Title:
Enhanced Learning for Young Music Students. By: Briscoe, Diane, Music Educators
Journal, 00274321, Dec2016, Vol. 103, Issue 2
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Enhanced Learning for Young Music Students
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Factors that determine the rate of a child's progress on a musical instrument include the quality, quantity, and
regularity of home practice. Because a young pupil sometimes lacks the skills necessary to practice independently
at times, music teachers could encourage and motivate parents/guardians to participate more fully in their child's
music education. Sandler and Hoover-Dempsey discovered a number of variables that seem to influence parents'
willingness to become more active in school-related activities. These findings provide music teachers with insights
into how to motivate adults to become more involved in their child's music lessons.
Keywords: encouragement; enthusiasm; home practice; instrumental lessons; involved; motivation; music
education; parent involvement; practice
Involving and Motivating Parents
Numerous studies have shown that parental support of children's music study will often result in enhanced learning.
For example, researchers who interviewed more than 200 students studying a musical instrument suggested that
children who successfully learn music skills tend to have parents or guardians who provide a high level of support in
music.[ 1] In addition, an important element in maintaining a child's musical well-being is the personal and cognitive
support of parents,[ 2] which also affects children's capabilities of active self-assessment, motivation, and behavior.[
3] Finally, parents' roles are significant as tutors, resource providers, and decision makers in their children's music
education.[ 4]
Given that parental guidance in children's music studies appears to produce favorable outcomes, how could parents
be aroused into action, pushed in particular directions, and kept engaged in certain activities ("motivated")[ 5] to
help their young children even more, specifically at home? A five-tiered model developed by psychologists Kathleen
V. Hoover-Dempsey and Howard M. Sandler, which proposed factors that seemed to influence parental motivation
to become involved in their children's school education, could provide some insights for the music instructor. An indepth discussion of the influences and interconnectedness of all five levels of the model for both school and home
parental involvement is beyond the scope of this article. Rather, the focus largely centers on Level 1, whose
principle theme is the idea of a parent/ school partnership found in the Parental Role Construction cell (see Figure
1). Presented in the following figure are the three major sources that are key to parental home involvement in
children's education: Personal Motivation, Invitations, and Life Context, along with their eight corresponding subsets
or constructs.
This article examines the eight constructs identified in the first level of the model and suggests ways in which these
factors could influence pedagogy and learning strategies in the school and studio.
Parental Role Construction
Parents' level of involvement in their children's education could depend on their views of child-rearing, child
development, and appropriate support roles for parents -- all of which could be altered by societal influences.[ 6] If
the teacher would like parents to assist with practicing at home, for example, then parents must believe it is their job
to do so. Meeting with other parents of children enrolled in music classes, attending parent information sessions
and student recitals, consulting materials that the teacher has sent home, as well as receiving regular feedback and
advice from the teacher can guide the parent toward a supporting role in music. Parents do not need to be
accomplished musicians in order to help: Encouraging the child's efforts, listening to music, attending concerts
together, and showing enthusiasm for the child's abilities on the instrument are quite powerful gestures of support.
In one study, supportive parents were found to be more involved in listening to music rather than in performing it.
