Music in Malaysian higher education: the relationships among personal environmental factors and measured achievement of students’ music performance

Abstract

Music learning involves mastering a complex set of skills. Motivation is particularly important to this learning process, as considerable persistence and resilience is required. There are many empirical studies that show the importance of motivation, and the influences of environmental factors, on the development of music performance skills. However, these mostly focus on the school sector, and specific research in higher education settings is lacking. This study investigates different factors that could impact on music students’ learning processes and learning outcome in the context of Malaysian higher education. Hallam’s (1998) Model of Instrumental Music Learning is adapted as the basic framework for exploring the relationships between students’ motivation towards instrumental music learning, environmental factors (with a focus on parental factors), self-regulation and the measured achievement of performance. This model anticipates Biggs’s 3P Model of Learning (1987, 1999), describing music learning in three stages (presage-process-product). In addition, the relevant literature is reviewed, with a view to consolidating the theoretical bases that link the relationships between the factors identified for this study. A mixed methods design is adopted, combining the strengths of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative data has been collected using two instruments developed on the basis of existing scales: The Music Student Survey Questionnaire, Malaysian Higher Education (2014), and the Music Performance Assessment Report. Several existing scales designed to measure self-concept, self-efficacy, personal interest, extrinsic motivation, parental involvement, and self-regulation have been adapted for use in the survey questionnaire. The music performance rating scale developed to collect achievement results for the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London has been adapted for use in the assessment report. These instruments were administered to 375 university music students and 33 examiners respectively, from seven universities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 students to collect qualitative data. Open-ended, theory-driven, and probing questions were prepared to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that have an impact on students’ music learning processes. Ensuring rigour in research is crucial to yield meaningful and useful results. Statistical procedures including structural equation modelling using confirmatory factor analysis, and Rasch Modelling are undertaken to validate the survey scales used in the quantitative component of this study. Various strategies including member checking, audit trail, and external/peer review are employed to ensure trustworthiness of the qualitative component. Quantitative data analysis is carried out using the path analytic technique to investigate the postulated relationships among the factors considered in this study. The results suggest that highest qualification in music (e.g., ABRSM Grade 8) prior to entering university influenced students’ achievement in music performance. The findings also show that students’ level of expertise, parental factors, and motivational beliefs have significant impact on self-regulated learning. For the qualitative data analysis, a thematic analysis is conducted in order to identify and interpret the associations between significant themes/patterns that emerge from the interview data. Students indicate that parents, teachers, and university play an important role in their musical development. The results of this study have important implications for the design of university music education and for the conduct of parent-teacher-student relationships, and may assist educators to improve and maintain students’ motivation, and to enhance the quality of music learning experiences.