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Content Running head: MUSIC AND SELF-EFFICACY ! 1!

A CASE STUDY: WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCED CLASSICAL MUSIC PROFESSORS’
SELF-EFFICACY IN TEACHING AND THEIR SELF PERCEIVED SELF-EFFICACY ON
HOW TO TEACH/MENTOR THEIR CLASSICAL MUSIC STUDENTS TO DEGREE
COMPLETION?

by

Yuan Yuan Chen

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2016

Copyright 2016 Yuan Yuan Chen
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 2!
Acknowledgements
I offer my deepest appreciations to the many individuals who helped me make this
dissertation possible. I would not have completed this degree without the endless patience,
support, and feedback of my Committee Chair, Dr. Patricia Tobey, Associate Dean and Director,
USC Kortschak Center of Learning and Creativity. Thank you! Additionally, I thank my
committee members, Dr. Patrick Crispen, Director of Educational Technology and Assistant
Professor of Clinical Medical Education, Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Dr. Robert
Cutietta, Dean of USC Thornton School of Music, who provided exceptional support throughout
the whole dissertation process. My sincere appreciation goes out to the numerous piano teachers
who inspired, helped, guided, and shaped me not only as a musician, but also as a person.
Finally, I am forever grateful to my mom, Vicky Xu, who has tirelessly supported my
educational and musical endeavors. Without her, I would not have become the person I am
today.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 3!
Table of Contents
List of Tables 7
List of Figures 8
Abstract 9
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 10
Background of the Problem 10
Purpose of the Study 16
Research Questions 16
Theoretical Framework 16
Significance of the Study 17
Limitations and Delimitations 18
Limitations 18
Delimitations 18
Definition of Terms 19
Organization of the Study 20
Chapter Two: Literature Review 21
A Brief History on Music Education 21
Current Existing Literature Relevant to Music Education 23
Benefits of Music 23
Student Motivation and Persistence in Music Education 24
Music Professors’ Teaching Self-Efficacy and Mentorship 26
Music Professors’ Teaching Self-Efficacy 26
Music Professor-Music Student Relationship 27
A Short History on Each of the Seven Music Conservatories 28
Stand-alone Conservatories 29
Conservatory A 29
History 29
Mission and Vision 29
Accreditation 30
Conservatory B 30
History 30
Mission and Vision 31
Accreditation 31
Conservatory C 31
History 31
Mission and Vision 31
Accreditation 32
Conservatory D 32
History 32
Mission and Vision 32
Accreditation 32
Conservatory E 33
History 32
Mission and Vision 33
Accreditation 33
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 4!
Conservatory F 34
History 34
Mission and Vision 34
Accreditation 34
Conservatory G 35
History 35
Mission and Vision 35
Accreditation 35
Theoretical Framework: Self-Efficacy 36
Social Cognitive Theory 35
Efficacy Expectations 37
Self-Efficacy and Music Students 38
Self-Efficacy and Music Professors 40
Summary 41
Chapter Three: Methodology 43
Research Questions 44
Research Design 44
Case Study 45
Mixed Methods 45
Quantitative Method 46
Qualitative Method 46
Sample and Population 47
Sampling 47
Conservatory E 48
Instrumentation 49
Theoretical Framework: Self-Efficacy 49
Research Questions 51
Survey and Interview Protocol 51
Survey Protocol 51
Interview Protocol 53
Data Collection 55
Initial Data Collection 55
Survey Questionnaires and Interview 56
Survey Questionnaire 56
Interview 57
Data Analysis 57
Credibility, Trustworthiness, and Ethics 59
Chapter Four: Results 60
Qualitative Data Set 60
Participants 60
The Six Classical Music Professors 61
What Factors Influenced Classical Music Professors’ Self-Efficacy in
Teaching and Their Self-Perceived Self-Efficacy on How to
Teach/Mentor Their Classical Music Students to Degree Completion? 63
Performance Accomplishments 63
Vicarious Experiences 66
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 5!
Verbal Persuasions 70
Emotional Arousal 72
What Factors Influenced Classical Music Professors’ Self-Efficacy in
Teaching and Their Self-Perceived Self-Efficacy on How to
Teach/Mentor Their Classical Music Students to Degree Completion? 74
Performance Accomplishments 75
Vicarious Experiences 76
Verbal Persuasions 78
Emotional Arousal 79
Other Factors 80
Sub Questions b: What are the Classical Music Professors’ and Classical
Music Students’ Beliefs on the Importance of Mentorship? 80
Two Additional Themes 81
The National of Reasonability 82
Teaching Life Lessons 82
Quantitative Data Set 83
Participants 83
Quantitative Data Analysis 85
Sub Question a: What Factors Influenced Classical Music
Students’ Self-Efficacy in Learning and Performing Their Classical
Music Instruments? 85
Sub Questions b: What are the Classical Music Professors’ and Classical
Music Students’ Beliefs on the Importance of Mentorship? 91
Summary 92
Chapter Five: Discussion 93
Introduction 93
Summary of the Case Study 93
Discussion of Findings for Qualitative Data 95
Benefits of Music 95
Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and Classical Music Professors 96
Performance Accomplishments 96
Vicarious Experiences 97
Verbal Persuasions 98
Emotional Arousal 99
Two Additional Themes 100
The Notion of Responsibility 100
Teaching Life Lessons 100
Classical Music Professors’ Belief on the Important of
Mentorship 101
Other Factors 101
Discussion of Findings for Quantitative Data 102
Classical Music Students’ Self-Efficacy in Learning
and Performance 102
Classical Music Students’ Belief on the Importance of Mentorship 103
Limitation on Quantitative Data 104
Implication for Practice 105
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 6!
Recommendations for Future Research Study 107
Conclusions 108
References 109
Appendix A: Attitudes Toward Specific Musical Performance Activity 1 113
Appendix B: Attitudes Toward Specific Musical Performance Activity 2 116
Appendix C: Music Skill/Attribute 118
Appendix D: Semi-Structured Self-Efficacy Interview for Teachers 119
Appendix E: Semi-Structured Self-Efficacy Interview for Teachers (Modified) 123
Appendix F: IRB Approval 125
Appendix G: Student Quotes: Descriptions of Relationships 127
Appendix H: Student Quotes: Importance of Mentorship 132
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 7!
List of Tables
Table 1: Eight Music Conservatories at a Glance 12
Table 2: Eight Music Conservatories’ Enrollments and Graduation Rates
with Percentages 14

Table 3: The Original Seven Music Conservatories Enrollments and Graduation
Rates with Percentages 15

Table 4: Music Professors’ Backgrounds 62

Table 5: Commonly Identified Sources of Music Professors’ Teaching Self-efficacy
And Interpretative Factors: Performance Accomplishments 65

Table 6: Commonly Identified Sources of Music Professors’ Teaching Self-efficacy
And Interpretative Factors: Vicarious Experiences 68

Table 7: Commonly Identified Sources of Music Professors’ Teaching Self-efficacy
And Interpretative Factors: Verbal Persuasions 71

Table 8: Commonly Identified Sources of Music Professors’ Teaching Self-efficacy
And Interpretative Factors: Emotional Arousal 74

Table 9: Classical Music Professors’ Performance Accomplishments and Quotes 75

Table 10: Classical Music Professors' Vicarious Experiences and Quotes 77

Table 11: Classical Music Professors' Verbal Persuasions and Quotes 78

Table 12: Classical Music Professors' Emotional Arousal and Quotes 79

Table 13: Descriptive Statistics 86

Table 14: Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Learning 87

Table 15: Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Learning: Item-Total Statistics 87

Table 16: Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Performance 89

Table 17: Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Performance:
Item-Total Statistics Quotes 89

Table 18: Factor Analysis 90

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 8!
List of Figures

Figure A: Scree Plot 90
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 9!
Abstract
Most current empirical studies on music education examined the benefits of music, these
studies usually were focused at the primary and secondary levels. The few studies that examined
music education in higher education contexts were conducted outside the United States;
therefore, the lack of empirical studies on music education, especially classical music education
at the higher education level led to this current case study. The purposes of this case study were
(1) to explore the factors that influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and
in their self-perceived self-efficacy on teaching/mentoring their classical music students to
degree completion, (2) to explore the classical students’ perceived self-efficacy on learning and
performing on their primary musical instruments, and (3) to examine the classical music
professors’ and classical music students’ beliefs on the importance of mentorship.
This case study research utilized a mixed method study consisting of qualitative and
quantitative data. Both sets of data were collected and analyzed. Utilizing the four resources of
Bandura’s self-efficacy expectations: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience,
verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal, the analyzed qualitative data showed that not only did
the qualitative data validate Bandura’s self-efficacy theory but revealed two additional themes:
the notion of responsibility and teaching life lessons which were present in all interviews.
Student survey data were also collected and examined as a whole and for various subsets
of the data. Students’ self-efficacy of learning and self-efficacy of performance were examined
separately. While the qualitative data validated Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, the quantitative
data did not.
This case study also showed that both classical music professor and classical music
students believed that having good mentorship is important.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 10!
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching? What was
classical music professors’ self-perceived self-efficacy in teaching/mentoring their classical
music students? What factors influenced classical music students’ self-perceived self-efficacy in
learning and performing their primary musical instruments? This formal study of classical music
in American higher education referred to students attending weekly one-on-one music lessons
with their classical music professors–the professors with whom they studied their primary
classical musical instrument. This one-on-one interaction focused on learning about classical
music. Mentoring in music education for classical music majors received limited attention in the
existing literature. Similarly, self-efficacy of music students and music professors that focused
mainly on classical music major students also received little attention. These observations beg
for more research on self-efficacy of classical music students seeking a Bachelor of Music
degree as well as more attention on classical music professors of higher education at music
conservatories.
Background of the Problem
Music Education in the United States referred to teaching music in public elementary and
secondary schools (Britton, 1962). Music education in American higher education emerged
simultaneously in colleges/universities in the United States around the 1950s, and soon a musical
education system was formed (Mark & Gary, 2007; Rudolph, 1962). The benefits of music such
as mental, emotional, and academic development were studied extensively (Coffman, 2002;
Costa-Giomi, 1999; Hallam & Prince, 2000; Harland et al., 2000; Schellenberg, 2004).
However, research was lacking on classical music students’ self-perceived self-efficacy in
learning and performing their primary instruments at a music conservatory.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 11!
The problems of retention and student persistence were always present in conversations
and studies. These conversations were also present when they involved music education at both
the high school and higher education levels. Classroom and instrumental music teachers
perceived a general decline in music participation in high school music classes. Ng and Hartwig
(2011) illustrated that students’ choices to continue with music learning are influenced by
motivation indicators (e.g., parental involvement, self-efficacy, achievement goal theory, social
factors). In the context of higher education, motivation for musicians is critical because for
musicians, having both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations plays a vital role in helping students
persist to degree completion (Diaz, 2010).
There were eight music conservatories in the United States, all with similar profiles (see
Table 1). They all were 4-year, not-for-profit institutions accredited by the National
Associations of Schools of Music. Most music conservatories were also regionally accredited by
bodies such as the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), New English
Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE),
and New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher
Education (NEASC).
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 12!
Table 1

Eight Music Conservatories at a Glance
Conservatory
Name
4-
year
Private,
Not-for-
Profit
BM MM
Campus
Housing
Undergraduate
Student Population
Student-to-
faculty
ration
A Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 545 6:1
B Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 237 7:1
C Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 122 2:1
D Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 377 18:1
E Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 431 5:1
F Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 581 5:1
G Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 174 6:1
H Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 54 2.4:1
Note BM = Bachelor of Music. MM = Master of Music

The problem addressed by this case study was the low graduation rate of the eight music
conservatories in the United States. Data shown in this initial research was obtained from two
different sources. Data from Conservatories A though G were obtained from Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Since Conservatory H was the newest stand-
alone one music conservatory in the United States, data were not available on IPEDS. The data
presented in this study for Conservatory H were obtained from Conservatory H’s research office.
According to the initial data, a significant gap existed between the enrollment rate and the
graduation rate at these music conservatories, especially for Conservatories A through G. The
initial data focused on the enrollment rate and six-year graduation rate. Data showed that the
graduation rates fluctuated each year for these music conservatories. In addition, data also
displayed significant variations between enrollment and graduation rates, the graduation rate was
considerably lower than the enrollment rate for some of the music conservatories. Further
examination of the data indicated one music conservatory stood out positively with an average
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 13!
graduation rate of 88.87%, while another music conservatory stood out negatively with an
average graduation rate of 59.44%. (See Table 2) Furthermore, according to the 2014 National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the national 6-year graduation rate for all 4-year
institutions ranged between 55.4% and 59.2%. The average national 6-year graduation rate was
57.7%. When focused only on nonprofit institutions, the national 6-year graduation rate was
64.8%. Unfortunately, disaggregated data for music conservatories were not available on
NCES’s website. Nonetheless, since all eight music conservatories were categorized as not-for-
profit institutions, they fell under the NCES’s “nonprofit institutions” category. Using the
national 6-year graduation rate for nonprofit institutions, the average graduation rate was 64.8%,
which meant Conservatory A, B, and H did not reach the national average.
Data for Conservatory H were obtained from Conservatory H’s research office. As the
newest member of the stand-alone conservatories in the United States, its data were not available
on Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Since the data sets for
Conservatory H were obtained directly from Conservatory H’s research office, the formats of
their data sets also differed from the other seven conservatories; therefore, Conservatory H’s data
were excluded.
!
Table 2.
Eight Music Conservatories’ Enrollments and Graduation Rates with Percentages
Conservatory
Cohort
2001
Grad
Year
2007
Cohort
2002
Grad
Year
2008
Cohort
2003
Grad
Year
2009
Cohort
2004
Grad
Year
2010
Cohort
2005
Grad
Year
2011
Cohort
2006
Grad
Year
2012
Cohort
2007
Grad
Year
2013
Average
A 30 19 46 28 45 20 44 23 46 33 57 36 42 37
63.42%
B 120 53 120 79 122 71 115 71 145 79 155 100 134 90
59.44%
C 105 76 118 68 100 70 124 65 102 57 83 62 96 73
65.58%
D 119 89 113 98 97 81 118 103 96 89 108 99 106 93
86.35%
E 88 61 91 63 71 68 104 74 98 77 79 64 121 88
76.83%
F 43 41 60 60 69 60 44 30 71 44 67 47 60 37
77.75%
G 23 22 20 16 12 11 14 10 12 10 16 16 13 13
88.87%
H 6 3 7 6 17 8 22 22 30 15 29 19
49.76%

Note. Conservatories were given pseudonyms for privacy.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 14!
!
!
Table 3.
The Original Seven Music Conservatories’ Enrollments and Graduation Rates with Percentages

