No abstract

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0265051702000256How to cite this article: James M. Renwick and Gary E. . Interest and choice: student-selected repertoire and its effect on practising behaviour.Motivational research in academic subjects has demonstrated that when students are interested in an activity and feel free to choose whether or not to do it, they are more likely to engage in higher-level cognitive functioning, ®nd it easier to concentrate, persevere, and enjoy their learning. This case study of a young beginning clarinettist named Clarissa consisted of interviews and computer analysis of videotaped practice sessions. Clarissa's practice behaviour in teacher-assigned repertoire was compared with her work on a piece she chose to learn herself. Results show that when practising self-selected repertoire, Clarissa was more likely to engage in strategies that are typical at more advanced stages of development, such as silent ®ngering, silent thinking and singing. She also spent more time practising the piece, and persevered when faced with dif®culties. Implications for instrumental pedagogy are discussed.

No abstract

As with other school subjects, music students can be motivated and engaged, or they can be unmotivated and disengaged. Such reactions reflect more than just individual differences between students, as they are also reactions to the social environment and classroom climate in which music education takes place. A social context—be it the classroom or a tutor–tutee relationship—can vitalize and nurture students' inner motivational resources, resulting in enthusiastic engagement, or it can neglect and frustrate students' inner motivational resources, resulting in alienation and disaffection. A theory of student motivation that is especially well suited to explain such engagement versus disaffection is self-determination theory. This article, which focuses on this perspective in order to introduce its insights to the music education community, discusses both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of students.

No abstract