Interested parents increased their listening and participation over time, but those who were less involved tended to
have children who eventually stopped lessons.[ 7]
In addition to music appreciation as part of parental role construction, parents can offer guidance with effective and
appropriate work habits. Aid with this set of skills is especially valuable for young beginners who generally have
difficulty setting goals and choosing behaviors to achieve them, evaluating effects of actions, planning, selfmotivating, maintaining focus, applying learning strategies, self-monitoring, seeking help, and self-evaluating.[ 8]
Some parents hope that through music study, their children will develop some of these skills themselves, such as, in
the words of one parent, "acquire a work discipline, understand that much progress can be made by taking
ownership and making an effort, and realize that with perseverance one can accomplish wonderful things, be it in
music or in other fields."[ 9] Parents need to be encouraged to maintain support for their young musician past the
first year of study, however. Concerning school homework, many children required continued support from both
teachers and parents over many years before they were able to complete their homework independently. Similar
needs were observed among young musicians and their home practicing, but whereas parents were willing to
continue assisting and encouraging their children with homework for however long was needed, parental support for
music practice tended to decrease after the first year.[ 10]
Parental Efficacy
Having confidence in one's ability to undertake and eventually succeed in a task is called self-efficacy. Similar to
role construction, self-efficacy can be sensitive to societal influences, such as the encouragement by others to
become involved, the motivation felt by observing others achieve desired goals, and the experience of one's own
success.[ 11] Parents will gain confidence in helping their budding musician if they notice positive results because of
their intervention, are exposed to other parents successfully assisting their children, and are encouraged to continue
lending a hand. Because having confidence is of utmost importance, even more so than the actual skills the parent
might pos-sess,[ 12] the teacher should take advantage of opportunities to praise the parent for the "good job" they
are doing with the child. Being able to communicate to parents that not only are they working hard but they also "are
good at this" (also defined as having "ability attributions") tends to increase motivation and confidence, especially in
the beginner stages. In fact, "early successes constitute a prominent cue for forming ability attributions,
[and]
much research has obtained positive correlations between ability attributions for success and self-efficacy."[ 13]
Invitations for Involvement
Welcoming and encouraging parental participation by the school, teacher, or child is quite significant in motivating
parents to become involved in their child's education. Schools with supportive principals and teachers can foster
parental involvement by being open to parental concerns and ideas as well as keeping parents informed of
activities, policies, and the pupil's progress.[ 14] Opportunities to meet with parents regularly face-to-face can be a
powerful tool in establishing a rapport, securing trust, and limiting misunderstandings, which underlines the
importance for schools to organize activities for staff and parents to meet. In arranging events, the school could take
into account parental time constraints and family responsibilities by offering child care for siblings, arranging for
private tutoring in the home, holding school events on evenings or weekends, and presenting workshops on how to
complete school-work in a time-efficient manner. Schools can also aid teachers in acquiring training (including
feedback from other colleagues' experiences) in how to interact with and encourage parents. Through these
interventions, parents will come to feel that their role is necessary and valuable: "I can do this; I have the skills; my
intervention is making a difference; the school is facilitating and welcoming my involvement."[ 15]
Parental response to teacher requests for involvement depends in part on the level of trust they have in the teacher
-- a competent professional who has the best interests of the child at heart. Requests by educators are perceived by
parents as confirmations of the importance of their involvement to the child's success; indeed, teacher requests for
parental involvement also seem to largely determine whether parents respond positively to invitations by the school.
[ 16] The ways in which a teacher may choose to make parental requests are discussed more fully in the following
"Knowledge and Skills" section.
Child requests for help from the parent can be implicit or explicit and can also be prompted by the teacher. Implicit
requests or perceived needs can be sensed by parents if they notice that the child is struggling or has difficulty with
organizing homework. Explicit requests from children could be as simple as the child showing pleasure when the
parent participates, asking the parent to attend school events, or requesting for help with assignments.[ 17] In most
cases the parent is willing to assist because the adult values academic achievement and child development, and
wants the child to succeed.
Finally, the parent is often open to reasonable child requests prompted by the teacher. For example, to facilitate
learning of new repertoire, parents could be encouraged to sing or clap along with video or audio clips of pieces
being learned by the child in class. The child could prepare an informal concert for the family once a week, perform
simple duets with the parent, or play for grandparents over the phone. Both parents and child could be made aware
that collaboration with each other can lead to desired results, and in fact, students report that by sharing information
with parents, learning is enhanced.[ 18]
Knowledge and Skills
Parents are willing to become involved if they believe they possess the necessary abilities to be useful.[ 19]
Therefore, in addition to capitalizing on parental enthusiasm and organizational expertise, some teachers may
encourage parents to acquire basic skills on the instrument in order to help their young child learn to play. The
teacher could consider inviting the parent to come to private lessons, as is done with the Suzuki Method, knowing
that young children often thrive with supportive parents involved in lessons and home practice.[ 20] Small students
can feel more secure when a parent accompanies them, and when children are feeling optimistic and happy rather
than anxious, more learning will take place.[ 21] The adults themselves, especially those of young children or those
with special needs, are liable to feel more relaxed about music lessons if they are invited to participate in the
learning process.
The importance of parents' involvement in lessons cannot be denied. In fact, one of the strongest positive family
influences in acquiring musical skills seems to be the role of the parent in lessons, with the most successful learners
having parents who either receive regular feedback from the teacher or are present during lessons. Furthermore,
parental involvement in lessons was maintained at a constant level across the successful child's entire learning
period. These findings illustrate that parents may involve themselves for up to twelve to fifteen years in their child's
lessons.[ 22]
In situations where parents cannot attend, teachers could provide them with clear and systematic method books
and handouts, direct them to online video clips to demonstrate proper posture, for example, or propose practicing
ideas (e.g., drill short problem areas of a piece rather than just playing it from beginning to end).
