Immersion, relevance and transferability: The motivational preferences of lower secondary students towards a newly created praxis-based class music program

Oct 15, 2026

The study gathers measures of motivation among year 7, 8, and 9 students enrolled in class music in a major Australian secondary school. The research explains the rationale for a dramatic increase in student retention after introducing a new teaching program. A survey instrument collected ratings on motivational preference using Expectancy-value Theory. Results show high means for identity-related importance and skills’ transferability, supported by exploratory factor analysis and implications for music teachers and program development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background

Rationale for this study

Immersion, relevance and transferability: The motivational a u s t r a l i a n a s o c i e t y s f o r m u s i c m e d u c a t i o n e i n c o r p o r a t e d preferences of lower secondary students towards a newly created praxis-based class music program Geoffrey Lowe and Neil Coy Edith Cowan University Abstract The purpose of this study was to gather information on measures of motivation among year 7, 8 and 9 students enrolled in class music in a major Australian secondary school. The rationale for the study was to gain insights into why retention in the class music program had dramatically increased since the introduction of a new teaching program. A survey instrument was utilized to gather rating responses to questions on motivational preference, using Expectancy-value Theory as a theoretical framework. Results indicated high means for items associated with personal importance (identity) and the transferability of skills to other musical activities. Exploratory Factor Analysis confirmed correlations between the importance of tasks to students and the perceived usefulness of tasks. Implications for music teachers and the development of class music programs are discussed. Key words: motivation, retention, student values and beliefs, lower secondary, class music Australian Journal of Music Education 2016: 50(2), 39-47 Introduction For music educators, inspiring and maintaining student motivation is of great importance, especially in secondary schools where music is frequently an elective subject. Recent studies involving music motivation in educational settings have dealt with a range of scenarios, including musical achievement (McPherson & O’Neill, 2010; Diaz, 2009; Schmidt, 2005), age and gender preferences (Schmidt, 2005; Schmidt, Zdzinski & Ballard, 2006; Green, 1997) and musical aptitude (Asmus & Harrison, 1990; Harrison, Asmus & Serpe, 1994). The most common context for these studies has been student motivation for learning musical instruments (McPherson, 1999; McPherson, Davidson & Faulkner, 2012; O’Neill, 2002; Hallam, 1998; Diaz, 2009) while a smaller number of studies have addressed student motivation for class music in secondary school (McPherson & O’Neill, 2010; Ng & Hartwig, 2011; Lowe, 2011; 2008; Rosevear, 2003). This study addresses the later, in particular the potential link between the taught curriculum and student motivation in an attempt to understand the possible reasons for a dramatic increase in student retention in class music in a major Australian secondary school. Background Much of the focus in motivational research studies has been on self-reported measures utilizing methodologies adapted from general educational theories, including Attribution Theory (Weiner, Nierenberg & Goldstein, 1976; Asmus, 1986), Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997), Goal Orientation (Dweck, 1999) and Expectancyvalue Theory (Eccles, 2005; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Eccles, 1983). Of these, Expectancyvalue Theory has been popular among music education researchers (Tossavainen & Junonen, 2015; McPherson & O’Neill, 2010; Lowe, 2011; 2008). The theory posits that student values are determined by the nature of the tasks they undertake, and that values comprise three constructs: importance value, interest value and utility value. Importance value relates to identity; tasks are deemed important when they affirm aspects of self (Wigfield & Cambria, 2010), and Eccles draws broad links between personal importance (identity), and Dweck’s (1999) mastery and ego goal orientations. Interest value includes interest in the subject itself and the enjoyment gained from undertaking the task (Tossavainen & Junonen, 2015), and is linked to intrinsic motivation. Utility value, also known as usefulness is determined by how tasks fit into an individual’s future plans (both short and long term) and is linked to extrinsic value (Wigfield & Cambria, 2010). All three values components are mediated by cost; cost refers

FAQs

What was the study’s main purpose?

To gather information on measures of motivation among year 7, 8, and 9 students enrolled in class music in a major Australian secondary school, and to understand the reasons behind a dramatic increase in retention.

Which theoretical framework guided the survey?

Expectancy-value Theory, used to structure questions about motivational preference.

What did the results indicate about student motivation?

Students showed high levels related to personal importance (identity) and the transferability of skills to other musical activities, with exploratory factor analysis supporting links between task importance and perceived usefulness.

Oct 15, 2026

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