Note. Conservatories were given pseudonyms for privacy.
Conservatory
Cohort
2001
Grad
Year
2007
Cohort
2002
Grad
Year
2008
Cohort
2003
Grad
Year
2009
Cohort
2004
Grad
Year
2010
Cohort
2005
Grad
Year
2011
Cohort
2006
Grad
Year
2012
Cohort
2007
Grad
Year
2013
Average
A 30 19 46 28 45 20 44 23 46 33 57 36 42 37
63.42%
B 120 53 120 79 122 71 115 71 145 79 155 100 134 90
59.44%
C 105 76 118 68 100 70 124 65 102 57 83 62 96 73
65.58%
D 119 89 113 98 97 81 118 103 96 89 108 99 106 93
86.35%
E 88 61 91 63 71 68 104 74 98 77 79 64 121 88
76.83%
F 43 41 60 60 69 60 44 30 71 44 67 47 60 37
77.75%
G 23 22 20 16 12 11 14 10 12 10 16 16 13 13
88.87%
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 15!
!
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 16
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this case study was to examine factors that influenced classical music
professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self-perceived self-efficacy in teaching/mentoring
their classical music students to degree completion. This case study also examined factors that
influenced the classical music students’ self-efficacy in learning and performing their primary
instruments.
Research Questions
The following research question and two sub questions formed the basis for this current
study:
What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self
perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to degree
completion?
Sub Question a: What factors influenced classical music students’ self-efficacy in
learning and performing their primary classical musical instruments?
Sub Question b: What are the classical music professors’ and classical music students’
beliefs on the importance of mentorship?
Theoretical Framework
This case study incorporated Albert Bandura’s self-efficacy theoretical framework.
Bandura (1986) defined self-efficacy as one’s capability to organize and execute, and to attain
designated types of performances. For this study, self-efficacy for classical music students was
defined as students’ self-perceived musical capability to be successful at learning and playing
their primary musical instruments. Teaching self-efficacy for classical music professors was
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 17#
defined as music professors’ self-perceived abilities to teach, mentor, and interact with their
students.
Significance of the Study
Few comprehensive research studies specifically focused on music students, in particular
those who majored in classical music performance at a music conservatory in the United States.
Similarly, only a few research studies focused on music professors in a higher education context.
While numerous empirical studies were conducted with children to indicate the benefits
of music in their mental, emotional, and academic development (e.g., Costa-Giomi, 1999;
Hallam & Prince, 2000; Harland et al., 2000; Schellenberg, 2004), very few studies focused on
music students of higher education (Coffman, 2002). Likewise, empirical studies on student
motivation and persistence in music focused mainly on children (e.g., Allen, Robbins, Casillas,
& Oh, 2008; Covington, 2000; Dai & Schader, 2002; Hallam, 1998; Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000;
McCormick & McPherson, 2003). The study of music students of higher education was not well
researched.
On the topic of music students’ self-efficacy and music professors’ teaching self-efficacy,
there are several limitations in the current body of literature.
(1) Music students’ perceived self-efficacy and music professors’ perceived self-efficacy
were usually studied separately.
(2) These studies were conducted mainly focusing on non-music majors.
(3) A large number of these studies were conducted in foreign countries (e.g., Barrett, 2006;
McPherson & McCormick, 2006; Ng & Hartwig, 2011; Pitts, 2004; Sichivitsa, 2007).
(4) According to McPherson and McCormick (2006) and Sichivitsa (2003), more research is
needed in the classical music field.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 18#
Research on music motivation, persistence, and the application of self-efficacy theory
should be further explored, especially in the context of classical music. As a result, this case
study focused on students studying classical music performance at a music conservatory in the
United States and classical music professors employed at a music conservatory.
Limitations and Delimitations
Limitations
The data available on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS)
were self-reported; and, therefore, was a limitation to this case study. Limitations on the current
literature included these two categories: (1) Numerous empirical articles used in this case study
were conducted in foreign countries such as Ireland, Australia, Canada, England (e.g., Barrett,
2006; McPherson & McCormick, 2003; 2006; Ng & Hartwig, 2011; Kenny, 2014; Kokotsaki &
Hallam, 2007; Pitts, 2004; Schnare et al., 2011; Sichivitsa, 2007). (2) Some of the research was
conducted decades ago; hence, the material and content of the studies may be dated.
The limitations for this current case study included the lack of IPEDS data, the small
sample size of the studied population, and the inherent issues that come from self-reporting self-
efficacy for both qualitative and quantitative data.
Delimitations
This case study primarily focused on undergraduate students who majored in Classical
Music Performance for their Bachelor’s degree at a music conservatory. These students studied
under their primary instrumental professor; they attended weekly private one-on-one music
lessons. These students were in various stages of development with their music professors. The
music programs and curricula at these eight conservatories were accredited by the National
Associations of Schools of Music. While many colleges and universities offered music lessons
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 19#
to non-music major students, those students may have had different sets of experience with
music learning. Therefore, conservatory students in the field of classical music were specifically
chosen (Bachelor of Music) because their primary focus was on mastering their primary classical
musical instrument. In addition, classical music professors may perceive non-music major
students differently than those who majored in music. Consequently, in order to fully understand
the self-efficacies of classical music major students, conservatory students whose major was
classical music performance were chosen for this case study. Similarly, classical music
professors at a conservatory were chosen as the interview sample for this case study because
these professors’ primary teaching focus was on classical music and their primary classical
musical instrument. Samples of these classical music students and music professors were
purposefully chosen for the reasons mentioned above, and Conservatory E was chosen as the
case study institution because its average graduation rate ranked right in the middle of all the
conservatories’ rates.
Definition of Terms
Although a clear definition of music conservatory had not been plainly established in the
existing empirical articles, in this case study, “music conservatory” referred to the eight
independent music conservatories in the United States only. “Music conservatory” also referred
to an independent music conservatory unattached to a larger institution and independently
accredited. “Music professor-music student relationship/mentorship” in this case study referred
to the connection and interaction between a classical music student and his/her primary classical
instrument music professor. This mentorship applied to those who currently studied at
Conservatory E. For the context of this case study, “conservatory music professors” were those
whose principal duties included teaching one-on-one classical music lessons to their classical
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 20#
music students. For this case study, “Self-efficacy of music students” referred to their own
perceived confidence in their learning and performance of their primary instruments; and “self-
efficacy of music professors” referred to their own belief on how confident they were in their
teaching/mentoring skills.
Organization of the Study
In this chapter, an overview of this case study was presented. The background of the
problem, purpose of this case study, theoretical framework, significance of this case study,
limitations and delimitations, and terms and definitions were briefly stated. In Chapter 2, an
overview of current existing literature relevant to music education is explored. Chapter 3
explains the methodology utilized in this case study. The analyzed results and research findings
are presented in Chapter 4.. Finally, discussions, significances, implications, and
recommendation for future research are explained in Chapter 5.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 21#
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the current empirical studies on music education
and to examine shortcomings in the field of music that are related to classical music majors in
higher education. First, a brief history on music education and current existing literature relevant
to music education are discussed. Second, a short history on each of the seven music
conservatories will be presented. Third, the theoretical framework for this case study is
explained. Four, more empirical articles relating to theoretical framework and music are
discussed. Finally, the research questions are reiterated.
A Brief History on Music Education
Music Education in the United States reflects the status of music programs, in particular,
the music education in public elementary and secondary schools. Children begin to learn to sing
and engage in musical activities as early as kindergarten. Music teacher training programs began
at the beginning of 1900s (Britton, 1962). According to Mark and Gary (2007), by the mid-
nineteenth century, music schools (e.g., music departments, music schools within
college/university settings, music conservatories, independent music schools) felt pressure from
an increasingly complex society. The proliferation of music schools grew parallel with the
emerging universities in the United States. Paralleling the evolving colleges/universities in the
United States, independent music schools in higher education emerged at the beginning of the
1900s. By the mid-twentieth century, these schools had established a system of musical
education with the goal to not only train musicians in conservatory traditions but also for these
musicians to obtain the best general academic education (Mark & Gary, 2007; Rudolph, 1962).
Whether a single music department, a school of music within a university setting, a
college-conservatory affiliated with a college, or an independent conservatory, all rapidly gained
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 22#
positive reputations and thus established a system of musical education that tried to provide
excellence in both academic and music training (Britton, 1962). The music education system
began in the early 1900s. Music conservatories gained popularity rapidly in the 1920s, and a
massive enrollment of students led to the expansion of conservatory sites in the 1960s
(www.conservatorye.edu). There seems to be a discrepancy regarding popularity and enrollment
when the history of music education is compared to the current state of music.
At the beginning of the twentieth-century, classical music increased in popularity.
Subsequently, in 1924, the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) was founded.
The purpose of NASM was to establish a more uniform method of granting credit. It developed
and maintained the basic standards for music institutions of higher education. NASM’s primary
role was to be a professional accrediting agency which reviewed the quality of various
professional groups in the field of music according to nationally recognized standards (NASM,
2015).
Originally, only seven independent music conservatories existed in the United States, and
later, an eighth conservatory was added. Music conservatories are music institutions considered
outstanding places for music majors to learn about music and practice their crafts. Since this
case study focused on classical music majors, conducting research at top tier music
conservatories will enhance the discovery of classical music major students’ self-perceived self-
efficacies and classical music professors’ teaching self-efficacy.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 23#
Current Existing Literatures Relevant to Music Education
This section examines the current literature relevant to music education. It first focuses
on the benefits of music for both children and adults. Next, music students’ motivation and
persistence are discussed. Then, music professors’ teaching self-efficacy and mentorship are
examined.
Benefits of Music
Music provides many benefits for both children and adults alike. Children who
participate in music show an increase in their self-esteem and sense of identity. Costa-Giomi
(1999) stated that music increases children’s self-esteem, especially those of low economic
status. Harland, Kinder, Lord, Stott, Schagen, and Haynes (2000) found that children who play
instruments have higher self-esteem and sense of identity when compared to those who do not
participate in music. Moreover, studies also showed that in addition to enhanced development of
children’s social skills, children’s personal skills such as confidence, self-discipline, a sense of
achievement, and physical coordination improve through music instruction (Hallam & Prince,
2000). Furthermore, Schellenberg’s (2004) study demonstrated that students who engage in
music learning have higher than average intelligent quotients (IQ) or enhance their previous IQs,
which further illustrated the benefits of music.
Likewise, adults who participate in music studies also display positive outcomes. Studies
concluded that there are improvements in self-expression and self-improvement (Coffman, 2002;
Costa-Giomi, 1999; Hallam & Prince, 2000; Harland et al., 2000). Adults who were involved in
music also develop a sense of belonging and a way to meet new people. Some adult music
participants even acquire a love of learning and a love of performing music (Coffman, 2002).
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There is a myriad of research relating to children and music participation: benefits of
music learning, music enhancing the brain, music improving academic achievement, and social
achievement at primary and secondary education levels (e.g., Costa-Giomi, 1999; Hallam &
Prince, 2000; Harland, Kinder, Lord, Stott, Schagen & Haynes, 2000; Schellenberg, 2004). Yet,
there is only minimal research related to music and higher education. The miniscule amount of
research conducted on music and higher education was either done in other countries such as
England, Australia, Ireland, or Canada (e.g., Barrett, 2006; McPherson & McCormick’s, 2003,
2006; Ng & Hartwig, 2011; Kenny, 2014; Kokotsaki & Hallam, 2007; Pitts, 2004; Schnare et al.,
2011; Sichivitsa, 2007), or was conducted almost a decade or more ago (e.g., Costa-Giomi, 1999;
Kokotsaki & Hallam, 2007; McPherson & McCormick, 2003, 2006).
Student Motivation and Persistence in Music Education
The data for eight music conservatories were retrieved from two different sources. Data
for Conservatories A through G were retrieved from the Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data Systems (IPEDS). Conservatory H’s data were retrieved directly from its research office
because that data were not available on IPEDS. However, since Conservatory H was relatively
new, its data sets were not as complete as the other seven independent music conservatories’, and
therefore it was excluded from the initial data collection. The data of the original seven
independent music conservatories retrieved from IPEDS showed a problem regarding persistence
to degree completion. Data on six-year graduation rates showed that the graduation rates
fluctuated yearly. According to the 2014 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the
national 6-year graduation rate for 4-year institutions ranged between 55.4% and 59.2%. At
nonprofit institutions, the national 6-year graduation rate was 64.8%. Comparing the national
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 25#
graduation rate with the graduate rates of the seven music conservatories, data showed that not
all of these music conservatories reached the average national graduation rate.
Students’ motivations and their choices whether or not to persist in music learning
revolved around multiple factors. Ng and Hartwig’s (2011) research examined music professors’
perceptions of declining participation in music schools. Two hundred and fifty music teachers
were invited to participate in this study, wherein 120 music teachers completed and returned the
questionnaire (48% response rate). The results revealed that students who have more intrinsic
motivations are more likely to continue with music learning. Similarly, Covington (2000)
suggested that persistence in music learning relates closely to achievement theory and self-
efficacy theory; that is, if music students’ self-efficacies are high, then they are more likely to
persist. The empirical study conducted by McCormick & McPherson (2003) investigated the
role of self-efficacy in a performance setting and evaluated the importance of personal and social
factors relating to students’ motivation to learn music. Students who value the subject matter,
have belief in their competence, and have personal interests experience positive effects in
persistence and motivation (Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000). When students expect themselves to
do well in music and if they find learning music interesting, they are more likely to continue
learning music. Hallam (1998) also suggested that if students possess prior knowledge regarding
the subject matter and have been previously exposed to music, they are more likely to have
motivation to continue learning music. Furthermore, students with parental support perform
better in music subjects and are more likely motivated to continue with music learning (Dai &
Schader, 2002).
The majority of the research mentioned above was conducted on the primary and
secondary education level (Costa-Giomi, 1999; McPherson & McCormick, 2003; 2007; Ng &
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 26#
Hartwig, 2011) and a much smaller number conducted on higher education (Schare et al., 2011).
For example, Allen, Robbins, Casillas, and Oh’s (2008) study indicated that highly motivated
students are more likely to succeed and persist. Students who feel a sense of self-worth also
experience intrinsic motivation (Covington, 2000). Improvement factors (e.g., self-esteem, self-
worth, a sense of belonging, self-discipline) are apparent in students who participate in music
learning (Coffman, 2002; Costa-Giomi, 1999; Harland et al., 2000). Like motivation, student
persistence relates closely to intrinsic motivation. Highly motivated students are more likely to
complete their degrees (Allen et al., 2008). There were empirical studies on college students’
persistence, but only a small number specifically focused on music students. Even though
theoretical ideas from these empirical articles can be applied to music students, there are some
with limitations and some with weak validity. Although studies on teachers’ support,
relationships, and feedback in music learning show important evidence regarding motivating
students to continue learning music and persist (Pitts, 2004), there have not been enough
empirical studies on teacher-student mentorship in music education in the higher education
setting, especially not enough research focused on classical music.
Music Professors’ Teaching Self-Efficacy and Mentorship
Music professors’ teaching self-efficacy and the music professor-music student
relationship are relevant and important because the data on these factors allow investigation and
understanding how classical music professors mentor their classical music students to degree
completion at the music conservatories in the United States.
Music professors’ teaching self-efficacy. Music professors’ teaching self-efficacy relates
closely with the Bandura’s (1977) sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious
experiences, social persuasions, and physiological and affective states. Morris and Usher’s
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(2010) study integrated Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory, surveyed 12 professors, and
assessed the sources of these award-winning research professors’ teaching self-efficacy.
Interviews showed that the professors’ teaching self-efficacy is influenced by different factors.
(1) The results showed that the primary source of professors’ self-efficacy links closely to
performance-related attainments (mastery experiences).
(2) Vicarious experiences are the most powerful influences on their teaching self-efficacy.
(3) Social persuasions such as student devaluations, direct comments, teaching awards,
information about their teaching skills are some powerful sources of professors’ teaching
self-efficacy.
(4) Professors typically interpret their emotional arousal while teaching as signs of successful
and effective teaching (physiological and affective states).
Professors’ perceptions of their teaching self-efficacy may be studied, focusing on classical
music professors, to assess their perceived self-efficacy and their perceptions about their
classical music students.
Music professor-music student relationship. The musical community as a whole influences
music students’ self-efficacy. Kenny’s (2014) study employed the “community of practice”
theoretical framework in conjunction with “constructionist viewpoint” and “socio-cultural lens”
to explore the development of a community of musical practice where music learning is ‘shared’.
The results of Kenny’s (2014) qualitative study supported the value of the relationship of doing
things together, where teachers and students view their role as one of mutual participants rather
than top-down teaching. Musical and social interactions between the students as well as between
students and music teachers are a common denominator. Kenny’s (2014) research provided an
understanding of music students’ and music teachers’ beliefs regarding musical community
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interaction, learning, participation, meaning making, relationship development, and knowledge
construction. All this knowledge was incorporated into this case study. Similarly, the music
professors’ roles in their music students’ academic lives are critical, since these roles potentially
impact students’ own self-efficacy and their persistence to degree completion. Research proved
that regular contact with faculty correlates with increased student success, especially among
underrepresented students. Students who frequently interact with their professors tend to earn
higher grades, and increase their chance of degree completion (Hurtado, 2011). The importance
of support from faculty in predicting future success of students was established in Cole’s (2007)
study. His research demonstrated contextual factors that influence the quality and frequency of
student-faculty interactions in college settings. His research results showed that Asian American
and Black students are less likely to interact with their professors than White students (Cole,
2007). Students who feel their professors were approachable are more likely to interact with
them, and those who established meaningful student-faculty interaction have a greater chance of
improvement (Hurtado, 2011). However, the existing empirical studies lack research that
focuses mainly on music majors in the higher education setting. Therefore, this case study
attempts to examine classical music professor-classical music student mentorship to assess its
importance and determine how classical music professors can mentor their classical music
students to degree completion.
A Short History on Each of the Seven Music Conservatories
The following sections provide an overview for each of the seven conservatories in the
United States. First, the definition of a stand-alone conservatory is explained; then, a short
history, mission statement, and accreditation on each of the seven music conservatories are
presented. Pseudonyms are given to each of the music conservatories to protect their identity.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 29#
Stand-alone Conservatories
At the time of this study, there were seven stand-alone music conservatories in the United
States. No official definition of what a stand-alone music conservatory means exists, but
normally a stand-alone music conservatory is an independent music conservatory, unattached to
a larger institution, with independent accreditation. Conservatory A, Conservatory B,
Conservatory C, Conservatory D, Conservatory E, Conservatory F, and Conservatory G have
similar profiles. All 4-year, private and not-for-profit, universities offer both bachelor and
master’s degrees.
Conservatory A
History
Conservatory A was special because it admitted African Americans, women, and people
with few professional opportunities to study classical music. Today Conservatory A offers not
only music programs but also programs in dance and theater. Conservatory A created programs
emphasizing classical European ballet and American forms of modern dance. Conservatory A’s
success lies not only in its professional learning environments but also in the professional
accomplishments of its graduates.
Mission and Vision
Conservatory A’s mission is to foster student creativity and encourage students to
perform at the highest level in their art and in their lives. The skills acquired from Conservatory
A ensure students success in their professions.
Conservatory A is an innovative leader among its peer institutions. Not only well known
in the United States, it is also internationally recognized. Conservatory A requires its students to
perform to the highest level of standards not only on stage but also in every step of their life
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journeys. The same high standards are mandated in the faculty, administrators, and trustees of
the institution. All stakeholders (faculty, staff, students, trustees) are important to Conservatory
A. The vision of the institution is not only to prepare its students artistically and professionally
but also teach them how to live their lives fully so their lives mean something
(www.conservatorya.edu).
Accreditation
Conservatory A is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
(NEASC) and the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).
Conservatory B
History
The initial goal of opening a music conservatory was to provide opportunities for every
type of student to get the best musical education possible. During the mid 1900s, Conservatory
B experienced one of its major growths, and continued to grow in the 1960s. In the 1970s,
performances, concerts, competitions flourished, and Conservatory B continued to improve. In
addition, summer festivals were added to the school to attract superb faculty and gifted students
from all around the world.
In addition to what it already accomplished, Conservatory B was one of the first
conservatories to develop a program for gifted high school students. Throughout late 1990s and
mid-2000s, new buildings were built and new concert halls were constructed. Looking into the
future, Conservatory B continued to maintain its place as top-tier music conservatory and wished
to provide education to the next generation of professional classical musicians.
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Mission and Vision
The mission that guided Conservatory B throughout its history was the idea that in
addition to learning about music, study of the technique, students of Conservatory B should learn
to develop appreciation, understanding, and love for music.
Accreditation
Conservatory B had regional accreditation with the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools and through the specialized accreditation of the National Association of
Schools of Music (www.collegefactual.com).
Conservatory C
History
Conservatory C was founded to teach the next generation of music artists. Conservatory
C is highly selective admitting students solely on their artistic talent and promise.
Conservatory C alumni have made history in the music world. Graduates of
Conservatory C have won world renowned music awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim
Fellowship, and Avery Fisher Awards; and they have performed all over the United States, at the
White House, and internationally (www.conservatoryc.edu).
Mission and Vision
Conservatory C’s mission is to educate and train extraordinarily talented young
musicians as performing artists on the highest professional level. Conservatory C’s goals are to
enlist, provide, and maintain the highest quality faculties in all subject areas, create and
administer the most effective programs, admit brilliant young artists exclusively on their musical
talents, and offer physical and emotional support services to its students
(www.conservatoryc.edu).
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Accreditation
According to Conservatory C’s history, Conservatory C first had its first accreditation by
the National Association of Schools of Music, then Conservatory C received full accreditation
from the Commission on Higher Education of Middle States Association of Colleges and
Schools.
Conservatory D
History
Conservatory D’s goal was to bring high-quality musical training. The school first
offered the bachelor's degree then advanced degree programs soon followed (e.g., Master of
Music Doctor of Musical Arts, Professional Studies Certificate and Artistic Diploma). The
school now enrolled more than 900 students from over 40 countries.
Mission and Vision
The institution’s mission and vision are to committ to excellence in education,
performance, and creative activity. Consevatory D takes full advantage its City’s learning and
performance opportunities, preparing students to become passionate performers, composers and
teachers, as well as contributors to the arts and society (www.conservatoryd.edu).
Accreditation
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Conservatory D is accredited
by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
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Conservatory E
History
Since its establishment in 1867, Conservatory E was a leader in the musical field not only
in its home state, but also in the nation and in the world. According to the Conservatory E’s
history, it experienced many highlights about the conservatory. There were large-scale public
concerts, and an attempt to uniform standards for musical education in American. Conservatory
E expanded its recruitment to Asia and, to this day, East Asia countries like China, Korea, Japan,
and Taiwan are the most significant contributors to Conservatory E’s international enrollment.
Conservatory E offers undergraduate, graduate, and double degree programs.
Mission and Vision
Conservatory E’s mission is to educate and train musicians of all ages from all around the
world. Conservatory E is dedicated to training the highest standards of excellence, and to
nurture individual artistic sensibility and creative growth. (www.conservatorye.edu).
In addition, Conservatory E also believes that studying music builds human capacity,
elevates the soul, and prepares its students to enhance the public good. Conservatory E also
believes that a supportive and collegial learning environment is the key to student success, and
the mutual support among faculty promotes the highest standards of excellence in all areas
(www.conservatorye.edu).
Accreditation
Conservatory E received its accreditation from the New England Association of Schools
and Colleges.
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Conservatory F
History
Conservatory F serves undergraduate and graduate students from 40 different countries.
Alumni of Conservatory F have won countless world renowned awards such as Grammy
Awards, Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, Bessie Awards, Academy Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and
National Medals for the Arts (www.conservatoryf.edu).
Mission and Vision
“The mission of Conservatory F is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education for
gifted musicians, dancers, and actors from around the world and to help them achieve their
fullest potential as artists and leaders (www.conservatoryf.edu).
According to its mission statement posted on the school’s website, and in order to
achieve it, Conservatory F had the following goals: (1) Identify and attract the most talented
young performing artists from around the world; (2) Provide an educational environment that
fosters the artistic, intellectual, and personal growth of its students and prepares them to embark
on successful careers; (3) Continue to advance its educational and artistic standards; (4) Continue
to attract and retain renowned faculty members in all disciplines; (5) Maintain its commitment to
a diverse community; and (6) Provide exemplary arts education programs
(www.conservatoryf.edu).
Accreditation
Conservatory F had accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher
Education.
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Conservatory G
History
Conservatory G offers undergraudate, graduate, postgraduate, and chamber music
programs. Conservatory G are committed to provide extraordinary education to their students
and prepare them for the world (www.conservatoryg.edu).
Mission and Vision
Conservatory G’s mission is to educate exceptionally talented musicians from around the
world to become artists of the highest caliber, as well as preparing them for the challenges of the
twenty-first century. In order to accomplish the school’s mission, Conservatory G offered a
curriculum that not only honor the traditions of classical music but also encourage innovations.
Conservatory G engaged and supported faculty to cultivate individual excellence to promote
collaboration and creative thinking (www.conservatoryg.edu).
Accreditation
Conservatory G received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges and the National Association of Schools of Music.
Theoretical framework: Self-Efficacy
According to Bandura (1986), self-efficacy was defined as individuals’ capability to
organize and execute actions on different types of performances. The self-efficacy theoretical
framework lens was used for classical music professors to examine the factors that influenced
their self-perceived abilities to teach and to investigate their self-perceived confidence on how to
teach/mentor their classical music students. Likewise, the self-efficacy theoretical framework
lens was utilized to examine classical music students’ self-perceived musical capability to be
successful at playing their primary classical musical instruments and completing any related
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 36#
musical courses for their Bachelor of Music degree. In addition, the classical music students’
belief on the importance of mentorship was examined.
Social Cognitive Theory
Bandura and Locke (2003) stated that social cognitive theory is a perspective on which
people function as anticipative, purposive, and self-evaluating proactive regulators of their
motivation and actions. The authors also noted that personal self-efficacy is the most important
and pervasive mechanism of human actions. Bandura (1977) additionally stated that self-
efficacy regulates human functioning through cognitive, motivational, affective, and decisional
processes.
Self-efficacy is concerned with people’s perceived capabilities inferring the term can do
to show judgment of their own capabilities. It is important to distinguish perceived self-efficacy
from other constructs such as self-esteem, locus of control, and outcome expectancies. While
perceived self-efficacy is a judgment of individuals’ own capabilities, self-esteem is a judgment
of self-worth (Bandura, 2006). Locus of control refers to people’s belief of controlling the
events affecting them, either internal or external. Internal locus of control is the belief that
individuals can control their own lives and decisions. External locus of control, on the other
hand, refers to the belief that their decisions and lives are controlled by environmental factors
which beyond their control. When dealing with situations, individuals with strong internal locus
of control tend to praise and/or blame themselves and their abilities. On the contrary, individuals
with strong external locus of control generally tend to praise and/or blame factors outside of their
control (Bandura, 1977). In addition, while self-efficacy is a judgment of individuals’ own
capability to complete given tasks, outcome expectations are judgments about outcomes likely to
flow from the given tasks (Bandura, 1986).
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 37#
According to social cognitive theory, individuals’ choices on either pursuing or avoiding
a certain task depend on how they perceive their personal efficacy. If individuals have high self-
efficacy, they are more likely to embark on the challenges because they believe they have the
competency to do so. Therefore, the stronger the perceived self-efficacy, the more active efforts
individuals put forth. On the other hand, individuals with weak perceived self-efficacy avoid a
certain task because they perceive the requirements of the task are beyond their capabilities
(Bandura, 1977, 1986).
Efficacy Expectations
According to Bandura (1977), efficacy expectation is the belief that individuals can
successfully execute the behavior required to produce any outcomes. Moreover, efficacy
expectations determine how much effort people will spend and how long they will persist in the
face of obstacles and unpleasant experiences. However, it is important to remember that
expectation alone will not produce desired performance if the component capabilities are
lacking. There are three dimensions to efficacy expectations—magnitude, generality, and
strength. The magnitude dimension is when tasks are ordered by level of difficulty, so
individuals’ efficacy expectations may be limited to different levels of difficulties. While some
tasks and experiences are circumscribed, other tasks may have dimensions of generality. Thus,
efficacy expectations vary in strength. When there are weak expectations, they can be easily
destroyed, but if individuals possess strong expectations, they will usually persevere even when
their experiences are disconfirming (Bandura, 1977).
Bandura (1977) further explained four major sources of information pertaining to
expectation of personal self-efficacy. The first source of self-efficacy belief is performance
accomplishment based on personal mastery experiences. Failures that are later overcome by
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 38#
determined effort can reinforce self-motivated persistence if individuals find mastery despite
difficult obstacles and experience. The second source of self-efficacy belief is vicarious
experience. Bandura (1977) noted that seeing and observing the successes and failures of others
are influential, especially those who have limited experience with the given task(s) or individuals
who are uncertain about their abilities. In regards to vicarious experience, Bandura (1977)
explained that people persuade themselves to achieve at least some improvements in
performances if they see their peers having the capabilities to accomplish the same tasks as
themselves. The third source of self-efficacy belief is verbal persuasion. Verbal persuasion
attempts to influence human behavior in threatening situations, and verbal persuasion can have
either positive or negative effects. Individuals are persuaded through suggestions into believing
that they are capable of success even if they failed in the past. Finally, the fourth source of self-
efficacy belief is emotional arousal. Emotional arousal can be used as a mechanism in coping
with threatening situations. Depending on the situation, stimulating emotional arousal may
provide informative values pertaining to personal competency (Bandura, 1977).
Self-Efficacy and Music Students
The higher the students’ self-efficacies are, the more likely they embark on more
challenging tasks. If students have high self-efficacies, then they are more likely to persist, and
this is true in both young children and college students. For example, in McPherson and
McCormick’s (2006) article, “Self-efficacy and Music Performance,” the authors sampled 686
students (446 females and 240 males) from grade one through eight who were completing an
Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). AMEB candidates completed a questionnaire
the day before their examination. The questionnaire employed structural equal modeling (SEM)
as its data analysis form. The authors found that the results showed self-efficacy was the most
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 39#
important predictor of achievement in their research. In addition, Sichivitsa (2007) conducted
research on college choir members by applying Tinto’s model to examine students’ motivations
for persisting in music using four variables: self-concept of musical ability, value of music,
academic integration, and social integration. Results from her study suggested that students who
have more previous musical experience and parental support develop better self-concepts to
musical abilities, find more value in music and are more likely motivated to continue with their
music studies in the future.
Furthermore, Sichivitsa’s (2007) research administered a survey to 130 choir members
who were non-music majors from three different choirs at a large university in the United States.
She used a path analytical model to examine the influences of parent support, previous musical
experience, self-concept in music, teachers and peers, and academic and social integration in
music classes. Data showed that students who are confident in their musical abilities are more
likely to persist in music learning, are more likely to be satisfied with the academic aspects of the
class, and become more motivated to continue music participation.
Limitations on the existing literature are that (1) research was conducted on mostly non-
music majors in higher education, (2) some research was focused on choir students in a group
setting rather than on individual students, and (3) there was limited research related to music
majors. McPherson and McCormick (2006) said, “Given the enormous body of evidence
showing the power of self-efficacy’s influence on academic achievement, it is surprising how
few studies have applied this theoretical framework in music, an area of learning that places
great physical, mental and emotional demands on musicians” (332).
Sichivitsa (2003) also suggested that “more research is needed in the field of music
motivation and persistence to better determine the best ways to recruit and retain students in
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 40#
music programs” (69). Therefore, this current case study sought to understand the perceived
self-efficacies of classical music students who major in classical music performance.
Self-Efficacy and Music Professors
Professors’ roles strongly influence their students’ persistence. Positive professor-student
relationships may aid students to persist and increase their motivations while negative professor-
student experience may hinder students’ willingness to persist. Sichivitsa’s (2007) research
established the fact that professors play a critical role in their students’ lives. A Choir
Participation Survey was administered to 154 choir members who attended a large public
university in the United States. The survey was comprised of two sections in which students
provided answers: (1) demographic information and (2) positive and negative statements that
assessed seven variables using a Likert-type scale. Results showed that students value their
musical experience more if they believe that their professors are competent to teach them. Pitts’s
(2004) study aligned with Sichivitsa’s (2007) study and also indicated the importance of
professors’ roles. Pitts’s (2004) study also sampled amateur musicians at a weeklong summer
school called Contemporary Music-making for Amateurs (COMA). She used qualitative
research methods to investigate three concepts: (1) the general interaction between tutors and
musicians, (2) evaluation of teaching, and (3) motivation and responsibility of musicians. Her
study illustrated that students feel more comfortable and productive in class when they receive
support from their teachers and peers. Similarly, she explained that students are responsive and
appreciative when their professors have knowledge and competencies to match their aspirations
and needs. Furthermore, Barrett’s (2006) research also indicated that professors’ roles are
important because they serve as both academic and social support. Barrett (2006) stated that
cooperation and collaboration between the professor and the student is very crucial, and results
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 41#
verify that professors who provide constructive feedback and also give students emotional
support and encouragement have positive influences on students’ overall motivation to persist
and continue in music learning.
The current body of literature relating to music professors and/or music professors’ self-
efficacies focused mainly on non-music majors. This presented a limitation for the music
education domain and students who majored in classical music performance. Thus, additional
research focused on classical music majors and classical music professors at music
conservatories will provide scholars with more comprehensive knowledge in the classical music
education domain.
Summary
The current existing body of literature mainly was conducted on students’ self-efficacy
and professors’ self-efficacy independently. Research has shown that students with high self-
efficacies tend to take on more challenging tasks and are more likely to persist (McPherson &
McCormick, 2006; Sichivitsa, 2003; 2007). Likewise, research has indicated that music
professors with high self-efficacies tend to positively influence their music students and that they
assist their music students in developing high self-efficacies and in persisting towards degree
completion. Music students who believe their music professors are competent experience
enhancement of their knowledge (Barrett, 2006; Pitts, 2004; Sichivitsa, 2007).
However, research that focused on classical music major students’ self-efficacy and
classical music professors’ teaching self-efficacy is lacking. As result, this case study explored
classical music professors; self-efficacy in teaching and mentoring as well as classical music
students’ self-efficacy in learning and performing at a music conservatory. Classical music
major students’ self-efficacy and classical music professors’ teaching self-efficacy were analyzed
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 42#
individually. The analysis then explored and evaluated which factors influenced classical music
professors’ and classical music students’ self-efficacy. This case study focused on classical
music students majoring in classical music performance and conservatory classical music
professors since research was lacking in this area. This case study also examined the
overarching research question: What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy
in teaching and their self-perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music
students to degree completion? Two sub-questions were also assessed. (a) What factors
influenced classical music students’ self-efficacy in learning and performing their primary
classical musical instrument? (b) What are classical music professors’ and classical music
students’ beliefs on the importance of mentorship?
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 43#
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

