Date
4-26-2024
Department
School of Music
Degree
Doctor of Music Education (DME)
Chair
Brian Stiffler
Keywords
COVID-19, pandemic, motivation, enrollment, instrumental music, music education, mental health, strategies
Disciplines
Educational Methods | Music
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Martha Jane, "The Impact of COVID-19 on Student Motivation in Secondary Instrumental Music" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5496.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5496
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to provide strategies to improve student motivation in band and orchestra programs in Elkhart Community Schools. The problem for band and orchestra teachers was declining enrollment and student participation in outside music activities such as audition opportunities since the COVID-19 pandemic. The rationale for this study was to examine student motivation and provide educators with immediately applicable strategies to improve student participation in instrumental music programs. Educators must understand why students continued to struggle with returning to normalcy by seeking strategies as to how to reach and help these students. Early research following the COVID-19 shutdown suggested the pandemic increased or exposed mental health issues and struggles among students who felt isolated, alone, or experienced crippling levels of stress during the shutdown. This thesis examined the drastic decline in enrollment as well as motivation amongst remaining students as a data point to justify support teachers needed to reach existing and prospective students. The central research question was, What are post-COVID-19 strategies teachers can implement to improve student motivation in band and orchestra according to the perspectives of instrumental music directors. This applied research gathered quantitative data through surveys from middle and high school band and orchestra students to examine the COVID experience and determine the subsequent effects. Teachers completed open-ended questionnaires that provided educator perspectives and proposed strategies for remediation and recovery. The researcher gathered archival data and conducted a quantitative document analysis to determine enrollment and instrumental music participation trends over time.