Even if parents are accomplished musicians, they might not be aware of how the teacher is approaching the
material, how to reinforce concepts at home, or what skills the child needs to develop. Most importantly, if the
teacher wishes to involve parents in working with their children at home, then the parent's skills and knowledge of
the material and method of delivery must be sound. Pertaining to homework, recent research has questioned the
value of parental help, even affirming that it has no effect or even a negative one if parents are not familiar with the
subject matter. Parents may never have learned the material themselves, or not remember it, but are still helping
and giving advice the best they can, "and that means poor-quality homework."[ 23]
As well as aiding with actual playing, parents can assist with overcoming child resistance to executing certain tasks
that are necessary for the learning process. Students quickly discover that deliberate practice, which involves
extensive repetition, attention to weaker areas, and constant and methodical evaluation, "requires effort and is not
inherently enjoyable."[ 24] To alleviate the tediousness of practice, parents could incorporate the child's favorite toys
or activities and take advantage of simple games to keep the child engaged. For example, after executing each
practice task, the child could add one piece to a puzzle or block construction, with a "reward" promised upon its
completion.
If inviting parents to attend classes or lessons could be beneficial, why would some music teachers be reluctant to
do so? Educators may be afraid that parents would interfere during lessons, distract the child, and perhaps pursue
their own pedagogical agendas or that certain students (e.g., teenagers) would not want parents present. In some
cases, parental participation is perhaps not necessary, desired, nor beneficial. As for homework, for example, some
schoolchildren seem to do well without the support of their parents: "Many kids succeed in school even if their
parents are not involved
. [It] could be personal resilience, other adults involved, [and/or] good teaching."[ 25]
However, many young instrumental learners have a teacher present for less than an hour a week and then are
responsible for organizing their own practicing. Questioning the assumption that young children are capable of
progressing well on their own after only a brief time with the instructor dates back at least fifty years. Music
pedagogue Angela Diller noted that "in many schools there are daily lessons in arithmetic, spelling, and reading. No
parent would think that a child could advance rapidly in these subjects with only one lesson a week. But many
parents do expect rapid advancement in the child's music study with only one short weekly lesson."[ 26] One
wonders whether children's musical experiences could be more enriching or, knowing that there is a high level of
attrition in the first few years of instrumental playing,[ 27] whether they would advance to a higher level before
ceasing lessons if a parent were involved.
Time and Energy
This specification of the parental involvement framework includes parents' demands on their time and energy and
how that perception could have an impact on the amount of assistance they believe they could afford their child.
The teacher could offer suggestions to help make daily practicing more efficient, even if that simply entails playing
the instrument for a short time every day or establishing a list of specific, daily practice items. Using a timer to stay
on task and to bracket the practice period and filling in practice charts can both help promote time-effectiveness.
Practicing before school could be ideal, as the parent and child are usually there together, not tired from a full day of
activities, and have few conflicts with other obligations. Older siblings or another adult could lend a hand, and the
teacher could assign certain tasks that the child could do with minimal supervision. The teacher could record
practice videos or recommend online materials that students could view independently. Time spent in the car could
be used to sing pieces and listen to recordings. For lessons, teachers could attempt to ease a parent's burden with
child care by being open to scheduling lessons with younger siblings in attendance or teaching siblings together.
The teacher could aim for flexibility to allow parents to minimize driving or offer lessons by telephone or online on
days when they are unable to come in person.[ 28] What to avoid is making a parent feel guilty or feel that he or she
is "failing" as a parent because of being unable to do what the teacher believes is a constructive suggestion. In sum,
the essence of motivating and encouraging parents is trying to understand the parent's lifestyle, stresses, and
priorities in order to find solutions that are not only helpful but also possible.[ 29]
Family Culture
The last parameter of the parental motivational model suggests that educators need to be sensitive to family cultural
differences. Parents may be less able to help or even falsely perceived to be uninterested if they are new citizens
struggling to adapt to a new culture, have a low level of formal education, are trying to understand and navigate an
unfamiliar educational system, are impeded by language barriers, are low-income, are working at multiple jobs with
long hours and low pay, or have reduced access to professional help. These factors can result in higher risks of
mental and physical health issues as well and therefore less time and energy to help. Although lower
socioeconomic status (SES) has often been the motor behind interventions to facilitate parents' increased
involvement in their children's education, the links between parental involvement and SES are unclear, and
researchers are divided on the issue.[ 30] Cultural challenges are not found uniquely in families with a lower SES:
Busy professionals might also have gaps in knowledge and skills as well as a lack of time and energy, which could
potentially hinder their children's progress.
