Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Motivation and Solo Performance among Students in Higher Music Education in Serbia

Motivation is highly important for participation in musical activities and musical achievement. In the context of higher music education (HME) in Serbia, we sought to examine the relationship between students’ solo performance opportunities and two key components of the Self-Determination Theory (STD) – basic psychological needs (Competence, Relatedness and Autonomy) and motivational regulation styles (Amotivation, External, Introjected negative, Introjected positive, Identified, Intrinsic). The convenient sample of 197 HME students (performing modules; Mage = 23.88, SD = 3.4) completed two inventories: Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS; Chen et al., 2015) and Relative Autonomy Index Questionnaire (RAI-SRQ; Sheldon et al., 2017); they also provided data on the frequency of solo performances during HME. The results indicate that our participants’ basic psychological needs are highly met, with the need for Relatedness being significantly less satisfied and the need for Autonomy significantly more frustrated than the remaining two needs. The motivation for participation in music activities in our sample could be described as predominantly autonomous – Identified or Intrinsic. Fulfilment/frustration of basic psychological needs and motivational regulation styles predicted the likelihood of public solo performances, with Amotivation and External motivation being significant predictors. Our findings suggest that students with higher external motivation for participation in musical activities are more likely to have solo performances. In line with STD’s postulates, our findings are seen as a reflection of the dominant approaches to music education in Serbia, and are discussed as such

Biti povezan - podržavanje samoregulisanog učenja u višem muzičkom obrazovanju pre i nakon pandemije

In online learning, students are expected to take on more responsibility for their education, while teachers are expected to support students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. In this research, we explore whether young musicians perceive a difference in the actions that their major music teacher (MMT) took to support their SRL skills before and during the pandemic, and investigate their view on how the MMT could further support their learning. The sample included 144 students of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, who filled in the online inventory comprised of 24 questions – 17 parallel Likert-type items (referring to the MMT’s actions supporting SRL skills, before and during the pandemic), and one question was a short letter to the MMT. Data were analysed using dependent t-test, ANOVA and reflexive thematic analysis. Students perceived that SRL skills were more encouraged before than during the pandemic. Additionally, our findings show that music students who did not have in-person and online communication, separately, with their MMTs perceived they had lower support to self-regulate their learning. The findings from qualitative analysis inform educational practice by pointing to specific teacher’s actions that students perceive as important for their further development.Tokom onlajn učenja, od studenata se očekuje da preuzmu veću odgovornost za sopstveno obrazovanje, a od nastavnika se očekuje da podrže veštine samoregulisanog učenja svojih studenata. U ovom istraživanju ispitivali smo da li mladi muzičari opažaju razliku u postupcima kojima je nastavnik glavnog predmeta podržavao njihove veštine samoregulisanog učenja pre i tokom pandemije, kao i viđenje studenata na koji način nastavnik glavnog predmeta može dodatno podržati njihovo učenje. Uzorak čine 144 studenta Fakulteta muzičke umetnosti u Beogradu, koji su popunili onlajn inventar sačinjen od 24 pitanja - 17 paralelnih ajtema Likertovog tipa (koji se odnose na postupke kojima je nastavnik glavnog predmeta podržavao veštine samoregulisanog učenja pre i tokom pandemije), a jedno je predstavljalo kratko pismo nastavniku glavnog predmeta. Podaci su analizirani upotrebom t-testa za zavisne uzorke i ANOVA-e, kao i upotrebom refleksivne tematske analize. Studenti opažaju da su veštine samoregulisanog učenja u većoj meri ohrabrivane pre nego tokom pandemije. Dodatno, naši nalazi pokazuju da studenti muzike koji sa svojim nastavnikom glavnog predmeta nisu imali neposrednu i onlajn komunikaciju, zasebno, opažaju da su bili manje podržani da samoregulišu sopstveno učenje. Nalazi kvalitativne analize informišu obrazovnu praksu time što ukazuju na konkretne postupke nastavnika koje studenti opažaju kao bitne za njihov dalji razvoj

Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Motivation and Solo Performance among Students in Higher Music Education in Serbia

Motivation is highly important for participation in musical activities and musical achievement. In the context of higher music education (HME) in Serbia, we sought to examine the relationship between students’ solo performance opportunities and two key components of the Self-Determination Theory (STD) – basic psychological needs (Competence, Relatedness and Autonomy) and motivational regulation styles (Amotivation, External, Introjected negative, Introjected positive, Identified, Intrinsic). The convenient sample of 197 HME students (performing modules; Mage = 23.88, SD = 3.4) completed two inventories: Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS; Chen et al., 2015) and Relative Autonomy Index Questionnaire (RAI-SRQ; Sheldon et al., 2017); they also provided data on the frequency of solo performances during HME. The results indicate that our participants’ basic psychological needs are highly met, with the need for Relatedness being significantly less satisfied and the need for Autonomy significantly more frustrated than the remaining two needs. The motivation for participation in music activities in our sample could be described as predominantly autonomous – Identified or Intrinsic. Fulfilment/frustration of basic psychological needs and motivational regulation styles predicted the likelihood of public solo performances, with Amotivation and External motivation being significant predictors. Our findings suggest that students with higher external motivation for participation in musical activities are more likely to have solo performances. In line with STD’s postulates, our findings are seen as a reflection of the dominant approaches to music education in Serbia, and are discussed as such

EQUITY OF EMERGENCY REMOTE EDUCATION IN SERBIA: A CASE STUDY OF A ROMA STUDENT’S EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES

The aim of the study is to provide a particular portrayal of emergency remote education (ERE) in Serbia from the perspective of its most disadvantaged partakers. The study applied a single-case study design. The participant was an 11-year-old Roma boy, attending the 5th grade of elementary school in Belgrade. Since October 2019, a group of university students and teaching staff have been providing learning support for the student twice a week. For approximately two and a half years, the researchers continuously produced and/or collected participant-observations, anecdotal notes, the content of the Viber group, artefacts from the learning/teaching process, and notes from interviews with the pupil and his parents. The data from these multiple sources were merged and analysed using event structure analysis. From the analysed data the researchers reconstructed how the Roma student experienced ERE and which factors influenced the process. The analysis acknowledges that ERE policy and practice in interaction with the disadvantaged positions of certain students exacerbate inequity in education. The findings suggest that achieving equity of ERE requires educational decision-making which highlights the perspectives of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their families, purposefully approaches ERE to disrupt potential inequities, and develops the capacities of schools and teachers to address educational inequities in an emergency context