I wanna rock! Self-determined motivation in secondary popular music ensembles
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
The number of popular music ensembles in the United States continues to grow, and these programs can vary greatly in size, instrumentation, and curricular design. Researchers have found that popular music ensembles can increase participation in school music programs and often produce high levels of student engagement and motivation. Yet, little is understood about why students are motivated to engage in the varied styles of popular music classes. Self-determination theory posits that students who experience support for their basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and perceive autonomy support from their teachers will be more motivated in their classes. This might suggest that popular music educators who support student autonomy and provide for students’ basic psychological needs will produce highly motivated popular music education students. Using self-determination theory as a framework, I examined student motivation in three popular music ensembles in the Northeast United States. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with students and observations of each ensemble. Findings suggest that students enroll in these ensembles because of intrinsic desires to play music and learn to play instruments in a way that differs from their previous school music experiences. Students in the classes that incorporated more informal and nonformal music learning techniques reported more satisfaction in having all three basic psychological needs met, thus helping increase intrinsic motivation for making music. Students with autonomy-supportive teachers showed high-quality engagement and increased motivation, whereas controlling teachers thwarted students’ basic psychological needs and decreased student motivation. The psychological need for relatedness was perceived to be the most common contributor to student motivation, and students with less relatedness support often had lower competence satisfaction. Implications for practice and future research suggestions are provided.
Description
2025
License
Attribution 4.0 International