Education and Student Self-Concept: A Review of Literature

The purpose of this research was to review literature which pertained to the relationship between music education and student self-concept. In addition to research regarding the effect of music education on student self-concept, this review also included selected research regarding self-concept definitions, measurement of self-concept, self-concept ability, and students' beliefs about the causes of success and failure.

This literature review suggested the following conclusions: (a) although there is no single, universally accepted definition of self-concept, a multi-dimensional construct is accepted by a majority of researchers, (b) many difficulties associated with investigating the relationship between music and self-concept may be attributed to ambiguities regarding the definition of self-concept and resulting measurement difficulties, (c) there is no consistent evidence regarding the relationship between music education and student self-concept, (d) there is no consistent evidence which suggests a relationship between general self-concept and music achievement, although social factors associated with music education experiences may partially account for this perceived relationship, (e) self-concept of music ability maybe a predictor of music participation, (f) existing quantitative measurement instruments may not be effective for investigating the relationship between music education and general self-concept.