From initial quantitative data retrieved from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data Systems), there seemed to be issues of persistence and retention present at the original
seven accredited music conservatories (the eighth conservatory’s data were excluded due to lack
of complete data sets). Current literature showed that music provided many benefits to both
children and adults alike. Several research studies demonstrated the beneficial effects of music
learning, which include improvements in self-discipline, confidence, a sense of achievement,
self-expression, and many others. However, despite the benefits of music and students’ intrinsic
desire to learn, data showed that the enrollment and graduation rates do not align with each other
at some music conservatories. While numerous research studies illustrated how music can
enhance children’s social and academic lives, only a scarcity of research studies focused on
music in higher education. One lacking area regarded the classical music professor-classical
music student mentorship in higher music education. Another lacking area regarded classical
music professors’ teaching self-efficacy that specifically focused on classical music professors
working in the higher education setting. Furthermore, research on classical music students’ self-
efficacy in higher education setting that focused on classical music major students was also
lacking. Thus, the purpose of this case study was to examine the classical music professors’ and
classical music students’ self-efficacy mentorship at independent music conservatories by
focusing on the classical music domain.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 44#
Research Questions
The following research question and sub questions formed the basis for this case study:
What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self
perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to degree
completion?
Sub Question a: What factors influenced classical music students’ self-efficacy in
learning and performing their primary classical musical instrument?
Sub Question b: What are classical music professors’ and classical music students’
beliefs on the importance of mentorship?
Research Design
This research study was designed as a case study that utilized a mixed method of
research. A survey determined the classical music students’ self-efficacy and their perceived
relationship with their primary classical instrument music professor. The classical music
students were administered a 20-question survey and two open-ended questions. The survey
instrument, developed by Laura Ritchie and Aaron Williamson in 2010, examined the specific
nature of self-efficacy beliefs within music. In addition, a semi-structured self-efficacy interview
was conducted to examine classical music professors’ teaching self-efficacy and their perceived
relationship/mentorship with their music students. Created by David B. Morris and Ellen L.
Usher in 2010, this semi-structured, self-efficacy interview protocol assessed award-winning
research professors’ teaching self-efficacy.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 45#
Case Study
The research method of empirical study took the form of a case study. According to
Merriam (2009), a case study consists of in-depth description and analysis of a particular entity.
In terms of this research, the case study is on Conservatory E. Merriam (2009) also stated that a
case study does not employ any particular method for data collection or data analysis, and
therefore, all methods of gathering data can be used. As result, this case study utilized a mixed
method of research.
Mixed Methods
A mixed method is a combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Research problems have the potential to morph into research questions, and sample sizes can
vary according to the methods used. Thus, data collection can include multiple research
techniques, and interpretation can be continual and influential at different stages in the research
process. As a result, mixed methods research integrates both quantitative and qualitative data
collection. Mixed methods overcome the limitations of a single research design because they
address the theoretical perspective and research questions at different levels and explore a
phenomenon. There are many strengths to the mixed methods approach. It tends to be useful
when unexpected results arise, it can help to generalize the qualitative data to a certain degree,
and it may be useful when designing and validating an instrument. Overall the main goal of
mixed methods research is to provide a more complete understanding of the research problem
(Creswell, 2014).
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 46#
Quantitative Method
Quantitative research methods were originally developed and utilized in the natural
sciences to study natural phenomena. In education, quantitative research methods can include
surveys, laboratory experiments, econometrics, and numerical methods. The quantitative method
usually measures the relationship between two or more variables. Surveys provide a numerical
description of attitudes, opinions, or trends of a population by studying a sample of that
population (Creswell, 2014). For this case study, survey questionnaires were administered to
classical music students at Conservatory E. Music students were asked to answer survey
questionnaires in the form of scales and short answers.
Qualitative Method
Unlike quantitative research design in which researchers determine the cause and effect
of certain things or uncover the world with variables and numbers, qualitative research design
was created to understand how people interpret their experiences, how they make meaning of
their experiences, and how they construct their world (Merriam, 2009, p. 5). Therefore, in order
to understand the experiences and factors that influenced the perceived self-efficacies of classical
music professor, it was natural to choose the qualitative method as the research design.
The interview method is a way of collecting data. Data collection is a process in which
the researcher and participant engage in a conversation focused on the questions related to the
research study. Although there are many types of interviews, the most common form of
interview is person-to-person. The interview method was a way to understand past events
experienced by the participants that were impossible to replicate. In addition, the interview is a
way to understand people’s behaviors, feelings, or interpretations of the world around them
(Merriam, 2009).
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 47#
For this case study, the interview method was employed. Interviews were administered
to the classical music professors so that their thoughts, reasoning, and experiences related to their
teaching self-efficacy and their classical music students could be explored. Interviews were very
important in this case study because the interview method allowed an understanding of the
classical music professors’ perceived self-efficacies on a deeper level. During the interview
process, observing the music professors’ facial expressions and body language further
strengthened the results of the interviews. Observing the classical music professors provided
more authentic data because their actions and expressions were mostly unconscious and
unsystematic. As Merriam (2009) stated, since unconscious actions could not be masked, the
results tended to be trustworthy. Observing the music professors in addition to the interviews
allowed triangulation of the collected data and, thus, increased the authenticity of the data
(Maxwell, 2013; Merriam, 2009). Therefore, observing the music professors during person-to-
person interviews was as equally important as the interviews alone.
Sample and Population
Sampling
The specific sampling and sampling size vary depending on the research question and
framing of the research question (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam, 2009). An adequate sampling size
effectively depends on the research question being studied, and data should be collected until no
more new data can be found (Merriam, 2009). For this case study, unique sample; convenience
sample, and snowball, chain, or network sampling were used. A unique sample is based on
uniqueness of the phenomenon of interest (Merriam, 2009). In this case, Conservatory E was
unique because it was one of the only eight independent music conservatories in the United
States. According to IPEDS, Conservatory E showed an average graduation rate that ranked in
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 48#
the middle of its peer institutions’. As a result of its uniqueness and in order to eliminate any
outliers, Conservatory E was chosen for this case study. Convenience sampling and snowball
sampling were used for the interview process. Merriam (2009) noted that researchers who
choose convenience sample selection do so because it takes many factors into consideration (e.g.,
time, money, location, availability of sites or respondents). When finding classical music
professors for interviews, the researcher conducted interviews depending on the classical music
professors’ availability. Then, the snowball sampling selection method was employed. This
strategy involved the interviewer asking each interviewee for referrals, meaning asking the
interviewee whom else to talk with. Thus, the snowball grew bigger and bigger, resulting in new
information and richer data. Therefore, each Conservatory E classical music professor agreed to
the interview was asked to refer two more potential participants (other classical music
professors) in order to accumulate more interviewees.
Conservatory E
There were a total of eight stand-alone music conservatories in the United States.
However, since the eighth conservatory did not have a complete data set, it was eliminated, and
only the original seven conservatories’ data sets were used in the initial data collection. A stand-
alone music conservatory is an independent music conservatory, unattached to a larger
institution, with independent accreditation. All of these music conservatories had similar
profiles. They were all 4-year, private and not-for-profit universities, and both bachelor’s and
master’s degrees were offered at all the conservatories.
According to the IPEDS data, Conservatory E’s undergraduate student population was
about 431 with a 5 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio. Conservatory E was a 4-year, not-for-profit
institution that offered a Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Music degree. For this case
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 49#
study, Conservatory E was the primary source of data collection. Since the goal of this case
study was to determine the positive factors contributing to higher graduation rates at
Conservatory E, classical music students and music professors of Conservatory E were studied.
Instrumentation
The data on music students and music professors were collected via two methods. The
quantitative portion of this case study utilized an online survey website called “Qualtrics” to
administer 20 survey questions to all of the classical music students at Conservatory E. Two
open-ended questions were also asked on the survey. This survey instrument was developed by
Laura Ritchie and Aaron Williamon in 2010 to examine self-efficacy beliefs within the music
education field. Emails were sent to the authors of the original study, Laura Ritchie and Aaron
Williamon, who granted permission before data collection began. The qualitative portion of this
case study used in-person interviews with the classical music professors at Conservatory E. This
semi-structured, self-efficacy interview protocol was created by David B. Morris and Ellen L.
Usher in 2010 to assess award-winning research professors’ teaching self-efficacy by
incorporating Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory. Permission from David B. Morris and
Ellen L. Usher was also obtained via email before the data collection began.
Theoretical Framework: Self-Efficacy
In considering the theoretical framework to incorporate in this case study, the researcher
explored existing research studies related to classical music and self-efficacy. When the
researcher obtained the data needed to explore the research question and sub-questions, she
examined Bandura’s (1986) self-efficacy theory. According to Bandura (1986), self-efficacy is
one’s own capability to execute an action to attain certain types of performances. McPherson
and McCormick (2006) incorporated Bandura’s (1977) approach to measure self-efficacy within
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 50#
the music domain. The authors examined five questions about the area of Australian Music
Examinations Board (AMEB), namely technical work, sight-reading, musical pieces, aural
ability, and general musical knowledge. The participants responded on an 11-point scale,
ranging in 10-units from 0 percent to 100 percent which measured self-efficacy. They responded
on a five-point scale: never, rarely, sometimes, often, every practice to indicate the different
types of activities and their frequencies. In addition, Ritchie and Williamson (2010) created a
self-efficacy measurement tool to test and validate musicians’ self-efficacy beliefs. A sample of
250 music students participated in this study, and they responded to two surveys using a seven-
point Likert-type scale. Results showed that the authors’ study confirmed Bandura’s (1977) self-
efficacy theory that students who have higher self-efficacy beliefs perform and learn better than
those with lower self-efficacy. Furthermore, a cohort of 12 associate and full professors from
five universities in the United States was studied to examine their teaching self-efficacy. These
professors were chosen because they were employed at research universities and they had
received recognition for excellence in teaching at the time of this research. Morris and Usher
(2010) developed semi-structured interview questions through Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy
framework. The results were positive in terms of confirming that professors’ self-efficacies
involved all four sources of self-efficacy, namely mastery experiences, vicarious experiences,
social persuasions, and physiological and affective states.
In taking previous research into consideration, this case study adopted the self-efficacy
instrument developed by Laura Ritchie and Aaron Williamson in 2010 with the authors’
permission to examine classical music students’ attitudes toward classical music performance
and classical music learning. As for measuring classical music professors’ teaching self-
efficacy, this case study adopted the semi-structured self-efficacy interview protocol created by
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 51#
David B. Morris and Ellen L. Usher.
Research Question
The following overarching research question and sub-questions derived from the
literature review of music education and self-efficacy within music. The research was lacking
regarding music education in a higher education setting related to self-efficacy of classical music
students and self-efficacy of classical music professors. As a result, the following research
question and the sub-question were examined.
What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self
perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to degree
completion?
Sub Question a: What factors influenced classical music students’ self-efficacy in
learning and performing their primary classical musical instrument?
Sub Question b: What are classical music professors’ and classical music students’
beliefs on the importance of mentorship?
Survey Protocol and Interview Protocol
This case study adopted two self-efficacy measuring instruments–surveys and interviews.
Surveys assessed classical music students’ self-efficacy while interviews examined classical
music professors’ teaching self-efficacy.
Survey Protocol
Self-efficacy survey questionnaires were developed by Laura Ritchie and Aaron
Williamson in 2010 to examine the specific nature of self-efficacy beliefs in the music domain.
Questionnaires were made up of two short surveys. One survey was titled “Attitudes Toward
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 52#
Specific Musical Performance Activity 1” (see Appendix A). This survey was composed of an
11-item self-efficacy test that examined musical learning. The questionnaire employed a 7-point
scale: 1 = Not at all sure (0%) and 7 = Completely sure (100%). The other survey was titled
“Attitudes Toward Specific Musical Performance Activities 2” (see Appendix B). The 9-item
survey assessed self-efficacy for musical performing with a 7-point Likert-type rating scale - 1 =
much less ability to 7 = excellent ability.
Ritchie and Williamson (2010) developed these self-efficacy surveys by incorporating
Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy framework to specifically target music students. The authors
sampled 250 music students from the Royal College of Music (RCM) and the University of
Chichester (UoC). There were a total of 117 men (RCM = 32 and UoC = 85) and 133 women
(RCM = 45 and UoC = 88) between the age of 18 and 51 (mean = 22.62 years, SD = 5.547, SE =
.632). The music students played a variety of musical instruments: piano, voice, strings,
woodwind, brass, and percussion, and the authors noted that the performance standards and
expectations different from the students at the university and the students attending the
conservatory. Therefore, these differences may have been reflected in the students’ self-efficacy
scores. The 250 music students participated in two surveys: (1) a survey that tested their music
learning abilities and (2) another survey that tested their musical performing abilities. These
students also self-rated their musical skills. (See Appendix C)
Reverse-coding and summative scores of learning and performing were calculated. To
establish the internal reliability of the self-efficacy scale and to examine its stability over time,
the authors utilized Cronbach’s alpha as their measurement tool. The learning scale was ∝ = .82
and performance scale was ∝ = .76. Both scales were above the commonly accepted coefficients
of .70. In order to investigate the validity of the questionnaires, the authors chose to employ
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 53#
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The results of the analysis showed differences in self-
efficacy for musical learning between university and conservatory students, but data suggested
that performing self-efficacy was similar for both groups of students. The overall result showed
that self-efficacy for musical performing correlated with students’ perceived abilities.
This case study adopted Ritchie and Williamson’s (2010) survey questionnaires with one
minor modification. The authors spelled the word “practicing” in its English form ‘”practising”
because their research was conducted in England. Since this case study was intended for
American audiences, the American form of the word “practicing” was used. Other than the
spelling of the word, everything else in the survey questionnaires remained the same; however,
for this case study, the two survey questionnaires were combined into a single survey
questionnaire.
Interview Protocol
David B. Morris and Ellen L. Usher (2010) developed the “Semi-structure Self-efficacy
Interview for Teachers” protocol. This qualitative method was designed to explore the
professors’ experiences on a deeper level rather than through simplistic answers. The authors
applied Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory and replaced the concept of “self-efficacy” with
the phrase “confidence in your ability” in their interview protocol (see Appendix D). The
authors investigated the sources of teaching self-efficacy among professors recognized for their
excellence in teaching and employed at research universities. Twelve professors participated in
this study—six women and six men at the associate or full professor level. These 12 participants
were from five universities in the southeastern United States.
The authors first identified five universities that focused heavily on research, and then
they identified professors who had received at least two university-wide teaching awards. Next,
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 54#
they verified these professors and invited them to participate in their study via phone call or
email. They contacted these professors incrementally until they had reached the desired sample
for their study. The professors were interviewed twice. The first interview was an in-person
interview that lasted about 90 minutes. The second interview was conducted over the phone for
about 20 minutes to clarify any unclear answers. The interviews were then transcribed verbatim
and analyzed with nine codes, namely Mastery Experiences, Vicarious Experiences, Social
Persuasions, Physiological and Affective States, Alternative Sources, Sensitive Development
periods, Interpretation Heuristic, Most Powerful Source, Other Sources. The authors then
created a single-case matrix for each code. Results from the interviews identified that positive
evaluation and feedback from their students also increased their level of self-efficacy. Some
professors also indicated that negative experiences could be positive influences as well.
Vicarious experience also played an important role in their level of self-efficacy. Overall, the
result of the authors’ study concluded that the higher the teaching self-efficacy the professors
had, the more confident they were.
The interview protocol for this case study adopted Morris and Usher’s (2010) “Semi-
structure Self-efficacy Interview for Teachers.” However, minor changes were made in order for
the interview protocol to appropriately fit the profile of classical music professors at a
conservatory (see Appendix E).
The interview method utilized more open-ended questions, and with this type of
interview, the wording of the questions was more flexible (Merriam, 2009). Nevertheless,
Merriam stated that even with a less structured interview protocol, there was still a list of
questions that guided the interview, and those questions were usually determined ahead of time.
With semi-structured interview method, a list of questions was predetermined before the
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 55#
interview, and those questions were used as guiding questions. This way, when conducting the
interviews, the interviewer’s word choices could be more flexible. Additionally, with a semi-
structured format, the interviewer had the freedom of adding and subtracting questions from the
interview as necessary. In addition to the pre-determined guiding questions, probes were used to
seek more in-depth information. As Merriam explained, probes or follow-up questions were
ways to seek more information or clarity about what the interviewee has just said. This method
allowed the interviewer to obtain more comprehensive answers.
During the actual interviews, the predetermined questions guided its flow. It was
important that the interviewees felt that they had the freedom to be open about what they wanted
to express. By providing the classical music professors the liberty as to how to answer the
questions, they were more comfortable and willing to share their experiences.
Data Collection
Data collection for this case study occurred in three steps.
Step 1: The initial data collection was retrieved from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data Systems).
Step 2: Data on classical music students of Conservatory E was collected from online survey
questionnaires.
Step 3: Data on classical music professors was collected from the in-person interviews of the
classical music professors at Conservatory E.
Initial Data Collection
The initial data collection used the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems
(IPEDS) to retrieve data on the original seven music conservatories of the United States. The
IPEDS Data Center provided basic data needs for the desired institution(s). Data such as basic
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 56#
institution information, institution prices, enrollment rate, program completions, graduation rates,
financial aids, etc. could all be obtained from the IPEDS Data Center. Initial data were also
collected from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a part of the Institute for
Education Science within the U.S. Department of Education. Basic information, enrollment
rates, and graduation rates of the seven music conservatories of the United States were collected
from IPEDS.
Survey Questionnaires & Interview
Classical music students of Conservatory E were asked to participate in an online survey.
The answers these music students provided through the survey were collected as data and later
analyzed. Similarly, the interviews with classical music professors of Conservatory E were
collected as data sets. With the permission of the music professors, interviews were recorded,
and data collected on the audio recorder were later transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed.
Survey Questionnaires. Before the researcher disseminated the online survey
questionnaires to classical music students of Conservatory E, the Dean of Conservatory E was
contacted with the help of the researcher’s dissertation committee member. The nature of this
study was explained to the dean, the survey questionnaire was approved, and permission was
granted before disseminating the survey questionnaire to the classical music students of
Conservatory E. In order to attract participation, classical music students of Conservatory E had
a chance to win one of four Starbucks gift cards valued at $25 each if they participated and
completed the survey questionnaire. The goal was to achieve in excess of a 50% participation
rate.

