Lucas Hobson Article Review: Moore, D. G., Burland, K., & Davidson, J. W. (2003).

The social context of musical success: A developmental account. British Journal of Psychology, 94, 529-49. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199586623?accountid=8483 This study was created to determine which factors are necessary to motivate musically successful children and keep them involved in school music programs until adulthood. It began by demonstrating some of the most commonly cited influences on childhood motivation: parents, teachers, and schools. From there, it moved to discuss the methodology of this study. 257 students were interviewed to form the data upon which the authors made their assumptions. These could be divided into three pools of students. Some were pursuing music at a specialist school, some were not at a specialist school but still involved in music, and the final group had dropped out of their respective music programs. These interviews were used to gather information on the students teachers, parents, motivation, parental influences, and other influences on their decisions to study or not study music. The study found that parental involvement at the beginning of childs studies was key to continued musical involvement, as was teacher demeanor. In general, less pushy and more friendly teachers had children who stayed involved in music much longer into their adult lives. Peer groups also had a large impact on whether adolescents were motivated to remain in music; the authors conjectured that this was directly related to the development of the childs sense of self and individuality during that time. Slightly older peer role models were most influential. Finally, students who were pushed to practice a lot at the outset of their careers burnt out quickly.

I am interested by this studys use of the word pushy. I assume that, due to its prevalence as a descriptive term in the article, it was used on the questionnaires filled out by study participants. To me, pushy conveys a sense of whiny-ness on the part of the teacher. Did the authors intend this to mean the perceived pushiness from the student perspective, or insistence on high standards? A short explanation by the authors would be very useful to teachers and policy-makers looking to apply this information to the classroom. It is a pity that they were not able to conduct this research through a direct observance of students from birth to adulthood. As they mentioned in the article, though, the sheer sample size and resources required to conduct research in this way made it unpractical. Still, the fact that the study has to draw conclusions from participants memory makes the information gleaned much less reliable. For instance, the students who were most successful in the long run all reported being intrinsically motivated from the beginning of their music careers. This seems suspect to me, because of humans tendencies to unconsciously rewrite their memories to better fit with their perceptions of themselves. Unfortunately, we just have to be careful when interpreting and weighing this information. As a teacher, I will apply the information about teacher demeanor and influence of peers to my own teaching, by working to set up a positive classroom environment and engaging all students, but especially working with classroom leaders. Eventually, I would also try to incorporate older children as positive role models as well, by instituting a leadership program as well. I would work to maintain a friendly demeanor, but still hold high standards in the classroom.