Motivation to pursue a career in music: The role of social constraints in university music programs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to describe university music students' perceptions of competitiveness, perfectionism, and teacher control in conservatory-style learning environments, and (2) to test a theoretical model of a network of relationships among perceptions of competitiveness, perfectionism, teacher control, quality of motivation, and intentions to pursue a career in music. Participants were undergraduate and graduate music majors from schools of music in the Midwestern United States and Australia. Results revealed that commitment to a career in music was strong, autonomous motivation orientations were more strongly endorsed than controlled motivation orientations, reports of teacher control and socially prescribed perfectionism were weak, whereas reports of competitiveness were strong. Path analyses indicated that those with stronger career intentions also have stronger autonomous motivation orientations and perceive their teachers as more controlling. Autonomous motivation orientations were stronger for those who perceive their environment to be more competitive and weaker for those who experience more perfectionism and teacher control. Participants reporting greater perceptions of teacher control and more perfectionism tended to report weaker career intentions by virtue of the indirect relationships of the variables through autonomous motivation. In contrast, those who experienced greater degrees of perfectionism tended to report stronger controlled motivation orientations.

Academic major satisfaction and regret of students in different majors: Perspectives from Self‐Determination Theory

“…This is consistent with the career development of music and PE students in Taiwan, who typically begin training specific skills from a young age. Although they may be interested in the specific skills and have a favorable performance level, they also experience strong external environmental pressure, regulations, and requirements (Gustafsson et al, 2018; Miksza et al, 2019) that cause high external regulation. In addition, students majoring in PE and other disciplines had significantly higher amotivation scores than those majoring in art and music.…”

A PRISMA review of expectancy-value theory in music contexts

“…On the other hand, expectancies for success was the strongest predictor of students’ intentions to choose a career in music performance, followed by attainment value, perceived ability, and intrinsic interest value. However, Miksza et al (2019) found that students’ socially prescribed expectations to be perfect at playing music were negatively associated with students’ intentions to pursue a career in music through autonomous motivation. In short, students’ expectancy-value beliefs toward music were found to positively influence their intentions to pursue a career in music (Jones & Parkes, 2010; Parkes & Jones, 2011, 2012), but socially imposed extreme expectancy beliefs (i.e., perfectionism) may be detrimental to students’ motivation to pursue a music career (Miksza et al, 2019).…”

Teaching methods that foster self-efficacy belief: Perceptions of collegiate musicians from the United States

“…Traditionally, studio teachers have been viewed as the “musical agents, the models, and the motivating forces for their students” (Campbell, 1991, p. 276) or, a participant in one research study noted, like “priest-like figures engaging in a kind of musical laying-on of hands” (Landes, 2008, p. 263) to promulgate particular technical, artistic, and pedagogical traditions. Collegiate/conservatory music students with strong career intentions may also perceive their teachers as more controlling (Miksza et al, 2021)—which the authors suggest career-minded students may tolerate or interpret positively, due to these students’ “admiration for their artist teacher” (p. 64) and the perception that such control is evidence of investment in their success. However, the relative investment teachers demonstrate can be inconsistent, as amounts of individualized feedback and attention are mitigated by teachers’ own self-interests and time divided among other students (Kim, 2008).…”

“…Acknowledging the esteem in which many students hold their teachers, some tertiary music faculty have at times exercised levels of influence that are neither healthy nor helpful (Kim, 2008; Kogan, 1987). Furthermore, conservatory and music school environments are notoriously competitive and perfectionistic, with social comparisons embedded in the fabric of the educational experience as students prepare for performance competitions and advancement in a career with limited openings (Kim, 2008; Kogan, 1987; Miksza et al, 2021). Some collegiate/conservatory faculty have been known to attempt to motivate through negative social comparison and/or continual criticism, being products of a similar environment themselves (Kim, 2008).…”

“…Some collegiate/conservatory faculty have been known to attempt to motivate through negative social comparison and/or continual criticism, being products of a similar environment themselves (Kim, 2008). Without guidance about how to use competition and other high-intensity assessments as positive sources of information, university music students may compare themselves with others in ways that can lead to negative emotional and behavioral outcomes (Bonneville-Roussy et al, 2017; Kim, 2008; Miksza et al, 2021).…”