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 57#
Interviews. Similarly, with the help of the researcher’s dissertation committee member,
permission to contact classical music professors of Conservatory E was granted. Once the initial
contact was made, the process of obtaining interviews became easier. After getting permission
from the first classical music professor, the researcher utilized the snowball sampling technique.
Each classical music professor who agreed to the interview was asked to refer two more classical
music professors who believed would participate. The goal for the interviews was to obtain an
equal percentage of participation from all classical music departments: piano department (16%),
string department (16%), brass department (16%), woodwind department (16%), percussion
department (16%), and voice department (16%). On the day of the interview, the nature of this
study was explained to each participating classical music professor, and each signed a consent
form before the interview was conducted and audio recorded. To show the researcher’s
appreciation of these professors, each interviewed professor was offered a $25 Starbucks gift
card as a thank you for their time and willingness to participate.
Data Analysis
Data analysis explored the information collected from the in-person interviews with the
classical music professors and from the student online survey questionnaires. The numeric
answers on the survey were quantitatively analyzed, and the two open-ended question responses
were coded just as the interviews were coded.
Interviews were first transcribed verbatim into Word documents and then an open coding
format was used to code the transcriptions. The empirical code method was utilized because this
format was inductive (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014). Coding exact words from the
interviews survey questionnaires painted a picture of the music students and music professors’
thoughts and experiences. Here, the qualitative research method was appropriate because it
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 58#
examined beneath the surface and dug deep into the classical music students and classical music
professors’ minds. From their expressions, their choice of language, and their body language,
stories emerged (Merriam, 2009).
Before the actual analyzation occurred, a general code book was created to better assist
with the coding process. The initial coding process for the interviews was done in three steps:
(1) Transcribing the interview from the audio recording verbatim,
(2) Reading the transcribed document twice to fully understand the contents of the interviews
before making any markings, and
(3) Coding the document with different colors, each representing a different idea on self-
efficacy.
If repetitions of ideas occurred multiple times, these occurrences were assigned to a
corresponding color. For example, words, phrases, sentences, and/or paragraphs that described
the music professors’ teaching confidence were marked with one color, while ideas representing
the classical music professor-music student relationship/mentorship were marked with a different
color. The coding of the two open-ended survey questions’ responses had a similar process as
the coding of the interviews. The qualitative method was important here because for this case
study, quantitative method alone would not explain the meanings behind the experiences of these
music students and music professors (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam, 2009).
After the completion of the initial coding process of each interview, all interviews were
checked against each other to determine their similarities and differences. Likewise, each survey
was checked against each other to note any similarities and differences. An Excel workbook was
created to meticulously document all components of the analysis. Inductive codes were then
employed from examining the data (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014).
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 59#
Credibility, Trustworthiness, and Ethics
Having credibility, trustworthiness, and ethics required being open, upfront, and
transparent about all aspects of this study. Communication was very important because it
removed the uncertainties from the equation. As Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014)
described, a deep understanding was crucial for validity, making sense, uncovering any emerging
descriptive stories from the research, and interpreting the stories and their significance to the
people involved.
Additionally, honesty and truthfulness to oneself and the people involved in research
studies ensured that this case study was ethical. Therefore, it was important to ask for
permission before conducting any interviews, administering survey questionnaires, and audio
recording the interviews. Before the music students began answering the survey questions and
before interviewing music professors, it was vital to fully explain the nature of this study. This
way, all stakeholders were fully aware of the reasons behind it, and they knew that the
information they provided was solely used for the purpose of this case study. Only when trust
was established were the participants more likely to be honest with their answers (Miles,
Huberman, & Saldana, 2014).
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 60#
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
In this chapter, the results of the data analysis are presented. The data sets were collected
in two parts and thus are presented in two parts. Part one is the qualitative data set from in-
person interviews conducted with the classical music professors at Conservatory E. Part two is
the quantitative data set from Conservatory E’s students who were invited to participate in the
short online survey. Using Bandura’s (1977) self-efficacy theory, the researcher analyzed the
data results using the four sources of self-efficacy expectations: performance accomplishment,
vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Examples of each source are
revealed.
The overarching research question for this study was: What factors influenced classical
music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self perceived self-efficacy on how to
teach/mentor their classical music students to degree completion? The sub questions examined
(1) the factors that influenced classical music students’ self-efficacy in learning and performing
their primary classical musical instrument and (2) the classical music professors’ and classical
music students’ beliefs on the importance of mentorship.
Qualitative Data Set
Participants
A total of six music professors at Conservatory E were interviewed (four men, two
women). They represented a variety of instruments including piano, oboe, French horn, trumpet,
viola, and double bass. All of the music professors were interviewed in person. A semi-
structured interview protocol with a series of guiding questions was employed, and each
interview lasted about 30-60 minutes. Pseudonyms were used to protect the identities of the six
classical music professors.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 61#
The Six Classical Music Professors
A short biography is presented for each of the six classical music professors interviewed
at Conservatory E. The information presented was gathered from both Conservatory E’s website
and from the interviews. The summary of each professor’s background provides the reader with
an idea of their teaching experiences.
Professor Robert is a piano professor at Conservatory E. He is an accomplished pianist
who has performed (solo and with orchestras) all over the world. Although he has experience
teaching young children, he mainly focuses on college level teaching, which he has done for
most of his career. He teaches one-on-one piano lessons, courses in chamber music, and classes
in analysis. He joined the Conservatory E faculty right after graduate school, and he has decades
of teaching experiences.
Professor Michael is an oboe professor at Conservatory E, and he is also a member of the
oboe section in many distinguished symphony orchestras. He not only has performed
internationally but also taught in many well-known music festivals. Even though Professor
Michael has taught high school students, a large share of his teaching is either undergraduate or
graduate students. In addition, he has taught orchestral techniques to students in a classroom
setting.
Professor Christine has many orchestra experiences. As a member of the brass section in
many orchestras all over the United States, her instrument is the French Horn. Prior to accepting
a position at Conservatory E, Professor Christine also taught very young kids, young children at
elementary and high school levels, and students at the college and graduate levels.
Professor Edward is not only a classical trumpet player, a classical musician; he is also an
expert on jazz and popular music. Professor Edward has been a member of several distinguished
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 62#
symphony orchestras in the United States, and he has been invited to perform both domestically
and internationally. Professor Edward came from a family of teachers and professors so it was
natural for him to become a professor himself. He has mostly taught college-level students
although occasionally, he taught a few high school students.
Professor Michelle has been a viola faculty member of Conservatory E for more than 15
years. Professor Michelle has taught undergraduate and graduate students one-on-one lessons.
She also also taught in chamber music setting, and classroom setting. Professor Michelle has
experiences in teaching as well as performing experiences in orchestra and chamber music.
Professor Paul has performed the double bass with numerous famous symphony
orchestras in the United States. Prior to teaching at Conservatory E, professor Paul taught in
New York and Connecticut. His primary focus is teaching students at the college level, and he
has always taught one-on-one lessons.

Table 4.
Classical Music Professors’ Backgrounds
Pseudonym Field Gender Race
Years at
Conservatory E

Orchestra
Experience

Robert Piano Male White >35 Yes
Michael Oboe Male White >15 Yes
Christine French Horn Female White < 5 Yes
Edward Trumpet Male White >15 Yes
Michelle Viola Female Asian >15 Yes
Paul Double Bass Male White >20 Yes

Table 4 shows a summary of the classical music professors’ backgrounds. This table
provides an overview of the classical music professors who participated in the interviews. This
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 63#
table summarizes the instrument they teach, their gender, race, years worked at Conservatory E,
and whether or not they have had orchestra experiences.
The in-person interview data were collected and analyzed to answer the overarching
research question: What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching
and their self perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to
degree completion? The interviews also attempted to answer the first part of sub question b:
What are the classical music professors’ and classical music students’ beliefs on the importance
of mentorship? The interview data were analyzed utilizing Bandura’s (1977) Self-efficacy:
Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change. The efficacy expectation derives from four
categories: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, and emotional
arousal.
Overarching Research Question: What Factors Influenced Classical Music Professors’
Self-Efficacy in Teaching and Their Self Perceived Self-Efficacy on How to Teach/Mentor
Their Classical Music Students to Degree Completion?
The first part of the orverarching research question regarding the factors that infuenced
classical music professors’ teaching self-efficacy was analyzed using Bandura’s (1977) self-
efficacy theory which involved four sources of self-efficacy expectations: performance
accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal.
Performance Accomplishments
Bandura explained that this source of efficacy is extremely influential because it is based
on personal mastery experiences (1977). In this research, interview results show that
performance accomplishments play a prominent role in classical music professor’s self-perceived
self-efficacy in teaching. Classical music professors believe that they have the confidence in
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 64#
performing and teaching their instruments and thus, they have the knowledge to pass it on to
their students. When asked about the music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching, all music
professors mentioned mastery of pedagogical skills and performance exposure are two of the
most powerful influences on their confidence. Examples of performance accomplishments
include Professor Christine who believes that she has made the correct decision and has the
confidence to teach at the college level. Similarly, Professors Paul, Michelle, and Robert started
teaching almost right after graduate school, and throughout the years, with progressive
experiences, they all have become more confident in their teaching. In addition, all classical
music professors believe that performance exposures enable them to further master their crafts.
Professor Edward also mentioned that being a teacher runs in his family:
I’m a natural teacher, meaning that my father was a teacher, my mother was a teacher,
my brother is a teacher, he’s a college professor, and my mom is a college professor. All
my aunts and uncles and cousins are teachers, so I guess it's genetic with me (Edward,
personal communication, February 11, 2016).

Moreover, classical music professors also believe that their self-efficacy in teaching not
only comes from their understanding of their instruments but also the cumulative experiences.
All the classical music professors now focus mainly on college-level students, but most of them
have taught younger students/children at some point in their teaching careers, and what they have
learned from that experiences further boosted their confidence in teaching at a conservatory
level. Table 5 shows a list of quotes from the interviews relating to performance
accomplishments and the commonly identified sources.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 65#
Table 5
Commonly-identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors
Performance
Accomplishments
1. Mastery of
pedagogical
skills
"I really stress that you really have
to be technically very, very well
prepared to move on into
becoming a great musician." - Paul
Confidence

"I'm very confident of my ability
to teach the mechanics of the
oboe, how to play the oboe." -
Michael
Performance
exposure

"I have all this experience of
performing and teaching that I’m
far beyond what they are going
through.” - Michelle

"I'm very good at teaching young
people how to play the oboe." -
Michael
Encouraging
students

"The way that I look at it, it's not
the aiming for the job, it's about
learning the greatest of the music,
and therefore you learn everything
through music." - Michelle

"...I was giving that confidence…I
think that taught me also how
important it is to build confidence
and self-esteem in my student." -
Paul

"I can teach anybody, anything." -
Paul

"I feel very comfortable teaching,
if somebody comes with a list for
an audition, and they want to just
play it. I feel comfortable doing
that." - Christine

"I'm an natural teacher." - Edward

"In terms of my understanding of
the subject, 10. In terms of my
experience, 10." - Edward

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 66#
Table 5
Commonly identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors

2. Performance
exposure
"Yeah I still play. I'm still a player.
I'm not just a teacher, I play all the
time." - Paul

"I feel like boosted my energy was
that whenever I had an opportunity
to promote myself, outside of the
quartet, like do the solo, this, that,
it suddenly felt like it boosted my
performance energy. That helped
my teaching also because I was
talking from the actual experience
of doing." - Michelle

Vicarious Experiences
Vicarious experiences are earned from watching, studying, observing, or living through
someone else’s experiences (Bandura, 1977). In this research, interview results showed that all
music professors highly value these vicarious experiences because they believe they assisted
them to become more confident in their self-efficacy of teaching. Music professors’ vicarious
experiences include learning pedagogical skills by observations, having great mentors
themselves, and comparing themselves to others and their colleagues. Professor Robert provided
one of the most descriptive accounts of vicarious experience:
Well, I can’t think [of] one in particular, but of course, we do learn from our own
mentors, both positively and negatively. I had a fantastic main adult teacher, and I had
very wonderful childhood teachers also. I was very lucky. My childhood teacher was
very creative. She was always discovering new things herself, so one summer she took
modern dance classes, and she also started accompanying modern dance, and she thought
improvisation was a great thing. For modern dance she had me doing improvisation, and
taught me a little bit about how to do it for dancer, and I had a job at the age of 13 or14, a
couple of hours, [a] few hours a week accompanying modern dance. It was a great
experience because it got me thinking about music as gesture: where, how music conveys
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 67#
tension and release. And then another time, she thought it would be wonderful to take
drum lessons, for me to take drum lessons as a way to be more adaptive at rhythmic
pattern. So I did that for a while. She was very creative, and always. She didn’t think of
herself just as a piano teacher…. It’s music and it was also extending out to the world
(personal communication, February 11, 2016).
Professor Michael, who expressed the importance of the relationship between self-efficacy and
vicarious experience, stated:
I never realized, when I was an overenthusiastic 19-, 20-year-old, to what degree my
teacher was a near godlike figure. He was ramrod straight. He was a man of a different
era. He had been in the Second World War, so he's still half soldier, and even played
principle oboe in Philadelphia for 30 years. He was definitely a force to be reckoned
with. There's no danger that my students will think of me as a godlike figure. I do think
that I try not only to teach them how to play an etude cleanly, expressively, beautifully,
but more than that, almost to say, "I can do this. I can play this etude so that it's OK, or I
can play this etude so that it's perfect, or I can play it as absolutely well as I possibly can
play it today (personal communication, February 11, 2016).
Not only did the classical music professors have great mentors themselves, but they also gained
vicarious experiences and built up their self-efficacy by observing others and compared
themselves to others and to their colleagues. Professor Christine said, “Realizing that the issues
that I was struggling with, having to do with responsibility for a student and efficacy are
universal. Everybody struggles with it….” Similarly, Michelle explained, “Yes. I have gained
confidence by watching a lot of people's master classes, and I have gained so much confidence
by them struggling to find the words, and I’m like, “It’s not just me.” It gives you a lot of
confidence, confidence not because they did badly, but because everybody is in the same shoe.”
Table 6 shows a list of quotes from the interviews relating to vicarious experiences and the
commonly identified sources.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 68#
Table 6
Commonly identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors
Vicarious
experiences
1. Learning
pedagogical skills
by observations
"Yes. I have gained confidence
by watching a lot of people's
master classes…" - Michelle
Model similarity

"...I think that's part of being a
good teacher and it comes from
just being sensitive and aware of
where the other person's at." -
Edward
Model influence

"My childhood teacher was very
creative...So one summer she
took modern dance classes, and
she also started accompanied
modern dance, and she thought
improvisation was a great thing,
for modern dance so she had me
doing improvisation, and taught
me a little bit about how to do it
for dancer…." – Robert
"I was blessed to have an
extraordinarily good teacher
myself, legendary good teachers.
As a result, I've figured out
between his teaching and
mine…I have figured out how to
fix or repair, direct or
accomplish various things that
an oboist has to be able to do." –
Michael
"I had a fantastic main adult
teacher. I had very wonderful
childhood teachers also." -
Edward

2. Had great
mentors
"I had a lot of confidence
because my teachers always told
me I could do anything I wanted
to." - Paul

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 69#
Table 6
Commonly identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors

"I had a teacher who was the old professor
at University of Michigan, who was
retired…He's kind of what I always think
of as a great teacher. He's kind of what I
think of as a teacher who has a plan." -
Christine

"I had a fantastic main adult teacher. I had
very wonderful childhood teachers also." -
Edward

“… I only got through it because I had big
mentors, who let me talk through my
problems. I like to be that person who they
can go to. I feel like so far that’s
succeeded.” - Michelle

3. Comparisons
of oneself to
others/colleagues
"I would always make myself available as
a teacher who is on-call, that they can talk
to me if anything happens." - Michelle

"I have gained so much confidence by
them struggling to find the words, and I'm
like, "It's not just me." - Michelle

"Realizing that the issues that I was
struggling with, having to do with
responsibility for a student and efficacy are
universal. Everybody struggles with it…"
- Christine

…but what I noticed is in his master
class…he just watches. What he's doing is
he's trying to get the nonverbal
communication that we all give off and tell
where that person's head is…I do the same
thing…" - Edward

"Well, I think experience is what helps you
become more confident. Over the years,
dealing with different situation, and
different, different individuals, different
personality types, different ways of
learning, you, you become experience in,
in how to deal with those people, those
different situations." - Robert

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 70#
Verbal Persuasions
Verbal persuasion is another point explained by Bandura who indicated that verbal
persuasion could take many forms such as student comments (both formal and informal), student
devaluations, information about the music professor’s teaching skills, and the outcomes of their
teaching. Interview data analysis showed that most of the music professors felt a boost of
confidence in their self-efficacy of teaching when their students have successful
accomplishments no matter how big or small the accomplishments. One example that validates
verbal persuasions indeed boost classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching was
explained by Professor Michelle:
You see a lot of potential and you see a lot of problems …. When they're feeling
uncomfortable, they can't express their music fully, because they're feeling like not
themselves. I've seen and witnessed it in the lessons also. There was this student who I
had for four years now and going on fifth year next year. She is an amazing person and it
feels like if her confidence level is diminished from where she should be, she can't
perform as well. Once I get that back on, it's like the same person in the same lessons
totally sounds 5,000 times better…. That's where I feel like I can help (personal
communication, February 11, 2016).