Instead of attempting to tackle the problem of lower SES as a whole, educational professionals could target specific
areas in the "Time and Energy" and "Skills and Knowledge" constructs. Teachers can make parents aware that a
high level of training is not necessary to make a positive impact: Parents could simply ask the child to play a piece,
listen to the child practice, or attend the child's school concert.[ 31] To help compensate for a lack of family
resources, an instrument- and materials-lending system could be set up at school. To lighten the responsibility of
home practicing from time to time, children could play in a supervised area a few days a week or be paired with a
"practice buddy" for whom they would play their pieces over the phone or online.
To conclude, it is clear that some type of informed and guided parental help could be advantageous to a certain
sector of the student-musician population, especially young children. Teachers desiring increased parental
involvement could take note of the three factors in the model that seem to influence parents' attitudes and actions
the most: requests by child, teacher, and school for support; followed by confidence in being able to do the job; and
finally, available time and energy. In fact, when family culture, life context, invitations, and personal motivation are
compared, "parents' interpersonal relationships with children and teachers emerge as the driving force behind their
involvement in children's education."[ 32]
In addition to these factors, parents can be told that considerable benefits will ensue if they simply embrace their
role as a positive force in their children's musical life, provide encouragement, and show that music is important. In
dealing with young, beginner-level students, educational professionals can take into account the potential
competence parents might have in directing and organizing practice sessions. If the teacher wants parents to grasp
the beginning basics of playing the instrument, then a certain level of training through in-school activities or
workshops, video materials, method books, or lesson attendance offer some ways to instill parental confidence and
impart skills and knowledge. For the most part, the positive gains of directed parental involvement are undeniable.
How can music teachers encourage parents to help achieve greater student progress in music learning?
FIGURE 1 Level 1 of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's Theoretical Model of the Parental Involvement Process
at Home
Personal
Invitations
Life
Motivation
Context
Parental Role
Parental General
Specific
Specific
Knowledge Time and Family
Construction
Efficacy
School
School
Child
and Skills
Invitations
Invitations
Invitations
Energy
Culture
Source: Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey and Howard M. Sandler, "The Family-School Partnership Lab,"
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/family-school/ model.html.
Photo courtesy of Diane Briscoe
Photo courtesy of Diane Briscoe
Photos courtesy of Diane Briscoe
Notes
1. Jane W. Davidson, Michael J. A. Howe, Derek G. Moore, and John A. Sloboda, "The Role of Family Influences in
the Development of Musical Performance," accessed October 17, 2016, http://roar
.uel.ac.uk/3537/1/parental%20influ ences%20paper.pdf.
2. Andrea Creech and Susan Hallam, "Learning a Musical Instrument: The Influence of Interpersonal Interaction on
Outcomes for School-Aged Pupils," Psychology of Music 39, no. 1 (2011): 104. For purposes of this article, the
terms parent and guardian are interchangeable.
3. Gary E. McPherson, "The Role of Parents in Children's Musical Development," Psychology of Music 37, no. 1
(2009), 102-03.
4. Liu Liu, Michael Harris Bond, Yanjun Guan, Zijun Cai, Jiaqing Sun, Qiushi Yu, Ruchunyi Fu, and Zhen Wang,
"Parents' Music Training Motivation and Children's Music Learning Achievement: An Investigation in the Chinese
Context," Psychology of Music 43, no. 5 (2015): 662.
5. Jeanne E. Ormod, Human Learning (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,
6. Christa L. Green, Joan M. T. Walker, Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey, and Howard M. Sandler, "Parents'
Motivations for Involvement in Children's Education: An Empirical Test of a Theoretical Model of Parental
Involvement," Journal of Educational Psychology 99, no. 3 (2007): 533.
7. Davidson et al., "The Role of Family Influences," 2.
8. Ormrod, Human Learning, 354-56.
9. E-mail from studio parents, April 2015, translation by author: "Acquérir une discipline de travail
compte à quel point on peut progresser en y mettant du sien
. A se rendre
. Lui permettrait de réaliser qu'avec de la
persévérance, on peut accomplir de belles choses que ce soit en musique ou dans d'autres domaines."
10. Gary E. McPherson, Jane W. Davidson, and Paul Evans, "Playing an Instrument," in The Child as Musician, ed.
Gary E. McPherson (Oxford, UK: Oxford Scholarship, 2016), 401-21.
11. Green et al., "Parents' Motivations for Involvement," 533; from Albert Bandura, Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of
Control (New York: Freeman, 1997).
12. Ibid., 241-42.
13. Dale H. Schunk, "Attributions as Motivators of Self-Regulated Learning," in Motivation and Self-Regulated
Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications, ed. Dale H. Schunk and Barry J. Zimmerman (New York: Taylor and
Francis Group, 2008), 254-57.
14. Pauline Garcia-Reid, Christina Hamme Peterson, and Robert J. Reid, "Parent and Teacher Support among
Latino Immigrant Youth: Effects on School Engagement and School Trouble Avoidance," Education and Urban
Society 47, no. 3 (2015): 337.
15. Green et al., "Parents' Motivations for Involvement," 533, 542; Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey and Howard
Sandler, "Why Do Parents Become Involved: Research Findings and Implications," Elementary School Journal 106,
no. 2 (2005): 116, 117, 121, 123, 124.
16. Ibid.
17. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, "Why Do Parents Become Involved?," 112, 113; and Paul Evans, "SelfDetermination Theory: An Approach to Motivation in Music Education," Musicae Scientiae 19, no. 1 (2015): 69.
18. Ibid.
19. Green et al., "Parents' Motivations for Involvement," 534.
20. Gilles Comeau, Veronika Huta, and YiFei Liu, "Work Ethic, Motivation, and Parental Influences in Chinese and
North American Children Learning to Play the Piano," International Journal of Music Education 33, no. 2 (2015):
185, 186, 190-91.
21. Ormrod, Human Learning, 474.
22. Davidson et al., "The Role of Family Influences," 22-23.
23. Keith Robinson, "In Conversation with Keith Robinson" (discussing his book: The Broken Compass: Parental
Involvement with Children's Education), interviewed by Brian Bethune, Macleans (December 2, 2013), http://www
.macleans.ca/general/helping-with-home work-isnt-important-but-talking-about-kids-post-high-school-plans-is/.
24. K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf T. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer, "The Role of Deliberate Practice in the
Acquisition of Expert Performance," Psychological Review 100, no. 3 (1993): 10.
25. Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey and Howard M. Sandler, "Parental Involvement in Children's Education: Why
Does It Make a Difference?," Teachers College Record 97 no. 2 (1995): 311.
26. Angela Diller, The Splendor of Music (New York: Schirmer, 1957), 12.
27. Susan Hallam, Andrea Creech, Ioulia Papageorgi, Teresa Gomes, Tiija Rinta, Maria Varvarigou, and Jennifer
Lanipekun, "Changes in Motivation as Expertise Develops: Relationships with Musical Aspiration," Musicae
Scientiae (2016), 18; and Paul Evans, G. E. McPherson, and J. W. Davidson, "The Role of Psychological Needs in
Ceasing Music and Music Learning Activities," Psychology of Music 41, no. 5 (2013): 600-12.
28. These suggestions stem from the author's more than twenty-five years of teaching and assisting parents and
students in a private music studio, from being a parent of children taking music lessons, and from ongoing training
and pedagogical research.
29. Barry Prizant, "Motivating Parents to Get Involved," Presence Learning, http://presencelearning.com/blog/
motivating-parents-get-involved/.
30. Green et al., "Parents' Motivations for Involvement," 534; and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, "Why Do Parents
Become Involved?," 114, 116.
31. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler, "Why Do Parents Become Involved?," 114, 119.
32. Green et al., "Parents' Motivations for Involvement," 541-42, italics added.
~~~~~~~~
By Diane Briscoe
Diane Briscoe is a founding faculty member of the Suzuki Piano Association of Ottawa/Gatineau, Canada. She
holds a Master of Music in Musicology from the University of Ottawa and an Associate of the Royal Conservatory
(ARCT) in piano pedagogy. She can be contacted at dianebriscoe@gmail.com.
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