Fostering Meaningful and Creative Connections in Higher Education: Contributions from Music Education

This paper focuses on contributing to the reflection on the importance of providing opportunities to foster meaningful and creative connections in higher education. In a context of growing plurality, heterogeneity and diversity of backgrounds, languages, cultures, identities, roles, and purpose influences the sociocultural relations and professional interactions that occur and are formed within higher education communities of knowledge and learning, which are explored from the perspective of music education. A narrative approach on participant’s views about their participation in an elective music program was developed inside the framework of informal education. Issues that were discussed the most across the datasets by participants individual accounts are expressed through themes that fall into three broad areas: previous musical experiences, significant influences for music participation, and perceptions of the participation in the music program. Results suggest that the informal music program provided participants with a context for a safe emotional, social, cultural, and musical experience, and thus heterogeneity and diversity are seen as enriching factors. Some considerations are made on the ways through which music can help to foster connections and sense of humanity in higher education. This provides some insights into the relevance of fostering musical participation as part of the cultural responsibility of higher education institutions for participants.

A PRISMA review of expectancy-value theory in music contexts

In this article, we systematically reviewed the research literature dealing with expectancy-value motivation theory within music contexts. Employing the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) approach, a total of 1,120 records were retrieved and examined, with 110 eventually included in the analyses. Frequencies/percentages were generated for research output in 5-year time periods, type of publication, sampling locations, and methodologies. Summaries of all 110 records were provided; content analyses on topics covered were also conducted. Findings indicated a clear increase in research interest over the past 15 years with quantitative methodologies being twice as prevalent as qualitative approaches. While the vast majority (97.7%) of quantitative research employed self-report questionnaires, the most common form of qualitative data collection was interviews (59.1%). Salient topics covered included students’ expectancy-value beliefs across music and other school subjects, continued music participation, intentions to pursue a career in music, and parental influences.

The educational backgrounds of DIY musicians

In this qualitative, exploratory study we examined the music education backgrounds and current creative practices of thirteen self-described do-it-yourself (DIY) musicians from around the United States. A growing community of scholars within and outside of education have noted the relative inclusionary nature of DIY communities as compared to mainstream society. Several themes have emerged in DIY music participation literature, including social influences and isolation, and music making for self care and self expression. DIY music-making can offer a potentially liberating space for those marginalized by traditional schooling, providing students with social, educational and musical opportunities they could not find or participate in at school. Through an analysis of interviews and participation-observations of creative practices such as band rehearsals and improvisation sessions, we found that similar themes emerged in our own data. Implications for music education include the importance of more individualized instruction and opportunities for self care and self expression.

Music and Brain Health: Recommendations From the Global Council on Brain Health, an AARP Collaborative

Music is a complex auditory stimulus that resonates on a physiological, psychological, and spiritual level for people around the world. This symposium will provide highlights from the Global Council on Brain Health consensus report aimed at helping the public to understand the potential that music holds for supporting and enriching brain health. The Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) is an independent collaborative of scientists, clinicians, scholars, and policy experts convened by AARP to provide evidence-based advice on what people and professionals can do to maintain and improve brain health. The Council translates scientific research into actionable recommendations for the public that will help drive behavior change in individuals across communities and cultures. Issue specialists from around the world were brought together to build consensus, issue recommendations, and offer practical tips. Moreover, we will feature research from our issue experts and provide an overview of the impact of music participation on older adults, including those with dementia. Data from surveys fielded by AARP research, developed in consultation with the GCBH, will also be featured. In sum, this presentation will highlight the work of the Council at the forefront of this international effort to translate advancements in brain health research to the wider public, with an emphasis on individuals aged50 and older.

Students’ Time Allocation and School Performance: A Comparison between Student Jobs, Sports and Music Participation

The authors analyze the correlations between students’ time allocation and school performance in terms of grades and satisfaction with their own performance in math, German, first foreign language, and overall. They address the heterogeneity between three important extracurricular activities (student jobs, sports and music participation) and the heterogeneity within each activity by accounting for different types and participation length of an activity. The used cross-sectional survey data of 3388 students, who are about 17 years old and enrolled in a German secondary school, indeed reveal substantial heterogeneity between and within the activities. The empirical analysis is accompanied by an extensive survey of the empirical literature about the association between student jobs, sports, and music participation and school performance.

From Birth to Death

This chapter deals with music participation in the public fiestas, both religious and secular, and other public spectacles during the colonial period. The first section studies “Nativity celebrations,” such as Christmas, the birth of members of the royal family, and others. The analysis of two villancicos, composed for some of these occasions, shows how the genre was integrated into these festive contexts and how it interacted with other genres and styles. The second section is dedicated to different kinds of fiestas, in both the city itself and its margins, also dealing with official prohibitions to non-official music. Along with civic and religious ceremonies, this section considers the stage as a privileged space for the performance of music and dance, in spite of the absence of a public theater during most of the period studied. The final section examines music presence in burials and, in a broader sense, the relationship between music and death, showing that the former was frequently considered as a tool to reach the supernatural life.

Activating gender: How identity affects students’ perceptions of music activities

In adolescence, many students align their music participation choices with the expectations for their gender group. While cultural norms may explain gender disparities in music activities, there is no empirical evidence of how gender salience may influence students’ perceptions of music activities. The purpose of this study was to experimentally test the influence of gender salience on adolescents’ perceptions of music activities. Using a quasi-experimental design, middle school participants ( N = 246) were assigned to either a primed condition where students were asked to consider their gender identity or a control condition; all participants took a survey on interest in music activities. Participants in the experimental condition rated music activities, including stereotypical masculine and feminine activities, significantly more positively than the control group. Music students rated music activities significantly higher than their non-music peers. Gender was only identified as having a significant relationship with feminine music activities, as ratings of stereotypical masculine activities were statistically similar between boys and girls. This experiment provides evidence that gender salience can impact students’ perceptions of music activities. With a more complete understanding of how gender operates within the environment, music educators can understand how gendered messages within the environment may impact perceptions of music activities.