Interview data analysis also showed that students’ positive feedbacks did have an effect on music
professors’ self-perceived self-efficacy in teaching. One positive feedback came from Professor
Edward, who stated that “[a] lot of my students say, have said, especially after they're done
studying, and they say like, ‘Oh, when I come into a lesson I just get so much energy from you’.
… Teaching actually gives me energy …. I think my students get that energy, that it helps
them.” Professor Robert also indicated in his interview that communicating with the students is
another way to receive informal feedback from them, and no matter what kind of feedback
students give or receive, they can be beneficial to both the students and the music professor.
Professor Robert said:
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 71#
And I explained that, if they get frustrated or if they are not satisfied with their progress
or I’m not … we may talk about their practicing, [and ask them] “How have you been
practicing?” “Do you feel discouraged?” “Do you feel motivated?” “Maybe something
about me?” “Do you want to change teachers?” “Maybe you are too used to me.” “Maybe
you need a different approach now, or just a new excitement of personality in your life.” I
always ask that question because I don’t want anyone just to stay with me because they
are afraid to move on …. I sometimes encourage them to leave my studio after 4 years
because I think change is healthy…. (personal communication, February 11, 2016)
These data showed that both positive and negative feedback has the potential to boost the music
professors’ confidence level. Table 7 includes a list of quotes from the interview relating to
verbal persuasions and the commonly identified sources.

Table 7.
Commonly identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors
Verbal
persuasions
1. Student
comments
"Just go around and mentor. My student seems very
happy with that, because he's expressed that he
hasn't had teachers that have had a long-term plan
for him. He seems happy about how things are
going." - Christine
Feeling of a
sense of
helpfulness

"A lot of my students say…"Oh, when I come into a
lesson I just get so much energy from you" -
Edward
Positive/
Negative
student
achievement

"One of my students said to me in a lesson one time.
He got frustrated with something that I said. He
said, "Don't you know that you're like God to us?"
To me that's wrong. No, I'm not God, but then I had
to realize, yes, that's part of it…" - Edward

2. Student
achievements
"…I've witnessed so many times with a student.
Sometimes, when you see a student and they're not
progressing, all you see is not well. But we have to
look at where they're coming from and oftentimes
their background is why they sound the way they
do. That's where I feel like I can help." - Michelle

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 72#
Table 7
Commonly identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors

"I do enjoy working with the students, and I
enjoy seeing them becoming my professional
colleagues. It's really very, very satisfying."
- Paul

"A friend of mine…he's living out in Oregon
now. He went to a concert there, and he was
looking at the bass player, and he said, "That
guy had to study with Paul". He went up to
him, and it was one of my student
graduates." - Paul

"The thing that gives you confidence is when
your students get better… but I think I have
an innate gift as a teacher, so all my students
go better. Even the ones that had severe
problems and challenges and disabilities got
better. That gives you a confidence." -
Edward

"I feel very strongly that somebody whom'
I'm teaching, nothing gives me greater
pleasure in knowing that I started them on an
oboe and they're now a cardiologist…if I
have to have myself cut open, that guy's
going to be detailed oriented." - Michael

Emotional Arousal
Depending on the circumstances, emotional arousal, different kinds of feelings, might
have informative value regarding music professors’ competency (Bandura, 1977). Therefore,
emotional arousal is another source of information that can affect the music professors’
perceived self-efficacy in teaching.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 73#
The analysis of the interview data clearly shows that most classical music professors
stated that they feel emotionally aroused while teaching during the lessons. Professor Edward
explained:
My feeling is I'm giving life. I'm giving energy. I'm spending it. It's going out from me.
I'm getting tired but I don't notice it when I'm teaching. Teaching actually gives me
energy. I only notice it when I'm done, and then it's like, ‘Oh, boy’ (personal
communication, February, 11, 2016).

Similarly, Michael explained that if things go well during a lesson, he tends to become more and
more animated. Professor Robert also said that he tends to become very involved in the music
(e.g., playing, singing, dancing for the students). Furthermore, music professors believe that
having the feeling of humility increases their confidence and perceived self-efficacy in teaching.
Some examples include the following:
I think to be a good teacher you have to be an excellent learner … it's helpful to just
watch and to listen…. If another person has a great deal of respect you have to be able to
take that with humility and recognize what responsibility you have because of the
influence. – Professor Edward

Professor Paul, "I learned from my students as well as they are learning from me, so it's a two-
way street."
“I don't put myself up there. I basically choose to be on their level of conversation, so all
of the students, I feel like all of them feel much comfortable talking to me about lots of
their issues, or problems.” – Professor Michelle

Table 8 shows more quotes from the interview relating to emotional arousal and the commonly
identified sources.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 74#
Table 8
Commonly identified sources of music professors' teaching self-efficacy and interpretative
factors.

Source Types Quotes from Interviews
Interpretative
Factors
Physiological and
affective states

1. Energized

"My feeling is I'm giving life. I'm
giving energy. I'm spending it. It's
going out from me. I'm getting tired
but I don't notice it when I'm
teaching. Teaching actually gives me
energy." - Edward
"If things are going well, I tend to get
more and more animated." - Michael
Ability to self-
regulate

Humility

"…I get very involved in the music.
The joy of music, the fascination of
the music. It's not I'm trying to do
that, it's just is. I'm playing, singing,
dancing for the student and pointing
out what I think is important…" -
Robert

2. Feeling of
humbleness
"I learned from my students as well
as they are learning from me, so it's a
two-way street." - Paul

"I think to be a good teacher you
have to be an excellent learner." -
Edward

"If another person has a great deal of
respect you have to be able to take
that with humility and recognize what
responsibility you have because of
the influences." - Edward

Overarching Research Question: What Factors Influenced Classical Music Professors’
Self-Efficacy in Teaching and Their Self Perceived Self-Efficacy on How to Teach/Mentor
Their Classical Music Students to Degree Completion?
The second part of the orverarching research question regarding classical music
professors’ self perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to
degree completion was also analyzed using Bandura’s self-efficacy theory.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 75#
Performance Accomplishments
Interview data showed that the classical music professors of Conservatory E all believed
that they have the ability and knowledge to teach and mentor their students because (1) they are
knowledgeable or have mastery in their crafts, (2) they either have accumulated experiences that
enhanced their pedagogical skills or they are born a teacher, and (3) their performance
experiences add to their mastery skills which boost their confidence in their teaching/mentoring
skills.
Table 9 shows a list of quotes associated with the classical music professors’
performance accomplishments.

Table 9
Classical Music Professors' Performance Accomplishments and Quotes

Knowledge Experience Performance Exposure
"I'm very confident of my
ability to teach the mechanics
of the oboe, how to play the
oboe." - Michael
"Well, I’ve taught children
when I was in graduate school"
- Robert
"Yeah I still play. I'm still a
player. I'm not just a
teacher, I play all the time."
– Paul

"I'm very good at teaching
young people how to play the
oboe." - Michael
"I'm an natural teacher." -
Edward
"Especially in the chamber
music, it's because I have all
this experience of
performing and the
teaching." - Michelle
"In terms of my
understanding of the subject,
10. In terms of my
experience, 10." - Edward
"The way that I look at it, it's
not the aiming for the job, it's
about learning the greatest of
the music, and therefore you
learn everything through
music." – Michelle

(continued)

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 76#
Table 9
Classical Music Professors' Performance Accomplishments and Quotes

Knowledge Experience
Performance
Exposure
"I can teach anybody,
anything." – Paul

"I feel very comfortable
teaching. If somebody
comes with a list for an
audition, and they want to
just play it. I feel
comfortable doing that." -
Christine
"...I was giving that confidence…I think
that taught me also how important it is to
build confidence and self-esteem in my
student." - Paul
"It's just been a process, I think it's still a
process. It's still a process of assessing
the students' needs, and figuring out a way
to make him or her play better. I can't
define as a moment. It was just, maybe,
with more experience, I’m able to
pinpoint problems much quicker, and
solve them much quicker." - Paul

"I have gain experience throughout the
years of my teaching." - Christine
"Well, I think experience is what helps
you become more confident. Over the
years, dealing with different situation, and
different, different individuals, different
personality types, different ways of
learning, you become experience in how
to deal with those people, those different
situations." - Robert
Especially in the chamber music, it's
because I have all this experience of
performing and the teaching." - Michelle

Vicarious Experiences
In this current case study, interview data showed that the classical music professors
highly value these vicarious experiences, they were proud of these vicarious experiences, and
they all believed more confidence or self-efficacies were gained from these vicarious experiences
because these experiences consequently contributed to their knowledge on how to teach/mentor
their classical music students. These vicarious experiences derived mainly from (1) experience,
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 77#
knowledge and skills learned from their own music professors and (2) experiences gained
through the observation of their colleagues.
Table 10 presents a list of quotes for these two main categories of vicarious experiences
in relation to Bandura’s self-efficacy theory.

Table 10
Classical Music Professors' Vicarious Experiences and Quotes

From Their Own Music Professors Observing their Colleagues
"Well, I can’t think one in particular,
but of course, we do learn from our
own mentors, both positively and
negatively. I had a fantastic main adult
teacher, and I had very wonderful
childhood teachers also. I was very
lucky." - Robert
"Realizing that the issues that I was struggling with,
having to do with responsibility for a student and
efficacy are universal. Everybody struggles with
it…” - Christine
"I had excellent teachers. I had the best
teachers when I was starting out. " -
Paul
…but what I noticed is in his master class…he just
watches. What he's doing is he's trying to get the
nonverbal communication that we all give off and tell
where that person's head is…I do the same thing…" -
Edward
"I had a teacher who was the old
professor at University of Michigan,
who was retired…He's kind of what I
always think of as a great teacher. He's
kind of what I think of as a teacher who
has a plan." - Christine
"Yes. I have gained confidence by watching a lot of
people's master classes, and I have gained so much
confidence by them struggling to find the words, and
I’m like, ‘It’s not just me’. It gives you a lot of
confidence...because everybody is in the same shoe."
- Michelle
"I was blessed to have an
extraordinarily good teacher myself,
legendary good teachers." - Michael
"I was blessed to have an extraordinarily good
teacher myself... I've figured out between his teaching
and mine…I have figured out how to fix or repair,
direct or accomplish various things that an oboist has
to be able to do." - Michael

"I had a lot of confidence because my teachers always
told me I could do anything I wanted to...I think that
taught me also how important it is to build confidence
and in my students, so they feel not just I'm ripping
them apart, which I do quite often, but also that I'm
building them up at the same time." - Paul
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 78#
Verbal Persuasions
Overall, interview data collected for this current case study showed that classical music
professors feel (1) a boost of self-efficacy in their teaching when their students have successful
accomplishments. Both small and big accomplishments can potentially increase the classical
music professors’ teaching self-efficacy. (2) When classical music professors receive both
positive and negative verbal feedback from their students, it can serve as another form of
increase or decrease in their teaching self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music
students. Table 11 offers quotes for these verbal persuasions in relation to Bandura’s self-
efficacy theory.

Table 11
Classical Music Professors' Verbal Persuasions and Quotes

Student Accomplishments Student Feedback
"There was this student who I had for four years now
and going on fifth year next year, she is an amazing
person and it feels like if her confident level is
diminished from where she should be, she can't perform
as well. Once I get that back on, it's like the same person
in the same lessons totally sounds 5,000 times better …
that's where I feel like I can help." - Michelle
"Just go around and mentor. My
student seems very happy with that,
because he's expressed that he hasn't
had teachers that have had a long-
term plan for him. He seems happy
about how things are going." -
Christine
"It's delightful, to hear some small degree a little bit of
myself, in what they're putting out, and how they're
playing, and knowing that their playing is of the highest
level." - Michael
"A lot of my students say…"Oh,
when I come into a lesson I just get
so much energy from you" - Edward
"I do enjoy working with the students, and I enjoy seeing
them becoming my professional colleagues. It's really
very, very satisfying." - Paul
"I learned from my students as well
as they are learning from me, so it's
a two-way street." - Paul
"The thing that gives you confidence is when your
students get better… but I think I have an innate gift as a
teacher, so all my students got better...That gives you a
confidence." - Edward
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 79#
Emotional Arousal
Interview data collected for this current case study showed that all classical music
professors do feel something during their lessons. They have all stated that they feel emotionally
aroused during their lessons. The feelings they get correlates closely with their classical music
students because they feed off their energies and consequently it guides them on how to
teach/mentor their students. Table 12 presents a list of quotes from the interviews to show
emotional arousal relates to Bandura’s self-efficacy theory.
Table 12
Classical Music Professors' Emotional Arousal and Quotes

Animated Calm and Stern
"My feeling is I'm giving life. I'm
giving energy. I'm spending it. It's
going out from me. I'm getting tired
but I don't notice it when I'm teaching.
Teaching actually gives me energy." -
Edward
"Mostly I have to tell myself to just be quiet and let the
student play a lot… I don't sing along with them while
they're playing. I find that hard to focus on what their
output is. We sing a lot outside of playing." - Christine
"If things are going well, I tend to get
more and more animated." - Michael
"It's basically, I feel like I'm being a good helper of
what they hear, what they want to do, but they're not
there yet, or they haven't really discovered how to look
at things, or that they haven't really discovered how to
interpret the things, or depth of music, knowledge. I
feel like I help out to enlarge their information, so that
they can do what they want to do." - Michelle
"I get very involved in the music. The
joy of music, the fascination of the
music. It's not I'm trying to do that, it's
just is. I'm playing, singing, dancing
for the student and pointing out what I
think is important." - Robert
"To me, it's a work environment. I'm not really
thinking about how I'm feeling, or anything like that.
There's always a lot to work on, and there are always
things to obviously improve. I just feel like, "OK, if I
can get something across, or a couple of things across,
or make a little improvement during this hour that we
have together every week, then I've done my job." You
can't expect it all to happen. Especially for the
undergrads, I will see them for four years. It's a long
time, so we have a long process… During the lesson, I
would say it's just I feel good if I have accomplished
what I've set out to do during that hour." - Paul
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 80#
Other Factors
The qualitative data showed that all classical music professors of Conservatory E had the
self-efficacy to teach, and they all believed that they had the self-efficacy on how to
teach/mentor their classical music students to degree completion. However, data also showed
that some external factors may have contribued to the decrease in graduation rate. Although
Professor Michelle’s former students have all succesfully graduated, during the interview, she
shared that students’ mentality, students’ beliefs on whether or not they should be at the
conservatory, the cost of tuition , and the return on tuition investment were some of the factors
that might have contributed to why graduation rate have fell.
Sub Question b: What are The Classical Music Professors’ and Classical Music Students’
Beliefs on The Importance of Mentorship?
The classical music professor-music student relationship/mentorship is an important
element. As Kenny (2014) stated in his study, the value of the relationship of doing things
together, where teachers and students viewed their roles as one of mutual participants rather than
top-down teaching amounts to a good relationship/mentorship between the professor and the
teacher. The interview data showed that classical music professors of Conservatory E believe
that mentorship is important. Professor Michelle shared the following:
I feel like I'm not just a professor and students. I feel like I'm somebody they can talk to,
and that I would like to keep it that way. I know that some of the professors put
themselves in the place of being, you know, but I don't put myself up there. I basically
choose to be on their level of conversation, so all of the students, I feel like all of them
feel much comfortable talking to me about lots of their issues, or problems, or what
they're thinking of and even share their favorite things that happened, or their happy
things. I like to keep it that way (personal communication, February 11, 2016).

