<.001). So the domains of the self-concept affected by learning to play an instrument, whether in a choir or a local authority school, are the scholastic domain and the behavioural domain.

There is no significant effect on the sense of global self worth (t(159)=.76, p=.448).

Figure 5.4 plots these results for the scholastic, behavioural and global domains, with means surrounded by bars indicating the 95% confidence limits on either side of the point depicting the mean level. It can be seen that the level of self-concept differs by just over two points, as a function of learning to play an instrument, for the scholastic and behavioural domains. The absence of effect on the sense of global self worth can be appreciated from the complete overlap of the distance between the bars. At the same time, the bars around the means for the scholastic and behavioural domains can be seen to stay apart.

23' 2 2

-20 I

-151

CL 17

□ Scholastic

□ Behavioural

LOO) ^{□ Global}

N = 56 56 56 103 103 103

Not playing Haying

Playing An Instrument

Figure 5.4 Levels of self-concept as a function of learning to play an instrument, or not.

5.9 C o n clu sio n s

The evidence from both inspection reports and children’s answers to questions about their experience indicated that performing, composing and listening or appraising were taking place, in some measure, even in schools without extensive, specialised facilities, though attainments differed extensively according to their availability and that of specialised teachers. Even in choir schools, not all children participated to the same extent. However, it tended to be the case that they had either entered the schools with elevated musical abilities or their scores reflected vicarious benefits of being educated with more musical peers.

164

The evidence from children’s conceptions of themselves confirms the embeddedness of music in the curriculum. It relates to the sense of academic competence but not to global self worth, as we might anticipate would have been the case if Music were just something provided to raise self-esteem. In local authority schools where peripatetic teachers are relied upon for instrumental tuition, children have to be responsible for their behaviour as they leave classmates to join them. In choir schools, the same level of responsibility might be required for going to the practice rooms. However, this is a post hoc explanation and underlines that these self-concept results need qualification if we are to repose full confidence in them.

What these results from the data in Phase Two show most convincingly is the importance of learning to play an instrument for core musical abilities as assessed with the Bentley Test. The very high scores among boys in local authority schools were clearly to do with their extra years of experience of learning to play an instrument, compared to girls.

From the point of view of the general research question as to the effects of the historical change of bringing in National Curriculum Music, these results concerning learning an instrument are very important, for it is not part of the curriculum specification. Yet, if there is to be overall raising of the level of

musical abilities, requiring instrumental lessons would be a change that might have the most potent effect.

The evidence in this chapter may be interpreted as support for an extended model of the development of musical abilities. From a family perspective, this might indicate relevant differences in parental input, as assessed in the musical experience questionnaire. Both individual and family environment selections, as well as community social selection processes, are at work. Some will be conscious; though environment selection in the case of young child will be similar to that described by Dickens and Flynn (2001) (see Section 2.6). When making music or gaining musical experience with peers in other ways children have an immediate circle of contacts. If one basis of selection of contacts is to do with music, with a consequent increase in enjoyment, there will be scope for a group contextual effect or ‘social multiplier’, as predicted by Dickens and Flynn (2001) for intelligence.

The generalisations made on the basis of these results need to be qualified by the caution that not all of the achievements of specialist choir schools were brought into assessment, given the reliance on pitch perception, rhythm, memory for tunes and chord recognition tasks in the Bentley test. However, it is intended as an ability rather than attainment test. Given the influence of learning an instrument, a reciprocal influence between environment selection and ability is likely. Whether or not a pupil was in a state school or independent

specialist school, playing an instrument would be partly the result of environment selection. When self-enhancement of musical abilities enters the picture, its influence is two-way and cumulative. By the time children in the study were tested, even within higher ability ranges, further self-enhancement of their abilities was well underway. It was decided that this called for investigation of what would happen with successive waves of testing in the same school where the National Curriculum was being implemented. In taking this way of thinking further temporal contexts need to be investigated. One-off testing has characterised the evidence collected in Phase Two of the investigation reported in this chapter. It was now considered necessary to retest as many pupils as possible, using the Bentley test, to see whether changes had occurred over one- and two-year periods. Chapter Six describes this testing.