Gender effects in young musicians‘ mastery-oriented achievement behavior and their interactions with teachers

1. Gender effects in young musicians‘ mastery-oriented achievement behavior and their interactions with teachers Margit Painsi Richard Parncutt Department of Musicology University of Graz

2. Structure of presentation • Theoretical Background • Method • Results • Conclusion • Further research

3. Aims Investigation of gender differences in... ... young musicians‘achievement behavior ... their teachers‘ implicit theories of musical abilityattribution patterns and feedback style ... and the relationship between them Can motivational training improve achievement behavior?

4. Determining factorsof pupils‘ achievement behaviorCarol Dweck (2001) Beliefs of school children Implicit theoriesAttribution patternsAchievement goals Beliefs of school teachersImplicit theoriesAttribution patterns

5. „Meaning System“ ApproachDweck und Leggett (1988) Implicit self-theories involve personal attributes such as • intelligence • musical ability Implicit theories  motivational framework  meaning system attributions • Implicit self theories can be: • entity theories (talent) • portray personal attribute as relatively fixed • incremental theories (practice) • portray attribute as relatively malleable

6. “Meaning System” Approach

7. Impact of teachers‘ implicit theories on their... ... expectations and attribution patterns Incremental Theorists - emphasize learning tasks- confront pupils with challenging tasks- give motivational feedback Entity Theorists- enable pupils to have a lot of successes- avoid challenging tasks - give self-worth protecting feedback

8. Method Part of a larger project called • Project aim Evaluate a course on motivation and stress management strategies • impact on pupils’ achievement behavior • practicability as part of school curriculum • acceptance by teachers and pupils Motivation and stress management training for children and teachers in music schools 10 Girls, 9 Boys Age 12 – 14 15 Teachers Regional music schools in Styria (Mureck, Leutschach,Deutschlandsberg) • Training phase: 8 weekly sessions • Data collection: • before first session • after 4th session • right after concert (after 8th session) • 3 days after concert

9. Measures AttributionAttribution Questionnaire (Painsi, 2003)for success and failure in music related contexts ImplicitTheoriesImplicit Theories of Intelligence Scale for Children – Self Form(Dweck, 2000) GoalChoiceQuestionnaire Goal Choice Items (Dweck, 2000) Self-RegulationSelf-Regulation Scale (Schwarzer, 1999)

10. p=.058 p=.009 Mean ratings Scale 0-4 p=.024 Teachers‘ Attributions of Success

11. p=.049 Mean ratings Scale 0-4 TeachersAttributions of Failure

12. Teachers – Stereotyped thinking • Attributions of success • Girls are successful because they work hard • Teachers think that behind every successful boy is a supportive mother • Attributions of failure • Boys could avoid failures, if they worked harder • Impact on feedback • Girls get feedback that protects their self-worth • Boys get motivational feedback Teachers do not consiously differentiate between boys and girls when they evaluate talent, effort, confidence and achievement

13. * T Performing goals * * Learning goals Effect of teacher beliefs on student goals Scale 0-5

14. T * * * Self-regulation Scale 0-3

15. Conclusion • Impact of teachers‘ theories on pupils achievement behavior • Teachers‘ gender stereotypes influence their behavior but not their conscious statements? • Pupils of teachers who hold an incremental theory of ability improve their goal choice? • Boys improved more on self-regulation?

16. Further research • Larger sample • Control group with placebo training • Development of measurements for self-efficacy • Observation of interactive behavior between teacher and student • Differentiation between boys and girls but also between different achievement behavior types