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Professor Robert also said:
I would say very strong, very close, professional, but extremely friendly at the same time.
Hardly a day goes by when I don’t hear from former students, from decades past, so I
think that speaks to very strong bonds, connection, and I think it’s a relationship between
mutual respect. They know that I respect them, and I care about them. They appreciate
that, and they stay in touch (personal communication, February 11, 2016).
According to Hurtado (2011), research showed that having regular contact with faculty correlates
with increased student success, especially among underrepresented students, and therefore,
students who frequently interact with their professors tend to earn higher grades, and increase
their chance of degree completion. Professor Michelle shared, “I would always make myself
available as a teacher who is on-call, that they can talk to me if anything happens.” Hurtado
(2011) also indicated in his research that the establishment of meaningful professor-student
interaction also reflects on students’ success. Professor Robert said, “We do communicate often
about repertoire, performances, their planning of competitions. I am in touch with them more
often than one hour a week.”
Research also revealed that according to Cole (2007), faculty support is extremely
important because it predicts the future success of students. Professor Edward thought being a
teacher is sometimes also being a parent to the students:
I feel like a parent, basically, in the best sense of the word, somebody who has been there
guiding them through the process, but they have to experience it for themselves. I can't
do it for them, so it's a partnership really (personal communication, February 11, 2016).
Two Additional Themes
During the process of analyzing the qualitative data using Bandura’s self-efficacy theory,
two new themes emerged from the data sets: the notion of the classical music professors feeling a
sense responsibility toward their classical music students and believing they are teaching their
students life lessons as well.
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The Notion of Responsibility
The notion of responsibility was apparent in all classical music professors’ interviews.
All the professors believe that they are not only a music professor teaching and mentoring their
classical music students in their respective instruments, but they also feel a sense of
responsibility that goes beyond their academic and musical study. They believe that they are
teaching more than just the instruments. Quotes from the classical music professors underscore
that point. Said Professor Michelle, “Honestly one of the things that's worrying is being the
person's shepherd through four years of school. It's a big responsibility and something that I've
worried about.” Professor Edward concurred:
If another person has a great deal of respect, you have to be able to take that with
humility and recognize what responsibility you have because of the influence … that's
very important. I don't recognize that very well so I need to take responsibility for the
amount of influence that I actually have (personal communication, February 11, 2016)..
Professor Paul said:
I think it's more than a profession. I think it's a responsibility. I think it's not really that.
It can be that, but personally, I think it's a responsibility to pass on those things that were
given to you, and also those things that connect us with our history (personal
communication, February 11, 2016).
Teaching Life Lessons
Another theme that revolved and recurred throughout all the interviews was the notion of
not only teaching classical music students how to play their musical instruments, but teaching
them life lessons as well. One music professor stated that because of the nature of the
instrument, not everyone is going to get a job in the orchestra, so Professor Michael explains:
However, in an industry that is as obscenely competitive as the music industry is, the
odds of an oboist graduating from a conservatory and walking into an orchestra job
somewhere are pretty damn low. Thus I have come to realize, fairly early on, that in
point of fact teaching the oboe is only a part of what I do.
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What I like to say is that I can teach them how to play oboe, but if they don't get a job, or
when they don't get a job as an orchestra musician, every one of my students is going to
be the most fastidious, obsessive compulsive, detail-oriented architect, or plumber, or
shelf stacker at Target (personal communication, February 11, 2016).
Professor Michelle indicated that one can learn everything through music; and therefore, she
believes that she not only teaches her students about their musical instrument but also teaching
them about life. Professor Michelle said: “The way that I look at it, it's not the aiming for the
job. It's about learning the greatest of the music, and therefore you learn everything through
music.” She also stated with confidence:
I think I'm pretty good at giving students their own ability and also to find what they're
special for. When you're coming to the Conservatory like this, it feels as if you're not the
top-notch of the players, you've failed your life. That's not the way that I would look at
the music. Music is supposed to help your life, to enrich your life, and the education, and
then learn from it, in their life (personal communication, February 11, 2016).
Professor Christine stated in her interview that she believes that her job is to help her students be
as prepared as possible not only in their musical instrument, but beyond that. She said, “[My] job
is to get them as prepared as possible. A complete musician with the tools to then teach
themselves outside of school. They're not finished when they leave.”
Quantitative Data Set
Participants
The total data set was N = 45, with 42 respondents fully completing the online survey.
There were 10 freshmen, 2 sophomores, 7 juniors, 8 seniors, and 14 fifth year students. One
student did not specify his/her current year of study. Students who responded to the online
survey represented these following instruments: 2 bassoonists, 4 cellists, 2 composers, 2 double
bass players, 2 horn players, 1 jazz vocalist, 1 percussionist, 3 pianists, 1 saxophone player, 2
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trombonists, 2 trumpet players, 4 violists, 8 violinists, and 8 vocalists. Out of these 42
respondents, 36 students were White, 13 Asian, and 3 African American.
The online survey protocol was adopted from Laura Ritchie and Aaron Williamon’s
(2010) research. The authors gave permission to modify and use their survey protocol. The
students of Conservatory E were asked to complete a short online survey consisting of 22
questions, 20 of those questions in the forms of multiple choice and scales and two questions in
an open-ended format. At the beginning of the short online survey, three questions asked basic
information about the students (current year of study, primary music instrument, and ethnicity).
Next, Conservatory E students were asked to think about one specific performance in which they
recently played a prominent role. Then, the Conservatory E students were asked to reflect on
that specific performance and rate themselves. For this question, the students were asked to
indicate the repertoire they performed, the estimated size of the audience, the location of the
performance, and their self-rated overall performance. Following that, the students answered 20
questions in a Likert scale to examine the students’ self-percieved self-efficacy. Conservatory E
students were asked to imagine that they would be participating in a similar performance within
the next few weeks and answered 11 questions relating to their self-efficacy on learning and 9
questions relating to their self-efficacy on the performance. Finally, they were asked to answer
two open-ended questions: (1) to describe their relationships with their classic music professors;
and (2) to explain their thoughts and beliefs on the importance of mentorship between their
classical music professors and themselves.
There were about 431 students at Conservatory E. A total of 45 classical music students
participated in the online survey and 42 classical music student fully responded, meaning the
responses rate was around 10%. According to Conservatory E’s Dean of Students, only 40% of
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 85#
the Conservatory E students actually open and read their school emails. If so, the calculation of
the response rate was at around 24%.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Responses were collected via Qualtrics.com and were downloaded into an Excel
spreadsheet (.csv format), and data were cleaned up in preparation for data analysis. The data
were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). Data were collected and
examined as a whole as well as for various subsets. Students’ Self-efficacy of learning and self-
efficacy of performance were examined separately. Then the two open-ended questions were
analyzed.
Sub Question a: What Factors Influenced Classical Music Students’ Self-Efficacy in
Learning and Performing Their Primary Classical musical instrument?
Previous empirical studies showed that if students have high self-efficacy, then they are
more likely persist, and this is true for both young children and college students (McPherson and
McCormick, 2006; Sichivitsa, 2007). In addition, Sichivitsa’s (2007) study also showed that
students who are confident in their musical abilities are more likely to persistent in music
learning. Data also showed that students are more likely to gain satisfaction with the academic
aspects of the class, and consequently, they become more motivated to continue music
participation.
Descriptive statistics, including median and mode, were generated for all scalar variables.
Frequency distributions were generated for all variables with descriptive statistics and are
presented in Table 13.

Table 13.
Descriptive Statistics
N Range Minimum Maximum Mean
Standard
Deviation
Skewness
Statistics
Skewness
Std. Error
Self-
Efficacy of
Learning
42 26.00 33.00 59.00 43.4762 5.05211 0.811 0.365
Self-
Efficacy of
Performance
42 30.00 15.00 45.00 34.2143 6.13481 -0.592 0.365
Self-
Efficacy
overall
Musical
42 54.00 50.00 103.00 82.7143 9.60509 -0.711 0.365
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 86!
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 87

To examine sub research question a (What factors influenced classical music students’
self-efficacy in learning and performing their primary classical musical instruments?),
summative scales were analyzed to reflect learning self-efficacy and performance self-efficacy.
In both, scales indicated the overall self-efficacy of a music student. Scale reliability was
assessed using Cronbach's statistics alpha.
Tables 14 and 15 present data from the analyzation of classical musical students’ self-
efficacy in learning.

Table 14.
Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Learning
Cronbach's Alpha N of Items
0.190 11

Table 15.
Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in learning: Item-Total Statistics

Scale
Mean if
Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance if
Item Deleted
Corrected
item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if Item
Deleted
I am confident that I can
successfully learn the music for
this performance.
37.83 23.411 0.024 0.194
One of my problems is that I
can not get down to practicing
or rehearing for this specific
performance when I should.
40.33 22.179 0.015 0.209

(continued)
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Table 15
Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in learning: Item-Total Statistics

Scale
Mean if
Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance if
Item Deleted
Corrected
item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if Item
Deleted
If I can't play the music for this
performance at first, I will keep
practicing until I can.
36.98 26.560 -0.202 0.257
When I set important learning
goals leading up to this
performance, I can rarely
achieve them.
41.05 20.632 0.200 0.092
I can give up preparing for this
performance before completing
it.
41.48 20.743 0.236 0.079
When I have something
unpleasant to do in the
preparation for this
performance I can stick to it
until I finish it.
37.52 26.304 -0.178 0.275
When I decide to do this
performance, I go right to work
on the music.
37.76 25.649 -0.155 0.292
When first playing the music
for this performance, I soon
give up if I am not initially
successful.
41.79 20.221 0.496 0.003
The prospects of failure in this
performance can just make me
work harder in preparations.
37.64 26.333 -0.195 0.308
I can give up on working
towards this performance
easily.
41.24 17.796 0.436 -0.068
I am not capable of dealing
with most problems that may
come up when working toward
this performance.
41.14 21.003 0.124 0.135

Tables 16 and 17 present data from the analyzation of classical musical students’ self-
efficacy in performance.
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Table 16.
Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Performance
Cronbach's Alpha N of Items
0.478 10

Table 17
Reliability Statistics for Self-efficacy in Performance: Item-Total Statistics

Scale
Mean if
Item
Deleted
Scale
Variance if
Item Deleted
Corrected
item-Total
Correlation
Cronbach's
Alpha if Item
Deleted
I am confident that I can give a
successful performance.
33.43 34.251 0.276 0.430
I have set important goals to
attain during this performance,
but I cannot achieve them.
36.45 32.400 0.186 0.458
I can avoid difficulties and
challenges during the
performance itself.
34.40 34.588 0.141 0.471
If I perceive the events or
context surrounding this
performance to be too stressful,
I cannot even attempt to
perform.
37.07 38.019 -0.024 0.523
If something unexpected
happens during the
performance, I can handle it
well.
33.76 33.503 0.347 0.411
I can avoid this performance if
the music looks or sounds too
difficult for me.
36.71 28.697 0.455 0.347
I feel insecure about my playing
for this performance.
35.71 33.185 0.180 0.459
I can give up easily during the
performance.
37.64 36.625 0.153 0.464
I am capable of dealing with
problems that might come up
during the performance.
33.74 33.808 0.196 0.452

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For factor analysis, principal component analysis with a quartimax rotation with Kaiser
normalization and scree plots was done to assess the overall impact of the factors considered.
Results showed that two factors extracted, “year” and “ethnicity,” have a great overall impact on
the students (see Table 11 and Figure A: Scree Plot). As for analysis of variance (ANOVA), no
significant differences in any of the three self-efficacy scales were found based on ethnicity, year
in the program, or location where they had their performance.

Table 18
Factor Analysis
Initial Extraction
Year 33.43 34.251
Instrument 35.71 33.185
Ethnicity 37.64 36.625
Location of Performance 33.74 33.808
Note: N = 42

Figure A: Scree Plot

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Descriptive statistics, reliability statistics, factor analysis, and principal component
analysis with a quartimax rotation with Kaiser normalization were used to analyze the student
survey data.
Sub Question b: What are The Classical Music Professors’ and Classical Music Students’
Beliefs on The Importance of Mentorship?
Positive professor-student relationship/mentorship may assist students to persist and
increase their motivations while negative professor-student experience may hinder students’
willingness to persist; therefore, professors’ roles strongly influence their students’ motivation
and persistence (Sichivitsa, 2007). In addition to academic support from the professors,
emotional and social support from the professors also plays a critical role in students’ lives
because with constructive feedback from the professors, they can positively influence their
students’ overall motivation and persistence in their music learning. The analysis of the two
open-ended questions from the online survey that was administered to the classical music
students of Conservatory E showed that the majority of the classical music students believed that
they have good relationship with their classical music professors and that the mentorship is
important between their classical musical professor and themselves.
When Conservatory E students were asked to describe their relationship with their
classical music professors, 39 students believed they have good, positive, respectful, professional
relationships with their classical music professors. Only three students did not completely feel
their relationship with their classical music professors is positive. Appendix G shows a list of
quotes from the students explaining their thoughts on their relationships with their classical
music professor.
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When the classical music students of Conservatory E were asked to describe their beliefs
on the importance of the mentorship between themselves and their classical music professors, 40
out of 42 classical music students believed that mentorship is important. On the contrary, two
classical music students did not believe mentorship is important. Overall, the data showed that
the classical music students of Conservatory E believed that mentorship is important;
nevertheless, they did not go into details on the reasons why menotrship is important. Appendix
H shows a list of quotes from the students describing their beliefs on the importance of
mentorship.
Summary

