Why does children's music participation decline following the transition to secondary school?

Music at school & Characteristics of continuers Music at school Importance of and opportunity for music at school For both Y6 and Y7, girls thought music was more important and that there was more opportunity to do music at school than boys did. However, the increased opportunity that girls perceived at the start of Y7 had fallen by the end of their first year at secondary school. Predictably, children who played instruments in Y6 and Y7 thought music at their school was significantly more important than children who had given up or never played instruments. Support from parents, friends and teachers The highest ratings of support for playing instruments came from parents, followed by teachers and friends. Boys especially said they received little support from friends. Girls' ratings of support were much higher than boys' ratings in Y6 and Y7. Characteristics of Children who play instruments Length of time spent playing Far and away the highest proportion of Y7 players had been playing for more than three years. Indeed, "an early start was one of the protective factors against drop-out among children in the study." The proportion of children playing between 4-6 hours per week increased from 14% in Y6 to 22% in Y7 Involvement in musical groups In Y6, 22% play in groups and 32% of Y7 play in groups. The biggest proportional increase is in orchestral playing. The report notes that the few home-based bands evident at primary school "seem all to have collapsed in the first year of secondary school". Instrumental music lessons This survey reveals that school is still the major (81%) location for lessons. And 71% received teaching of between 15 and 20 minutes per week. Instrumental music teachers It is good to learn that overall the children were "very positive about their instrumental teachers". The lowest ratings were for letting children choose their own music to play. Music examinations Unsurprisingly, Y7 players were twice as likely to have taken an exam as Y6 players. There were no differences between Y6 and Y7 in exam outcomes. The report draws the inference that being on the 'exam track' is an important correlate of persistence, although the level of grade is not important. Players in Y6 and Y7 were asked 'Will you continue to play an instrument next year?': in Y6, 83% said yes, but in Y7, 97%said yes! Reasons for playing musical instruments The main reasons children give for playing are that they enjoy  the challenge and opportunity to learn something new;  being creative and relieving boredom;  playing with others; and  pleasing parents and teachers Impressing friends was the least likely reason given, which the report suggests means that the social pressures children might expect from peers are not yet an important influence on children in this age group, certainly so far as playing an instrument is concerned. Reasons for giving up musical instruments  It became boring, and priorities moved elsewhere;  Practising; and  Lessons which were not enjoyable were cited as strong reasons for giving up. A significant number also cited the fact that they would have preferred to learn another instrument and that they were not making enough progress. Finding it difficult, not liking the music and not liking exams were also given as reasons by many children. Characteristics of children who gave up or continued to play instruments The key factors that protect children from giving up playing instruments. Continuers  were more self-directed and autonomous than Gave ups, but they were not social isolates;  had more close associates who played instruments;  they played more instruments and for longer;  had been involved in more performance groups and taken more music exams;  had greater confidence in their own ability and found playing more motivating and enjoyable;  liked a challenge and believed that hard work would yield improvements;  were far more likely to view their parents as more supportive. "The support received from teachers made less difference than the support received from parents, although it helped if teachers were able to communicate a belief in the child's ability and chose music that the child liked" "The Young People and Music Participation Report" ESRC funded research by Dr Susan O'Neill and others at www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ps/ESRC/ Photographs reproduced with kind permission of Youth Music. IKW/12.03.02 ·Introduction ·Children's involvement in musical activities ·Frequently played musical instruments ·Music at school & Characteristics of continuers