Students’ motivation to study music: The South Korean context

Abstract

As part of an international mapping exercise to investigate students' motivation to study music as compared to other school subjects, this study examined South Korean students' perceptions of subject value, competence and task difficulty, based on the expectancy-value theoretical framework. A sample of 2671 students was drawn from 11 schools (grades 5-12). The results suggest a decline across school levels in students' perceptions of the value of music, and an increase across school levels in perceptions of task difficulty and parental expectations of effort in test-driven school subjects (i.e., mathematics, Korean, science). These trends among South Korean student motivational profiles may demonstrate the impact of high-stakes college entrance examinations. Students reported high parental expectations for student success in rigorous academic subjects, which might have negatively influenced students' values towards non-tested subjects such as music, art and physical education (P.E.). However, the high ranking of interest in music as a subject, along with relatively stable reported interest in music over time, suggests that South Korean students have a notable interest in music learning, but it is likely that the emphasis on examinations in South Korea may minimize the potential for exploration or expansion of this interest. Downloaded from 90 Research Studies in Music Education 33 (1) which examined students' motivation to study music as compared to other school subjects (e.g., art, mother tongue language, physical education (P.E.), mathematics, science). Readers should refer to the lead article in this series (McPherson & O'Neill, 2010) for a full explanation of the theoretical assumptions underpinning the study, reliability and validity of the questionnaire scales, and description of the methods used to gather and analyse data. Further information on the eight-country analysis can be obtained by contacting the research team leader (McPherson) or, in the case of this article, the lead author.The studies in this series draw on the expectancy-value theoretical framework (Eccles et al., 1983; Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998) to examine the competence beliefs, values, and perceptions of task difficulty of 24,143 students across the eight countries. Competence beliefs were defined as expectations for success or the belief about how well each student thought she or he could do in each subject or upcoming task. Subjective task values were conceptualized in terms of four major components: attainment value or importance, intrinsic value or interest, utility value or usefulness, and the cost of participating in the subject.Four key issues in the overall eight-country analysis as reported by McPherson and O'Neill (2010) were investigated: (a) whether competence beliefs and values declined across all eight countries; (b) whether perceptions of task difficulty increased across school levels; (c) differences in students' rating of competence beliefs, values and task difficulty for music as compared to other school subj...

A PRISMA review of expectancy-value theory in music contexts

“…These questionnaires were devised based on expectancy-value theory and other existing theories (e.g., flow theory; Burak, 2014;Weiss, 2015) or scales (e.g., Intrinsic Motivation Inventory; StGeorge, 2010). A questionnaire developed by McPherson and based on guidelines outlined in Eccles et al (2005) has also been used or adapted in several studies (20/88 = 22.7%; for example, Koh, 2011;Leung & McPherson, 2010;Lowe & Coy, 2016;McPherson & O'Neill, 2010;Seog et al, 2011;Xie & Leung, 2011). Twenty-nine studies (33.0%) used questionnaires that were used in earlier studies.…”

Estrategias de Aprendizaje Musical Formal e Informal: Construcción y Validación de un Instrumento de Medición

“…La teoría de expectativas y valores de Eccles y otros (1983) fue elegida por su potencial predictivo en cuanto a la elección de actividades que un individuo desea realizar y su posible desempeño en las mismas (Eccles y otros, 1993; Koh, 2011), además de que ya ha sido utilizada anteriormente en el campo de la educación musical (González-Moreno, 2012, 2013; McPherson y Hendricks, 2010; McPherson y O’Neill 2010; Mohd y McPherson, 2009; O’Neill y McPherson, 2002; Parkes y Jones, 2012; Portowitz, González-Moreno y Hendricks, 2010; Uy, 2018). Con este marco teórico se han examinado las actitudes de estudiantes en nivel básico y medio superior en relación con el valor que le atribuyen a estudiar música en comparación con otras materias escolares (González-Moreno, 2010; McPherson y Hendricks, 2010; Seog, Hendricks y González-Moreno, 2011), con relación al desempeño en la ejecución musical (McCormick y McPherson, 2007; O’Neill y McPherson, 2002) y respecto al rol de los padres en la educación musical de los niños (Mohd y McPherson, 2009), por mencionar algunos ejemplos. Sin embargo, no se encontró bibliografía donde se haya utilizado dicha teoría para medir las actitudes y valores en cuanto a estrategias de aprendizaje musical formales e informales, ni el desarrollo de un instrumento que busque medir dicha cuestión.…”

Middle School Students’ Motivation for Learning Technology in South Korea

“…The South Korean education system is well-known for being highly centralized. In other words, the government maintains strong control over K-12 curricula, teachers' education, school budgets, and national entrance exams for college (Ihm, 2007;Seog, Hendricks, & González-Moreno, 2011). The national entrance exam for college is one of the most critical factors for admission to college, and it is considered as a top priority by high school students in South Korea (Wollam, 1992).…”

“…This emphasis on entrance exams has led to social problems such as extreme competition and insufficient diversity and equality in the educational experience (Kim & Lee, 2001). The extreme competition might not provide educational experiences based on student interests and talents, and people in Korean society are concerned about the disadvantages of the extremely collegebound education system (Chae & Gentry, 2011;Seog et al, 2011).…”