The results of this study were completed in two components: the qualitative data were the
in-person interviews with the Conservatory E classical music professors, and the quantitative
data were the online survey results administered to the classical music students of Conservatory
E. The classical music professors participated in in-person interviews which lasted between 30-
60 minutes. They answered a series of guiding questions to examine their perceived self-efficacy
in teaching and their belief on how to teach/mentor their classical music students. Similarly,
Conservatory E students were administered a short survey via an online data collection website
called Qualtrics. The students answered questions that examined their perceived self-efficacy on
learning and on performance. The data analysis on both components of this case study utilized
Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy.
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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to present a short summary of the entire study, discuss the
qualitative data in relation to the literature review, discuss the themes that emerged from the
qualitative data in addition to validating Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, discuss the quantitative
data in relation to the literature review, explain implications for practices, make
recommendations for future studies, and conclude the chapter with final thoughts.
Summary of the Case Study
This case study was designed to investigate factors that influenced classical music
professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor
their classical music students to degree completion. This case study examined the factors that
influenced classical music students’ self-efficacy in learning and performing. This case study
too explored classical music professors’ and classical music students’ beliefs on the importance
of mentorship.
The subjects of this case study were classical music professors and classical music
students of Conservatory E. Conservatory E was chosen because compared to similar
conservatories, IPEDS data showed that Conservatory E ranked in the middle of the group; and
therefore, to eliminate outliers, Conservatory E was chosen for this case study.
This case study employed a mixed-method format. Conducting in-person interviews with
the classical music professors was the qualitative part of the study. The quantitative part of the
study was a short online survey administered to the classical music students of Conservatory E.
The overarching research question and sub questions for this case study was the
following: What factors influenced classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 94"
self perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to degree
completion? Two sub questions explored (1) the factors that influenced classical music students’
self-efficacy in learning and performing their primary classical musical instrument and (2)
assessed classical music professors’ and classical music students’ beliefs on the importance of
mentorship.
Six music professors representing different music instruments were interviewed. The
duration of each interview ranged from 30 to 60 minutes. A series of guiding questions allowed
the researcher to apply and examine Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. The qualitative data were
analyzed using each of Bandura’s four efficacy expectation sources: performance
accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasions, and emotional arousal; and the
qualitative data showed positive results. In addition to validating Bandura’s self-efficacy theory,
two new themes: the notion of responsibility and teaching life lessons were also found in the
qualitative data.
The total data set for the student online survey was N = 45, with 42 respondents fully
completing the online survey. Students who answered the online survey were from the current
student body of Conservatory E, and they represented a variety of instruments. The data were
analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science software (SPSS). The quantitative
data were collected and examined as a whole as well as for various sub sets of the data.
Students’ Self-efficacy of learning and self-efficacy of performance were examined separately.
Unlike the qualitative data, the results of the quantitative data did not validate Bandura’s self-
efficacy theory. Cronbach's statistics alpha showed that students’ self-efficacy in learning scale
had a very low score (Cronbach’s alpha = .190) indicating an unreliable scale. Similarly, the
students’ self-efficacy in the performance scale also had a low score (Cronbach’s alpha = .478),
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 95"
which also implied an unreliable scale. Even though descriptive statistics, reliability statistics,
factor analysis, and principal component analysis with a quartimax rotation with Kaiser
normalization were used to analyze the student survey data, nevertheless, due to the low
Cronbach’s alpha score, data did not fully explain music students’ self-perceived self-efficacy in
learning and performance when examined using Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. However, the
data for the two open-ended questions expressed students’ thoughts on their relationships with
their classical music professors and their beliefs on the importance of mentorship. The data
showed that the majority of the students believed that they had a positive, professional
relationship with their classical music professors and that the majority of them also believed
mentorship is very important. However, three students felt their relationships with their classical
music professors were not so positive. Similarly, two students believed mentorship is
unimportant.
Discussion of Findings for Qualitative Data
Benefits of Music
Benefits of music were presented in a myriad of empirical studies. Researchers such as
Costa-Giomi (1999) and Harland, Kinder, Lord, Stott, Schagen, and Haynes (2000) indicated in
their studies that children who play instruments have higher self-esteems. Similarly, a miniscule
amount of empirical studies also indicated that music also benefits adult learners such as
enhancements in their self-expression and self-improvement (Coffman, 2002; Costa-Giomi,
1999; Hallam & Prince, 2000; Harland et al., 2000).
While Professor Robert indicated that music provides a way for students to express their
feelings as well as how music is deeply involved and connected with students’ self-esteem, their
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 96"
confidence, their ability to be expressive through music, and their means to be in touch with their
feelings, none of the other music professors mentioned the benefits of music.
Benefits of music were not the focus of this case study, so the discussion on this topic
was limited. However, since benefits of music were an extremely important part of the music
education domain, the researcher of this case study concluded that future interviews could
incorporate some questions regarding the music professors’ knowledge and beliefs on the
benefits of music.
Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and Classical Music Professors
Overall, the qualitative data validated Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. In addition to that,
two new themes emerged from the data.
Performance Accomplishments
According to Bandura’s theory, classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching
directly relates to their performance accomplishments. The classical music professors of
Conservatory E all believed that they had the ability and knowledge to teach and mentor their
students because (1) they were knowledgeable or had mastery in their crafts, (2) they either had
accumulated experiences that enhanced their pedagogical skills or they were born a teacher, and
(3) their performance experiences added to their mastery skills which boosted their confidence in
their teaching/mentoring skills. (See Table 9)
During the interviews, most of the classical music professors talked primarily about their
experiences throughout the years of their teaching career as well as their vast knowledge about
their musical instrument. They shared stories about their experiences and gave examples of their
accomplishments. Nevertheless, even though all of the classical music professors had
performance exposures (e.g., solo performance, orchestral performance, chamber performance)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 97"
or those classical music professors who were currently a member of an orchestra (as indicated in
their short biography on the Conservatory E’s website), only a few classical music professors
mentioned how their performance exposures enhanced their self-efficacy in teaching. The
researcher of this case study concluded classical music professors’ performance exposure in
correlation with Bandura’s self-efficacy theory could be explored further in future studies.
Vicarious Experiences
Vicarious experiences are those lived through others, and examples of vicarious
experiences derived from the qualitative data mainly came from (1) experience, knowledge and
skills learned from the classical music professors’ own music professors and (2) experiences
gained through the observation of their colleagues. (Refer to Table 10)
The classical music professors’ vicarious experiences of having had great professors and
mentors themselves when they were students added benefits to how they perceive their teaching
self-efficacy and their understanding on how to teach/mentor their own students. The classical
music professors believed that because they have had great training from their own music
professors, they had the knowledge and understanding of how to pass on the music skills to their
own students. Similarly, by observing their colleagues, the classical music professors compared
and contrasted themselves against their colleagues. When they encountered new or different
situations than the ones they experienced by themselves before, they tended to learn from those
experiences and add to their teaching self-efficacy. Likewise, when they encountered similar
situations while watching their colleagues, those also boosted their teaching self-efficacy because
they then understood that they were not alone in that particular situation. Since they knew that
they were not alone, their self-efficacy tended to improve in a positive way. Nonetheless, the
classical music professors in this case study only briefly mentioned the benefits of having
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 98"
vicarious experiences. Therefore, the researcher of this case study concluded more detailed
stories and examples of how these vicarious experiences may add or hinder the classical music
professors’ existing self-efficacy could be explored much deeply.
Verbal Persuasions
Formal and informal student comments, student devaluations, information about the
classical music professors’ teaching skills, and the outcomes of their teaching were all types of
verbal persuasions described by Bandura in her research (1977). In this current case study,
classical music professors felt (1) a boost of self-efficacy in their teaching when their students
have successful accomplishments (whether big or small). (2) In addition, when classical music
professors received both positive and negative verbal feedback from their students, it served as
another way to increase or decrease their teaching self-efficacy. (See Table 11)
All of the classical music professors felt a sense of pride as well as a boost of confidence
in their teaching self-efficacy when their students accomplished something. A few classical
music professors shared some stories about their former students on their achievements, but not
all professors detailed the accomplishments their students achieved. Comparably, only two
classical music professors talked about their students’ feedback and went into details on what
their students have said to them. Consequently, in order to obtain fuller and richer data, more
data were needed in this section. As a result, the researcher of this case study recommends
ensuring that for future research studies more examples, events, and stories of verbal persuasions
should be obtained from the interviews.
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Emotional Arousal
According to Bandura’s (1977) research, different kinds of emotions might have
informative values relating to classical music professors’ confidence. Data from this current case
study showed that all classical music professors indeed felt something during their lessons. They
all stated that they felt emotionally aroused during their lessons. The feelings they received
correlated closely with their classical music students because they fed off of their students’
energies. (See Table 12)
The classical music professors’ reactions to emotional arousal could be organized into
two categories: (1) animated and (2) calm and stern. While classical music professors such as
Robert, Michael, and Edward tended to be more animated during their lesson as well as feeding
off and reacting to their students’ playing, classical music professors such Christine, Paul, and
Michelle tended to be more calm and stern during their lessons. The researcher of this case study
concluded that these two sets of professors had different agendas on their minds during their
lessons. One group of these classical music professors was more go-with-the-flow kind of
professors, and the other group of classical music professors set mini goals that they tried to
accomplish during their lessons. It was also very interesting to note that the classical music
professors who were more animated during their lessons also created a more relaxed interview
atmosphere. On the contrary, the researcher felt a more serious atmosphere during their
interview with those classical music professors who were more stern and calm during their
lessons. The researcher of this case study concluded that a balance of these two types of
mindsets would greatly benefit the students. Unfortunately, the classical music professors did
not go into details about what a normal lesson with them looked or felt like; as a result, the
richness of the data was minimized. Consequently, for future research, observations of the
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 100"
classical music professors’ lessons on top of the in-person interview would create a deeper and
richer data set for analyzation.
Two Additional Themes
The qualitative data collected were extremely positive. The data validated Bandura’s self-
efficacy theory and allowed two interesting themes so emerge from the data sets: the notion of
responsibility, and teaching life lessons to their classical music students.
The Notion of Responsibility
The notion of responsibility stood at the forefront of all classical music professors’
interviews. They all believed that they were not only classical music professors teaching and
mentoring their music students on their musical skills but also that they had a responsibility that
went beyond their students’ academic studies. They believed that they taught more than just the
instruments. They understood that not all graduates will have a musical job or make a living with
their musical instruments. Thus, the classical music professors always worried about what will
happen to their students after they completed their bachelor of music degree.
Teaching Life Lessons
Teaching life lessons was another theme that revolved and recurred throughout all the
interviews. The classical music professors believed they not only taught their classical music
students how to play their musical instruments, but taught life lessons as well. The classical
music professors all agreed that they are teaching their classical music students applicable skills,
disciplinary skills, and attitudes that can be useful, helpful, and transferable in their lives. They
believed the skills they taught their classical music students went beyond the actual instrument
because students could gain life lessons from learning and performing their classical musical
instruments and from learning music in general.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 101"
Classical Music Professors’ Beliefs on the Importance of Mentorship
Although the interviews did not go in length on the classical music professors’ beliefs on
the importance of mentorship, the professors all still agreed that mentorship was very important.
The classical music professors only briefly discussed their relationship/mentorship with their
classical music students, but none of the classical music professors went in depth on what their
relationship/mentorship was like on a daily basis and during their lessons. The importance of
support from the faculty predicts students’ future success (Cole, 2007); and correspondingly,
students who establish meaningful professor-student interactions are more likely to improve
more (Hurtado, 2011). Some classical music professors mentioned in their interviews that
interactions and communications with their classical music students were important in building
strong relationship/mentorship. There were some quotes that expressed the importance of
relationship/mentorship between the classical music professors and their classical music students
in the verbal persuasion and emotional arousal sections, but nothing substantial was established
to create a deep analysis. As a result of the lack of data, the researcher of this case study
concluded that the semi-structured interview protocol could be modified to address this issue
further.
Other Factors
Factors such as students’ mentalities, students’ own beliefs on whether or not they should
be at the conservatory, the cost of tuition, and the return on tuition investment were some of the
factors that might have contributed to the low graduation rates as reflected on IPEDS (See Table
2 and Table 3) Even though the classical music professors all believed they had the self-efficacy
in teaching, guiding, and mentoring their classical music students to degree completion, external
factors such as those mentioned above were not discussed during the interviews. As result, the
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 102"
researcher concluded that future interviews could incorporate some questions regarding the
classical music professors’ beliefs what other outside factors may have affected the decrease in
graduation rate.
Overall, the researcher found that throughout the interviews, factors that influenced the
classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching all aligned with Bandura’s (1977) self-
efficacy theory. In addition to that, the two new themes were new factors that emerged from the
data creating more knowledge on the classical music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching as well
as their self perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their students to degree completion.
Discussion of Findings for Quantitative Data
Classical Music Students’ Self-Efficacy in Learning and Performance
Classical music students’ self-percieved self-efficacy in learning and performance were
analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software. The total data set
was N = 45, with 42 respondents fully completing the online survey. The researcher of this case
study had high hopes for the quantitative data to validate the classical music students’ self-
efficacy in learning and performance. The researcher hoped to confirm and agree with the
current existing empirical studies that showed persistence in classical music learning related
closely to self-efficacy theory (Covington, 2000). Since previously existing empirical studies
showed that students who valued the subject had higher persistence, motivation, and self-efficacy
(Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000), the researcher of this case study also hoped to find a correlation
between the students’ persistence and motivation using Bandura’s self-efficacy theory.
Unfortunately, due to the low response rate of the online survey, and the low Cronbach’s alpha
scores shown from the analysis of the quantitative data, the result of the data failed to validate
Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. The Cronbach’s Alpha for self-efficacy in the learning scale was
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 103"
very low at ∝ =.190 (see Tables 14 and 15); and the score for Cronbach’s Alpha on self-efficacy
in performance scale was also very low at ∝ = .478 (see Tables 16 and 17). The highest
reliability score was for the pooled self-efficacy scale, .577, rounded to .600, which was still too
low for the commonly accepted coefficient score of ∝ = .70. As a result of the low Cronbach’s
Alpha scores, the results of the scales were unreliable.
Classical Music Students’ Beliefs on the Importance of Mentorship
The data collected for the two open-ended questions on the student survey were very thin.
The researcher of this case study did not expect the students to answer these two open-ended
questions with only a few words or a few sentences. The answers obtained from these two open-
ended questions however did show that classical music students believed that having a positive,
professional relationship with their classical music professors and acquiring and maintaining a
healthy mentorship from their classical music professors were tremendously important. They
believed having someone to talk to about their music as well as their academic and life problems
assisted and guided them to improve their overall studies. Some students even thought of their
classical music professors in a parental role in their lives, and they looked up to them for
guidance and help. Similarly, having a classical music professor whom they talked to about any
of their problems and having easy access to them played an important role in their musical
studies. Even though some data and ideas emerged from these open-ended questions, the
answers were superficial. As a result, the researcher of this case study concluded that future
studies obtain the highest response rate possible. If in-person interviews could be followed after
the initial online survey, more data could be collected; and subsequently, a more meaningful
analysis could be conducted.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 104"
Limitation on Quantitative Data
A greater responses rate was needed for the student survey section. The response rate for
this current study was less than 10% (about 431 students at Conservatory E and only 42 students
fully responded). According to Conservatory E’s Dean of Students, only 40% of the
Conservatory E students usually opened and read their school emails. If so, the response rate did
seem higher at 24% response rate. Forty percent of 431 is 172.4, which means only about 172
students actually read their school emails. If the response rate of this current study was
calculated using the adjusted number, then 42 respondents meant a 24% response rate.
Nonetheless, the response rate for this current case study was much too low; and therefore, a
higher the response rate was needed so more data could be obtained, used, and a greater number
of comparisons made.
Overall, the data collected from the classical music professors and the data obtained from
the classical music students aligned with each other in terms of their beliefs on the importance of
mentorship. This answered sub questions b, What are classical music professors and classical
music students’ beliefs on the importance of mentorship? Both the classical music professors and
the classical music students understood that having a great mentorship between them created
benefits for both the classical music professor and the classical music student. As data showed,
classical music professors and classical music students could learn from each other because
learning was a two-way street. Making the relationship between the classical music professors
and classical music students both a professional one and a personal one could benefit and support
classical music students’ studies and helped motivate them to persist through to degree
completion.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 105"
Implication for Practice
As research in classical music education in higher education context in relation to self-
efficacy was a relatively new concept compared to music education and self-efficacy in young
students, suggestions for future research are presented with recommendations for practice.
Considering the impressive results achieved in the qualitative data set, the use of a semi-
structured interview protocol is an effective tool to examine classical music-professors’ self-
efficacy in teaching and their self-perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical
music-students to degree completion. The qualitative part of this research method can be
generalized and modified according to the research question. It is an easy yet powerful tool to
examine classical music professors’ self-perceived self-efficacy using Bandura’s self-efficacy
theory. This simple tool can also be used to understand the classical music professors’ belief on
the importance of mentorship. This method can easily be modified to examine non-classical
music professors and as well as classical and non-classical music students. It is hoped that the
many implications drawn by the researcher can contribute to the success of the music education
domain and may one day parallel the body of literature informing the music education field by
applying the theoretically framework of self-efficacy.
One implication of this case study is that the idea of the teaching self-efficacy in classical
music professors was a relatively new concept for the music education domain. Music
professors’ self-efficacy in teaching is not something that has been studied extensively,
especially in the classical music education context. Thus, to get the classical music professors’
deeper thoughts on the subject, future studies can be informative and educational for classical
music educators.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 106"
The second implication of this case study is that although classical music students
understand the importance of building a working relationship and acquiring a good mentorship
with their classical music professors; it is not something the classical music students have
pondered comprehensively. Although subconciously the classical music students may know the
importance of having someone there to guide them, teach them, motivate them, and encourage
them, they may not fully understand the reasons behind this important aspect and how it can help
them to degree completion. As a result, future studies on this subject can be illuminating.
The third implication of this case study is that having periodical conversations between
the classical music professor and their classical music students is a way for classical music
professors to check on their classical students’ academic and mental progresses. Discussions on
their academic progresses and life issues in addition to learning about their primary classical
musical instrument can be beneficial to the students. Having these discussions on topics related
to the well being of their classical music students is a way to show their students that they are
there to guide them and help them. As data suggested, having access to their classical music
professors is very important for the classical music students because they view their classical
music professors as having a parental role in their academic and music journey.
All classical music professors believed that they had the self-efficacy on how to
teach/mentor their classical music students to degree completion yet the IPEDS data showed a
decline in the graduation rate. Consequently, the fourth implication of this case study is that
furutre research should be conducted to examine this gap and to investigate external factors that
might have contributed to the low graduation rate.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 107"
Recommendations for Future Research Study
This case study provided an in-depth exploration into the factors that influenced classical
music professors’ self-efficacy in teaching and their self-perceived self-efficacy on how to
teach/mentor their classical music students to degree completion. Factors that influenced
classical music students’ self-efficacy on learning and performing were also examined.
Furthermore, classical music professors and classic music students’ beliefs on the importance of
mentorship were also investigated. The completed statements and fascinating accounts of the
classical music professors interviewed could inform a wealth of pedagogical materials as well as
shed new lights on the directions for future research.
Although this case study provided a detailed understanding of the research problems by
utilizing a mixed-method study, some modification is recommended in replicating this case
study. With regard to this case study, several matters could be improved upon for future research
in the higher music education domain.
(1) More participants on both the qualitative and quantitative parts are needed in order to
obtain richer information and data results.
(2) It would be ideal if all classical music professors of the study site participate in the
research because this way, the researcher can acquire a complete data set. If not all music
professors can participate, at least all instruments offered at the study site should be
represented.
(3) It would be greatly beneficial to conduct observations on classical music professors’
lessons; and observing how they act and interact with their classical music students will
help triangulate the data.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 108"
(4) A much greater responses rate is needed for the student survey section in order to obtain
more data for analysis.
(5) The researcher of this case study experienced limitation on time. With more time, more
interviews could be conducted and higher responses rate obtained. Therefore, a
longitudinal study may be of the most beneficial.
(6) The responses to the two open-ended questions on the online student survey were not
verbose. Students may not have had the patience to express what they want to say on
paper; consequently, interviews with the classical music students are highly
recommended for future studies.
Conclusions
Overall, this case study provided an in-depth look into classical music professors’ and
classical music students’ thoughts. Factors that influenced classical music professors’ self-
efficacy in teaching and their self-perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical
music students were examined. Similarly, factors that influenced classical music students’ self-
efficacy on learning and performance were assessed. The mixed-method format utilized in this
case study was a suitable way to examine the music education domain in relation to Bandura’s
self-efficacy theory. It is hoped that this study brought to light the serious nature of the lack of
study on classical music education domain in higher education setting in relation to Bandura’s
self-efficacy theory. Additionally, this case study served to fill a gap in the literature as to how
classical music education domain and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory relate to each other. It is
also hoped that the findings in this case study can add more knowledge to the existing body of
literature. It is proposed the further exploration into this subject can further enlighten the
implications on the classical music domain and self-efficacy.
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 109"
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Appendix A: Attitudes Toward Specific Musical Performance Activity 1

Attitudes toward specific musical performance activity 1 [i.e. self-efficacy for musical learning]

Self-Efficacy for Musical Learning Questionnaire
Version Attached: Full Test
PsycTESTS Citation: Ritchie, L., & Williamon, A. (2010). Self-Efficacy for Musical Learning
Questionnaire [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t19571-000
Instrument Type: Inventory/Questionnaire
Test Format: The 11-item Self-Efficacy for Musical Learning Questionnaire employs a 7-point
scale: 1 = Not at all sure (0%), 7 = Completely sure (100%).
Source: Supplied by author.
Original Publication: Ritchie, Laura, & Williamon, Aaron. (2011). Measuring distinct types of
musical self-efficacy. Psychology of Music, Vol 39(3), 328-344. doi:
10.1177/0305735610374895
Permissions: Test content may be reproduced and used for non-commercial research and
educational purposes without seeking written permission. Distribution must be controlled,
meaning only to the participants engaged in the research or enrolled in the educational activity.
Any other type of reproduction or distribution of test content is not authorized without written
permission from the author and publisher.

PsycTESTSTM is a database of the American Psychological Association

Attitudes toward specific musical performance activities 1
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 114"
[i.e. self-efficacy for musical learning]
We would like for you to think of one specific performance activity in which you have recently
had a prominent role (e.g. a solo performance of a particular sonata/concerto, an ensemble
performance of a well-known chamber piece, a gig requiring improvised solos around a standard
tune, etc.). Please describe this performance activity:
Music Played: Estimated size of audience:
Location:

Very
poorly Excellent
Rate how well the above performance went: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Imagine that you have been asked to perform a similar activity within the next few weeks (i.e.
with music of comparable musical and technical difficulty, performing in a similar context, with
the same level of expectations and demands, etc.). Please indicate how much you agree or
disagree with each of the following statements, specifically regarding how you would learn and
prepare for this performance.

Not at all sure Completely sure
0% 100%
1. I am confident that I can successfully
learn the music for this performance
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. One of my problems is that I can not
get down to practising or rehearsing for
this specific performance when I
should.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. If I can’t play the music for this
performance at first, I will keep
practising until I can.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. When I set important learning goals
leading up to this performance, I can
rarely achieve them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. I can give up preparing for this
performance before completing it.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. When I have something unpleasant to
do in preparation for this performance,
I can stick to it until I finished it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 115"
7. When I decided to do this performance,
I go right to work on the music.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. When first playing the music for this
performance, I soon give up if I am not
initially successful.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. The prospects of failure in this
performance can just make me work
harder in preparation.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. I can give up on working towards this
performance easily.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. I am not capable of dealing with most
problems that may come up when
working toward this performance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 116"
Appendix B: Attitudes Toward Specific Musical Performance Activity 2

Attitudes toward specific musical performance activity 2 [i.e. self-efficacy for musical
performance]

Self-efficacy for Musical Performing Questionnaire Version Attached: Full Test
PsycTESTS Citation: Ritchie, L., & Williamon, A. (2010). Self-efficacy for Musical Performing
Questionnaire [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t17612-000
Instrument Type: Inventory/Questionnaire
Test Format: The 9-item Self-efficacy for Musical Performing Questionnaire utilizes a 7-point
Likert-type rating scale, anchored from 1 (much less ability) to 7 (excellent ability).
Source: Supplied by author.
Original Publication: Ritchie, Laura, & Williamon, Aaron. (2011). Measuring distinct types of
musical self-efficacy. Psychology of Music, Vol 39(3), 328-344. doi:
10.1177/0305735610374895
Permissions: Test content may be reproduced and used for non-commercial research and
educational purposes without seeking written permission. Distribution must be controlled,
meaning only to the participants engaged in the research or enrolled in the educational activity.
Any other type of reproduction or distribution of test content is not authorized without written
permission from the author and publisher.

PsycTESTSTM is a database of the American Psychological Association

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 117"
Attitudes toward specific musical performance activities 2
[i.e. Self-efficacy for Musical Performing]
Now, please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements,
specifically regarding how you will perform during this activity.

Not at all sure Completely sure
0% 100%
1. I am confident that I can give a
successful performance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. I have set important goals to attain
during this performance, but I cannot
achieve them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I can avoid difficulties and challenges
during the performance itself.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. If I perceive the events or context
surrounding this performance to be too
stressful, I cannot even attempt to
perform.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. If something unexpected happens
during the performance, I can handle it
well.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. I can avoid this performance if the
music looks or sounds too difficult for
me.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. I feel insecure about my playing for this
performance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. I can give up easily during the
performance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. I am capable of dealing with problems
that might come up during the
performance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 118"
Appendix C: Music Skill/Attribute

1. Ability to collaborate/work with other performers
2. Management of everyday stress
3. Stamina
4. Acute ear/detailed listening
5. Ability to memorize
6. Ability to sight-read
7. Ability to improvise
8. Quantity of practice
9. Technical proficiency
10. Quality/effectiveness of practice
11. Quality and control of tone
12. Ability to engage in effective mental rehearsal
13. Musicality, interpretative or expressive skills
14. Sense of stylistic appropriateness
15. Ability to communicate musically with the audience
16. Ability to learn new musical material and concepts quickly and easily
17. Level of perseverance
18. Ability to mange stage fright
19. Motivation and drive to excel
20. Overall musical ability
21. Overall standard of performance

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 119"
Appendix D: Semi-Structured Self-Efficacy Interview for Teachers

Semi-structured Self-efficacy Interview for Teachers
Version Attached: Full Test
Note: Test name created by PsycTESTS
PsycTESTS Citation: Morris, D. B., & Usher, E. L. (2011). Semi-structured Self-efficacy
Interview for Teachers [Database record]. Retrieved from PsycTESTS. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/t21387-000
Instrument Type: Interview Schedule/Guide
Test Format: This semi-structured interview consists main questions and probing questions.
Source: Morris, David B., & Usher, Ellen L. (2011). Developing teaching self-efficacy in
research institutions: A study of award-winning professors. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, Vol 36(3), 232-245. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.005, © 2011 by Elsevier.
Reproduced by Permission of Elsevier.
Permissions: Test content may be reproduced and used for non-commercial research and
educational purposes without seeking written permission. Distribution must be controlled,
meaning only to the participants engaged in the research or enrolled in the educational activity.
Any other type of reproduction or distribution of test content is not authorized without written
permission from the author and publisher.

doi: 10.1037/t21387-000
Semi-structured Self-efficacy Interview for Teachers

Items
1. Background information
• When and where did you receive your bachelor’s degree?
• When, where, and in what field did you receive your doctorate?
• Could you briefly take me through your post-doctoral career trajectory?
• When did you begin teaching undergraduates?
2. What experiences related to teaching did you have prior to teaching at the college level?
3. How many undergraduate classes per semester do you usually teacher?
• What undergraduate courses do you typically teach and how many students typically enroll in each?
4. If you could rate how much value you place on your teaching, research, and service in terms of percentages, what percentage
would you allot to each of these duties? For example, if you valued all duties equally, you would allot 33.3% to research,
33.3% to teaching, and 33.3% to service.
• In terms of percentages, how much value do you think university administrators at this university would place on these
three?
5. If I asked you to rate your confidence in teaching undergraduate classes in your discipline on a scale of 0-10, what number
would you select?
6. Can you tell me the reasons that you selected this number?
• Which of the things you mentioned do you believe had the most powerful influence on your confidence?
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 120!
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!

7. What experiences in your professional life as a teacher have made you more confident as a teacher of undergraduates?
• What experiences in your life as a teacher have lowered your confidence as an instructor?
• How do you know that a given lesson has gone well?
- Does that influence your confidence as an instructor?
- Explain.
• How do you know that a given lesson has not gone well?
- Does that influence your confidence as an instructor?
- Explain.
8. According to the theory I am exploring in this study, there are many vicarious influences on the confidence we have in our
teaching. These may influence things we’ve seen, things we’ve read, or others we have observed. Can you pinpoint some
powerful vicarious influences on your teaching confidence?
9. Tell me some of the things other people have said about your teaching that you particularly recall.
• Of the things that people have said, which ones stand out for you as positive comments that boosted your confidence?
• Why did they boost your confidence?
• Of the things that people have said, which ones stand out for you as negative comments that decreased your confidence?
• Why did they decrease your confidence?
10. Identify for me some of the most prominent feelings and emotions that you experience when you are teaching and when you
are preparing to teach.
• Which of these feelings or emotions would you say have raised your confidence in teaching undergraduates?
• Which of these feelings or emotions would you say have decreased your confidence?
• Which of these feelings or emotions have most profoundly influenced your confidence?
11. Tell me a memorable story that would help me understand how you developed the confidence that you have for teaching
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 121!
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undergraduate?
12. Even highly recognized teachers like you occasionally run into teaching challenges and setbacks. Tell me about some of the
setbacks you have faced in your teaching.
• How do you deal with these sorts of setbacks?
• Do they influence your teaching confidence? Explain.
13. Can you identity the time when your confidence in your teaching solidified? That is, at what point did you begin to have good
sense that you were or were not a capable teacher?
14. Were there specific periods in your life or career that were particularly critical in the development of your confidence as a
teacher?
15. We may have already touched on this but I would like to revisit this if you don’t mind. What is the most negative teaching-
related experience that you’ve had?
• How did you respond?
• Did it affect your confidence? Explain.
• Did this negative experience affect your subsequent teaching performances?
16. Are there other things we have not addressed that you feel influenced your confidence as a teacher of undergraduate?
17. I would like to close our chat by asking you to think broadly about your confidence as a teacher of undergraduates and give me
what you believe have been the three most powerful influences on your teaching confidence in order of the power you believe
each of their influences has exercised. Begin with the most powerful influence on your confidence.

