Contributing factors to music attitude in sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The present study explored the music attitudes of middle school students in relation to home musical environment and self-concept in music. These were analyzed by grade level, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Participants were sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students (<italic> n</italic> = 2,180) from four middle schools in a large central Kentucky school district (<italic>N</italic> = 7,799). Each student responded to 83 items in three surveys: The Music Attitude Scale, the Music Background Inventory, and the Self-concept in Music Scale. Data regarding gender, grade-level, ensemble participation, and ethnic background were collected. Each participant's socioeconomic status was determined using free and reduced lunch program records.
Correlations, <italic>t</italic>-tests, and one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that variance in music attitude could be attributed to home musical background (40%) and self-concept in music (45%). The correlation between home musical background and music attitude was considerably stronger for boys (<italic>r</italic> = .64) than for girls (<italic>r</italic> = .58), and music attitude was more closely correlated with girls' self-concepts in music (<italic>r</italic> = .63) than their home musical environments (<italic>r</italic> = .58).
Results showed a slight decrease in music attitudes by grade level for all middle school students, and a significant decrease (<italic>p</italic> < .05) for low-SES students. Girls' music attitudes, home musical environments and self-concepts in music were found to be significantly higher (<italic> p</italic> < .05) than boys' for all grades and SES levels. High-SES students reported significantly richer (<italic>p</italic> < .05) home musical environments than low-SES students. Self-concept in music significantly decreased (<italic> p</italic> < .05) as grade level increased for all middle school students.
It was concluded that low SES level, poor home musical environment and low self-concept in music impact music attitudes negatively. Music educators can promote musical experiences and participation among low SES students, provide unique musical opportunities for boys, and encourage increased self-concept in music for girls in an effort to offset the downward trends in students' music attitudes during the middle school years.