An Examination of Factors Contributing to Orchestra Students’ Attrition in Transition From Elementary to Middle School

Attrition;Retention;Orchestra;Strings;Elementary School;Middle School;Music Education

Cook, Bethany V.Bishop, Andrew ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Attrition;    Retention;    Orchestra;    Strings;    Elementary School;    Middle School;    Music Education;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/97769/Cook-Thesis_final.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

The purpose of this study was to determine what factors contribute to orchestra students’ attrition when transitioning from elementary to middle school. The factors that were examined included: 1) student perceptions about their elementary orchestra program, 2) student perceptions about the middle school orchestra program, 3) middle school scheduling, 4) parental support, 5) peer influence, 6) student perceptions about their own playing, 7) continued participation in school music outside of orchestra, and 8) continued participation in music outside of school. Categorical variables such as gender, instrument, race, elementary and middle schools attended, socioeconomic status and academic achievement were also examined.This study was limited to studying sixth grade students from a single school district who discontinued orchestra participation when entering middle school in the fall of the 2012-2013 school year. These students matriculated from nine K-5 elementary schools and were identified as having completed three years of string study in their elementary school. The school was located 30 minutes outside of a large metropolis in New England.Participants were invited to complete an online questionnaire to examine their perceptions of their elementary orchestra program and the middle school orchestra program. The questionnaire was organized into three sections and contained 42 items. Section one contained 24 items relating to parental support, motivation, students’ perceptions about their own playing and their elementary school orchestra experience. Responses from section one were summed to create the Elementary Orchestra Experience Scale (EOES). The EOES had good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .84. Section two contained 12 questions and the responses in section two were summed to create the Middle School Orchestra Perceptions Scale (MSOPS). The MSOPS had good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .74. Section three contained six ;;yes” or ;;no” questions. Scores from the EOES and MSOPS were examined based on categorical variables including gender, instrument, elementary and middle schools attended, race, socioeconomic status and academic achievement.Data analysis revealed that 75% of the respondents indicated that they did not participate in middle school orchestra because they preferred to take other elective classes. Eighty percent of the respondents indicated that they joined their school chorus or band instead of orchestra (50% joined the school chorus, 30% joined the school band). Also, the data suggested that parents’ lack of support for the orchestra program was a contributing factor to attrition. Only 45% percent of the participants indicated that their parents tried to convince them to stay in orchestra. Data suggested a lack of peer support for orchestra when transitioning into middle school. Respondents indicated that they did not like to practice at home. No significant differences were found in respondents’ scores based on gender, instrument, race, schools attended, socioeconomic status and academic achievement and the ESOS and MSOPS scores.