PsycTESTSTM is a database of the American Psychological Association
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 122!
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SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 123
Appendix E: Semi-Structured Self-Efficacy Interview for Teachers (Modified)

Items
1. Background information
• When did you begin teaching undergraduates?
2. What experiences related to teaching did you have prior to teaching at the college level?
3. How many undergraduate students per semester do you usually teacher?
• Do you teach any undergraduate courses in a classroom setting?
- If so, how many undergraduate courses do you teach per semester?
- How many students typically enroll in each?
4. If I asked you to rate your confidence in teaching undergraduate students private (one-on-
one) music lessons in your discipline on a scale of 0-10, what number would you select?
5. Please think broadly about your confidence as a teacher of undergraduates and give me
what you believe have been the three most powerful influences on your teaching
confidence.
6. Can you tell me the reasons that you selected this number?
• Which of the things you mentioned do you believe had the most powerful influence
on your confidence?
7. What experiences in your professional life as a teacher have made you more confident as
a teacher of undergraduates?
• What experiences in your life as a teacher have lowered your confidence as an
instructor?
• How do you know that a given lesson has gone well?
- Does that influence your confidence as an instructor?
- Explain.
• How do you know that a given lesson has not gone well?
- Does that influence your confidence as an instructor?
- Explain.
8. According to the theory I am exploring in this study, there are many vicarious influences
on the confidence we have in our teaching. These may influence things we’ve seen,
things we’ve read, or others we have observed. Can you pinpoint some powerful
vicarious influences on your teaching confidence?
9. Tell me some of the things other people have said about your teaching that you
particularly recall.
• Of the things that people have said, which ones stand out for you as positive
comments that boosted your confidence?
• Why did they boost your confidence?
• Of the things that people have said, which ones stand out for you as negative
comments that decreased your confidence?
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 124
• Why did they decrease your confidence?
10. Identify for me some of the most prominent feelings and emotions that you experience
when you are teaching.
• Which of these feelings or emotions would you say have raised your confidence in
teaching undergraduates?
• Which of these feelings or emotions would you say have decreased your confidence?
• Which of these feelings or emotions have most profoundly influenced your
confidence?
11. Do you prepare for each lesson?
12. Tell me a memorable story that would help me understand how you developed the
confidence that you have for teaching undergraduate?
13. For all teachers, we occasionally run into teaching challenges and setbacks. Tell me about
some of the setbacks you have faced in your teaching.
• How do you deal with these sorts of setbacks?
• Do they influence your teaching confidence? Explain.
14. Can you identity the time when your confidence in your teaching solidified? That is, at
what point did you begin to have good sense that you were or were not a capable teacher?
15. Were there specific periods in your life or career that were particularly critical in the
development of your confidence as a teacher?
16. We may have already touched on this but I would like to revisit this if you don’t mind.
What is the most negative teaching-related experience that you’ve had?
• How did you respond?
• Did it affect your confidence? Explain.
• Did this negative experience affect your subsequent teaching performances?
17. Are there other things we have not addressed that you feel influenced your confidence as
a teacher of undergraduate?
18. Can you describe your interactions with your students during lessons?
19. Can you describe your interactions with your students outside of class?
20. How would you describe your relationships with each of your students?
• How are they similar to each other?
• How are they different from each other?

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 125
Appendix F: IRB Approval

University of Southern California University Park Institutional
Review Board
3720 South Flower Street Credit Union Building (CUB) #301
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702
Phone: 213-821-5272
Fax: 213-821-5276
upirb@usc.edu

Date: Jan 14, 2016, 11:07am
Action Taken: Approve
Principal
Investigator:
Yuan Yuan Chen
ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Faculty
Advisor:
Patricia Tobey
OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
Co-
Investigator(s)
:

Project Title: Music and Self-Efficacy
Study ID: UP-16-00010
Funding
Types:
No Funding
Researchers are reminded that USC follows the principles of the Belmont Report, which
requires all potential participants to be informed of the research study, their rights as a
participant, confidentiality of the data, etc. Therefore an Information Sheet for students
has been generated. In addition, the consent document for the professors did not include
all of the information.
Please check with all participating sites to make sure you have their permission to
conduct research prior to beginning your study.

Attachments
:
No documents
The University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB) designee determined that your
project meets the requirements outlined in 45 CFR 46.101(b) category (2) and qualifies
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 126
for exemption from IRB review. This study was approved on 01/14/2016 and is not
subject to further IRB review.
Minor revisions were made to the application (sections 11.2, 25.2, 26.3 & 26.5),
recruitment and consent documents by the IRB Administrator. Researchers are reminded
that USC follows the principles of the Belmont Report, which requires all potential
participants to be informed of the research study, their rights as a participant,
confidentiality of the data, etc. Therefore an Information Sheet for students has been
generated. In addition, the consent document for the professors did not include all of the
information.
The IRBA revised/generated documents have been uploaded into the relevant iStar
sections. If revisions are made to the application, and changes are required to the
documents, please create an amendment, at which time the IRBA revised documents will
become available to the study personnel. All current changes must be accepted using the
track changes feature in Microsoft Word and the changes saved. The study personnel can
then revise the documents, including the date in the footer. The PI/study staff revised
documents must then be uploaded into iStar using the "upload revisions" function;
thereby replacing the obsolete documents. Please do not remove the obsolete version
from the application.
The following materials were reviewed and approved:
Certified Information Sheet for Professors, dated 01-14-2016
Certified Information Sheet for Students, dated 01-14-2016
Certified Email Invitation to Music Professors, dated 01-14-2016
Certified Email Invitation to Music Students, dated 01-14-2016
To access IRB-approved documents, click on the “Approved Documents” link in the
study workspace. These are also available under the “Documents” tab.
Please check with all participating sites to make sure you have their permission to
conduct research prior to beginning your study.
Social-behavioral health-related interventions or health-outcome studies must register
with clinicaltrials.gov or other International Community of Medical Journal Editors
(ICMJE) approved registries in order to be published in an ICJME journal. The ICMJE
will not accept studies for publication unless the studies are registered prior to
enrollment, despite the fact that these studies are not applicable “clinical trials” as defined
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For support with registration, go to
www.clinicaltrials.gov or contact Jean Chan ( jeanbcha@usc.edu, 323-442-2825).

Approved Documents: view

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SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 127
Appendix G: Student Quotes: Descriptions of Relationships
Classical Music Students’ Descriptions of Their Relationship with Their Classical Music
Professor.

Positive Negative
"Professional and positive!"
"It can be strained at time because of his
traveling but it is good."
"My teacher treats me primarily as an equal.
He encourages me, as a graduate student, to
choose my own repertoire and material to
work on, and to seek out audition
opportunities that we can then prepare for.
We have a weekly, one-hour lesson, and have
recently made plans to meet at a local brass
specialty store to choose a new mouthpiece
for me. He is available through text or email
to answer questions that arise during the week
as well. My teacher also leads two out of
seven horn studio classes each semester; the
other five are given by a horn faculty member
who is not my private lesson instructor."
"I like and respect him a lot as a person. I know
that he cares about me very much during the
lesson and is trying his best to improve me, but
he has so many students that it is impossible for
him to keep track of my life and give guidance
the way my previous long-term teacher did. I
am also finding frustrations that he isn't
necessarily a fit for me personally, since he
doesn't work on technical details the way many
teachers do and talks about many
unconventional philosophies which help very
technically assured players open up in
wonderful, indirect ways but doesn't provide
me a path to get to where those people already
are. He gives me a good deal of freedom, but I
wish he were more exacting and sometimes as
tough as my old teacher, while helping me feel
that I am really making progress as a violinist,
not just in his unconventional methods of mind
and body approaches."
"I am very close with my teacher. We are
constantly in contact and she is like a second
mother to me. I started studying with her in
high school, so we have spent many years
together. I have baby sat her children and she
has driven me to the hospital -- I very much
value having her in my life, not just as my
teacher!"
"My teacher is very pragmatic and protective;
however, I feel that she is not wholly invested.
She rarely gives her students time outside of
lesson time (including emails, short meetings,
etc.) and does not present her in-the-studio
positive attitude during group studio class. I
greatly respect her knowledge and abilities."
"I have a very positive, very strong
relationship with my teacher. He is just as
much a personal/life mentor as he is a music
teacher."

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 128
)
Classical Music Students' Descriptions of Their Relationship with Their Classical Music
Professor.

Positive Negative
"Good relationship and I always ask questions for what I need
help with."
"Professional."

"He's like the lovely Jewish grandfather I wish I had in real
life. He is very supportive and constructive."
"Very good, professional congenial."
"Very good. Well connection. He is like my father."

"I just switched into his studio this past fall and I have made
more improvement in the past few months than the last two
years. We work very well together. I understand everything he
says to me and visa versa."

"No problems, very easy to communicate, encourages
questions, teacher is inspiring and has energy."

"I think we have a good personal and working relationship. I
feel comfortable talking to her about any questions or concerns
I may have about any area of my musical studies."

"I respect him very much and I always feel inspired by my
lessons, never pressured. He is willing to help me with any
kind of question."

"Very open relationship. He always has very high expectations
for me, which builds a very healthy relationship between us.
There is an equal balance of reward and critique."

"My teacher is everything that I strive to be, and is the person
that I most often go to for advice. I am not intimidated by him,
but I do admire him and want him to think highly of me."

"Two teachers, respect both, afraid of one, love the other."

"He's really caring: Strict, but loving. Really shows that he
cares about my state of being."

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 129
Classical Music Students' Descriptions of Their Relationship with Their Classical Music
Professor.

Positive Negative
"My studio teacher has been one of my greatest mentors ever, I
know I can bring any problem to him."
"Great."
"Father and daughter relationship."

"My teacher cares a lot about my well-being and wants me to be an
engaged musician. My teacher knows that I am struggling with that
and continues to look for ways to help me. My teacher is present in
the lesson and wants to draw me out, senses that I lack confidence.
Sometimes I am concerned that I am letting my professor down or
not working hard enough."

"We have a great relationship. I feel like I can ask her anything at
any time and she will give me the advice I need. She has been
incredibly supportive."

"She is my mentor and an inspiration to me in life. She is fantastic,
kind and caring, and she encourages me to push myself. I feel very
comfortable sharing my feelings about music and my confidence
levels with her, and even occasionally things that aren't related to
music that are affecting my life."

"I trust my teacher, not only as an instructor but as a person. I am
comfortable speaking about myself with my teacher and she
welcomes my openness."

"We work very well together. Although I didn't know him before I
came to [Conservatory E], we have a very great relationship and
very open communication."

"Amazing relationship! I can speak with her about both musical and
non-musical aspects of life, difficulties in practice and my other
classes, and she cares most about my well-being."

"My relationship is pretty good. He is very friendly and very
knowledgeable. We get along well, although we are not really
"close" or anything."

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 130
Classical Music Students' Descriptions of Their Relationship with Their Classical Music
Professor.

Positive Negative

"She is very nice, I like her!"
"A very casual relationship. Most of the technical work done is done on
my own and many of the issues brought up are interpretation problems.
Many of theses times they differ from my own interpretation of the
piece. We have a very open relationship where I am allowed to
disagree as long as I have strong evidence for my interpretation."

"I have a great relationship with my professor. We are professional,
but we laugh and have fun in our lessons. He is aware of who I am as a
person as well as a player and is able to adjust his teaching style to me.
He is patience but has high expectations. I’m very lucky."

"Quite positive and beneficial, at times even nurturing and refreshing."
"Friendly, with a mentor mentee situation."

"Very close. I can approach him with any problem, even if it isn't
strictly lesson related."

"I've studied with [my professor] half time for the past four years, and
we continue to have a productive working relationship. Classical music
is not my area of study, but together we have worked through the
development of the essential skills required for expert performance. As
I continue to improve through deliberate practice, he continues to raise
his expectations and challenge me with more advanced music."
"Collegial, interactive, positive."

"When there's not a trombone in our hands, he's very easygoing and
looks out for his students (musically and emotionally), but when we're
in a lesson he is not afraid to say what he needs to get improvement as
quickly as possible."

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 131
Classical Music Students' Descriptions of Their Relationship with Their Classical Music
Professor.

Positive Negative
"It's very very good! I like my teacher he is very patient and
respectful!"
"I am a little afraid of them, but in a good way."

"Very good. My teacher is very funny and supportive. He also
knows when to be tough in order to get me to work harder. I
am extremely lucky to have been given the chance to study
with him."

SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 132
Appendix H: Student Quotes: Importance of Mentorship
Classical Music Students Describing Their Beliefs on The Importance of Mentorship.

Important Not Important
"Very important."
"Not very important. I am very self
sufficient and can work and prepare a
recital myself without any help from
instructor."
“Incredibly important.”
"It isn't important for improving my
skill level, but also helping me improve
my attitude and morale".
"Very important. It's one of the only ways to be
motivated to get better fast in music."
"Very important."

"I think my relationship with my teacher is very
important. I highly value his opinion so I do my
best to work hard and impress him. I feel like if
someone does not get along with their teacher, they
should try to find a new one. Especially as a young
musician still developing your personal style and
technique."

“Very important."

"It is extremely important, if you don't think you
work well with your professor of if you don't like
him/her your results will never be as good."

"Very."

"The most important thing in studying abroad life."

"Very important communication is key."

"Very - if you are not comfortable with your
teacher, and his/her teaching, you'll always doubt
your technique and your musicality, which will
affect your work ethics and mentality and
ultimately your performance."

"I think it's one of the most important aspects of my
education. It is where I get a lot of my motivation to
practice and also gain more understanding of how
to solve issues in my playing."

"It's probably one of the most important things in
order to make progress."

(continued)
)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 133
Classical Music Students Describing Their Beliefs on The Importance of Mentorship.

Important Not Important
"The primary teacher is supposed to be the most important
figure in your life outside of maybe your parents. I take it
seriously. However, certain teachers can only specialize in
doing some things particularly well. I wish there was more of
a culture around playing for more teachers to get
complimentary feedback to one another. I also think it is just
as or more important to take on role models, whether that be
accomplished friends/peers or successful musicians from
past/present and learn from them by example too. That is
where it is a benefit to have a teacher who's still in his or her
prime playing-wise to learn from, because many teachers are
no longer capable of doing what they did when they were
younger on their instruments."

"Very important! Having this close relationship provides us
with the ability to go beyond technique and get to the root of
why we play music."

"This relationship is very important. It determines my growth
and the mental health of my playing. Without this relationship
it would be hard to find guidance in the industry."

"I think it's very important that you build a rapport on a
personal and professional level with your teacher. Music is,
more so than any other field, very personal and to succeed
you must be able to be comfortable with those that help you
on your way."

"Absolutely crucial."

"Very."

"The most important. He is the reason I have stayed at
[Conservatory E]."
Very, very important! It is one of the main reasons why I
came to [Conservatory E] for undergrad.
"I feel it is important to have an honest relationship with one's
teacher because without this foundation, I may not be able to
properly apply her advice and instruction in order to improve
my instrument."

"Extremely important: it's one of the prominent reasons why
most performers go to a conservatory in the first place."

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 134
Classical Music Students Describing Their Beliefs on The Importance of Mentorship.

Important Not Important
"At this stage, my relationship with my teacher is
important, but there have been times when I have felt
more engaged in my relationship with my primary
teacher than I do at present. My teacher is inspiring to me
in many ways and I am very lucky to have this
relationship."

"Very important. Especially for singers, when your
instrument is your body and sometimes embarrassing
things can happen to your voice while you sing. It is very
easy to feel insecure about your voice because it is
literally a part of you, and it is easy to take simple
mistakes very easily. Being able to be vulnerable in front
of your teacher is key."

"ESSENTIAL. Students study music to follow their
passions, and they need someone who will nurture,
support, and guide them along in their practice, even
when life may get tough! You cannot thrive as much as
you could without a positive relationship with someone
you spend a critical hour or more with each week."

"I believe the relationship is crucial to your growth as a
performer. They have such a strong say on one of the
largest aspects of your life, and can highly influence your
self and world views."

"I think its incredibly important. Having respect for your
teacher and not wanting to disappoint them, but also
knowing you can trust them and not be afraid of them is
huge. That is something big for me. Knowing how you
work and how you respond to types of teaching is
incredibly valuable and finding that relationship is so
important, at least to me, on how you develop as a
musician as well as how you develop confidence in
oneself."

"I think a good relationship with your primary teacher is
very important. A good relationship can inspire better
one to practice more and strive to be a better musician. A
bad relationship can do just the opposite."

"I think the most important thing is that the teacher is
musically invested in the student and gives them their full
effort, and that the student is open-minded and is willing
to work to get as much out of the teachings as they can."

(continued)
SELF-EFFICACY OF MUSIC PROFESSOR AND MUSIC STUDENT 135
Classical Music Students Describing Their Beliefs on The Importance of Mentorship.

Important Not Important
“She is the most important teacher for me in this school!

Absolutely critical.”

“Of utmost importance, as he is often the primary source of musical
guidance.”
“Very.”

“Very important.”

"Extremely."

“Very important and changed my mind.”

“Very important. If we don't click on something, it's very difficult to
work things out.”
“Extremely.”

“In my undergraduate years at [anther music school], my then-teacher
was very hands-on. He looked out for us, both in the horn studio and in
our day-to-day lives. When I was sick, he would notice and follow up
the next week, asking if I felt better or had gone to the nurse, etc. We
depended on him to help us become well-balanced, healthy-minded
individuals. The toxic, competitive, judgmental environment at
[Conservatory E] came as a complete shock to me, when I came here
last fall for my master’s degree. My teacher was and still is a bright
spot in my musical life at this school. My lessons are good, my studio
classes are good, my brass rep class is good. However, because my
teacher does not have an office in the building or perhaps because he
only teaches four out of the seventeen horn students at [Conservatory
E], there is no sense of studio togetherness, no built-in network of horn
player friends to fall back on when you're discouraged. I see my
teacher, at most, twice a week. Although we work on [Conservatory E]
materials and prepare for school performances together, he is basically
not around. This is the difference between conservatories and
universities. My teacher at Eastman was foremost my teacher. He was
in his office on the second floor every single weekday, from 8:30 am to
5:30 pm. He looked out for us and could see emotional problems as
they arose. Because of his guidance, I became a strong person who
could withstand the [Conservatory E’s] cold atmosphere. As a grad
student, I am enjoying the level of playing and the fact that there are so
many grad students like me at this school. My teacher is just another
aspect of the school that I like, not an integral part of the [Conservatory
E] experience - he is, however, principally a member of an orchestra,
not a teacher. I feel sorry for all the undergrads at [Conservatory E]
who do not have the chance to develop strong relationships and thus
often can't handle the pressures of the school. The teachers at
[Conservatory E] are ideal for a graduate level of education but aren't
around enough or readily available for undergraduate students to
become confident, well-adjusted musicians.”

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Most current empirical studies on music education examined the benefits of music, these studies usually were focused at the primary and secondary levels. The few studies that examined music education in higher education contexts were conducted outside the United States

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Asset Metadata

Creator Chen, Yuan Yuan (author)

Core Title A case study: what factors influenced classical music professors' self-efficacy in teaching and their self perceived self-efficacy on how to teach/mentor their classical music students to degree ...

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 07/26/2016

Defense Date 06/22/2016

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag case study,Classical music,classical music professor,classical music student,Higher education,mixed method,OAI-PMH Harvest,self-efficacy,teaching/mentoring

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tobey, Patricia (committee chair), Crispen, Patrick (committee member), Cutietta, Robert (committee member)

Creator Email bluebaby137@gmail.com,cyuanyua@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-278722

Unique identifier UC11279527

Identifier etd-ChenYuanYu-4615.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-278722 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-ChenYuanYu-4615-1.pdf

Dmrecord 278722

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Chen, Yuan Yuan

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA