Predicting collegiate wind players' practice efficiency, flow, and self-efficacy for self-regulation: An exploratory study of relationships between teachers' instruction and students' practicing
The purpose of this study was to determine whether students' practice efficiency, flow during practicing, and self-efficacy for self-regulation varied as a function of their practice tendencies, their tendencies towards self-evaluation, their self-regulatory tendencies to be self-reflective when practicing, tendencies to exhibit grit in their learning, and their teachers’ methods of instruction in practicing. Participants were 52 studio lesson teachers and 241 of their students from 25 large collegiate music programs in the United States. Both the teachers and students represented a diverse range of instruments: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. The data for this study were self-reports collected via online questionnaires. Findings indicated that of the five predictor variables examined, only two – students' tendencies to exhibit grit in their learning and their tendencies to be reflective about their practicing – were consistently related to the three outcome variables. Furthermore, all outcome variables were significantly related to one another.
Achievement motivation for band: A cross-cultural examination of the 2 × 2 achievement goal motivation framework
The purpose of this study was to explore the achievement goal motivation orientations of instrumental music students in the US and Singapore. Participants in this study were volunteer band students (N = 359) from eight American public high schools (n = 217) and five polytechnics in Singapore (n = 142). Data were collected via a questionnaire that included measures of (a) the 2 X 2 achievement goal orientation constructs (mastery approach, mastery avoid, performance approach, and performance avoid), (b) flow in band rehearsal, (c) grit in practicing, and (d) commitment to band. In contrast to previous research on the 2 X 2 achievement goal framework in music, sports, and academics, exploratory factor analyses of the achievement goal questionnaire items yielded a three-factor structure indicating latent constructs of mastery-approach, mastery-avoid, and performance goal orientations. In contrast to previous research comparing achievement goals of learners from collectivistic and individualistic cultures, no significant differences in achievement goal sub-scale means were found as a function of culture. However, some differentiated patterns of relationship were found between the achievement goal sub-scales and flow, grit, and commitment to band as a function of culture.
A PRISMA review of research on music practice
We employed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method to systematically review research on music practice from 1928 until June 2020 and identified a total of 3,102 records using our inclusion criteria, of which a total of 296 were eventually selected for the final analysis. We tabulated percentages and frequencies of (a) publications in ten-year periods, (b) type of publications, (c) sampling by geographical location, (d) methodologies used, (e) the top tenth percentile of the most highly cited research, and (f) topics covered. Our analyses reveal that particularly strong growth occurred in the literature between 2000 and 2020. In the literature we retrieved, the most commonly sampled research participants were those in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and Australia. Quantitative research designs were most prevalent, accounting for two thirds of all studies reviewed (66.2%), with questionnaires and recordings being the most common methods of data collection. Non-empirical papers (17.5%) as well as studies incorporating qualitative (13.5%) and mixed-methods designs (3.1%) were much less prevalent. Ericsson et al.’s (1993) seminal study of deliberate practice, Driskell et al.’s (1994) review of the research literature on mental practice, and Sloboda et al.’s (1996) study of young musicians were by far the most often cited. Overall, the most common topics addressed were deliberate practice, practice strategies, mental practice, the benefits of practice, metacognition, self-regulation, and self-efficacy, suggesting that music practice is a rich, multi-faceted, and complex activity. In light of the findings, recommendations for practice and implications for future research are provided.
A cross-cultural examination of university students’ motivation toward band and academics in Singapore and the United States
The purpose of the study was to investigate how university band students’ (non-music majors) motivational goal orientations towards band and academics differ across participants from Singapore (n = 200) and the US (n = 227), and examine how they relate to a suite of adaptive dispositions (i.e., flow, grit, and commitment) relevant for twenty-first century learning. Data were gathered via a self-report questionnaire that measured achievement goal orientations towards academic major, individual and collective goal orientations towards band, flow during rehearsals, grit while practicing, and commitment to band. An unexpected lack of cross-cultural differences was found, with participants from both cultural groups reporting higher levels of motivation towards their major academic field compared to band, indicating that achievement domain rather than culture accounted for differences in motivational goal orientations. Results also suggest that the optimal motivational profile to cultivate in large ensemble is a combination of individual mastery-approach and collective performance-approach goals.