Use of Music and Openness in a Group of Teachers-in-Training Receiving a Musical Intervention

Abstract

The effects of music education on cognitive abilities have raised great interest among scholars of education and learning. According to literature, the use of music in pedagogical practices enhances learning processes with positive impact on the intellectual and social development of students. The main objective of this study was to explore the personal experience with music of teachers-in-training while participating in a musical intervention. The intervention, included both theoretical and practical modules, was delivered during a Digital Storytelling (DST) course. Specifically, our main aim was to investigate possible relationships between the personality openness dimension of teachers-in-training, the role of music in their personal life, and rewards they perceived associated with music. 818 teachers-in-training attending the DST class in an online specialisation course at the University of Foggia were enrolled. After their informed consent was obtained, they completed an online survey including three self-report questionnaires: The Big Five Inventory (BFI; John et al., 1991), The Brief Music Experience Questionnaire (Brief-MEQ; Werner et al., 2006 and the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ; Mas-Herrero et al., 2013). The research study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Foggia. In order to test the associations among the studied variables, correlations (Pearson’s r) and a CFA analysis were conducted using the SPSS software. Results showed that teachers who reported to positively use music daily (r = .67), especially enjoy in sharing music with other people, and teachers who reported to use music as a reward in terms of special connection with it (r = .64), also reported higher levels of openness (originality, curiosity, reflective thinking, imagination, invention, giving values to artistic and aesthetic experiences). Our results highlight the importance of including music in learning processes as a possible mediator able to enhance teachers and students’ socio-emotional and cognitive skills.