Are girls more optimistic when dealing with music? Predictors of musical self-concept in school grade 2

Abstract

The presented paper examines which factors influence two different aspects of the musical self-concept („Making music“ and „Singing“) in a sample made of 1200 participants of the program „An Instrument for Every Child“ and their parents from 30 grammar schools in the federal state of Northrhine-Westphalia. The paper especially asks for the relevance of gender for the variance of these aspects of the musical self-concept: For the early school years, gender differences in academic self-concepts have been detected for the sub-domains of literary language, math and the natural sciences (Wolf, Kessels & Hannover, 2011), as well as for instrumental learning (Wigfield 1997).

In the present sample, significant predictors are identified through correlation analyses, simple and multiple regression, and through structural equation modeling for both aspects of the musical self-concept. In contrast to the findings of Wigfield (1997), gender effects here turn out to be irrelevant for the variance of the musical self-concept regarding „Making Music“. For the subscale that comprises the self-concept in „Making music“, especially motivational factors explain its variance: The motivation to practise, the frequency of practising, and liking the chosen instrument. In the case of “Singing†however, gender is the most important predictor already at the beginning of grade 2: Girls display significantly higher musical self-concepts in “Singing†than boys. This may indicate the early presence and influence of internalized gender stereotypes. Student’s perception of general parental support and parental support regarding music lessons and practicing also prove to exert significant influence on the measured self-constructs.

The results presented here point towards strategies and attitudes, which carry the potential to strengthen optimistic students’ self-evaluations in primary schools. The article discusses the need for a sensitive “doing†and “un-doing†of gender in the classroom as well as for moderately authoritative parental support. Finally, it argues for strategies to uphold children`s self-concepts in the early stages of primary school, even if this allows for over-estimations in children’s self-evaluations. 

Keywords: “An Instrument for Every Child“, Gender, musical self-concept, Structural Equation Modeling