An emphasis on the inclusion of children's voices into music education curricular experiences has intensified in recent years. This has manifested itself in research on children's musical experiences outside of the typical school day (e.g. Lum, Reference LUM2008; Campbell, Reference CAMPBELL2010), as well as studies of their perspectives on the current curricula within music education (e.g. Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998; Roberts, Reference ROBERTS2015). Out-of-school musical experiences addressed have included issues such as the role of popular music (Bickford, Reference BICKFORD, Campbell and Wiggins2013), karaoke (Young, Reference YOUNG2012) and musical play (Marsh, Reference MARSH2008). Typically, children have found their school-based musical endeavours to be disconnected from their out-of-school musical experiences. Children's attitudes towards their in-school music education classes have been found to be positive in the lower primary school levels, but to decline as students age (Haladyna & Thomas, Reference HALADYNA and THOMAS1979; Ruismäki & Tereska, Reference RUISMÄKI and TERESKA2008). These negative attitudes have been shown to be particularly true of boys (Eccles et al., Reference ECCLES, WIGFIELD, HAROLD and BLUMENFELD1993; Phillips & Aitchison, Reference PHILLIPS and AITCHISON1998). In a bid to make school music experiences more relevant to all children, calls have been made to bridge the gap between the experiences that children have out of school and their in-school ones.
In many children's lives outside of school, competition plays a large role. Children act as participants in activities such as team sports and dance competitions, and as observers of phenomena such as reality television shows and professional sports. Competitive experiences for children are becoming more common; Friedman (Reference FRIEDMAN2013) noted that throughout the second half of the 20th century, the prevalence of competition in the lives of children in the USA has expanded, including a greater number of children of increasingly younger ages. Children often select the extracurricular activities in which they participate (Freidman, Reference FRIEDMAN2013), and the pervasiveness of competition in their after-school experiences suggests that this may be an experience that children find enjoyable and motivating.
One element of children's out-of-school musical lives that has a long history of scholarly investigation is the singing game (e.g. Gomme, Reference GOMME1898; Opie & Opie, Reference OPIE and OPIE1988; Marsh, Reference MARSH2008). Many singing games contain an aspect in which one player wins and another loses (Marsh, Reference MARSH2008). As a practising primary school music teacher in the USA, I often de-emphasised competitive singing games, concerned that the students’ self-esteem would suffer. However, given the prevalence of competition in the lives of the children that I teach, it is conceivable that it could be motivating for them. This study investigated primary school students’ attitudes towards competitive and non-competitive singing games.
Competition and music education
Research and advocacy concerning competition within music education has focused primarily on festivals common for music students at secondary levels, or auditions for placement within an ensemble. Rationales for competition in secondary music programmes include increasing student motivation (e.g. Austin, Reference AUSTIN1988; Sheldon, Reference SHELDON1994; Conrad et al., Reference CONRAD, GARDNER, HANLEY, ROBINSON, ROGERS, STRAUB, LEE WASHINGTON, WOLFMAN and PONICK2001; Stamer, Reference STAMER2004; Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012), improving group camaraderie (Stamer, Reference STAMER2004; Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012) and providing opportunities for outside evaluation (Conrad et al., Reference CONRAD, GARDNER, HANLEY, ROBINSON, ROGERS, STRAUB, LEE WASHINGTON, WOLFMAN and PONICK2001; Stamer, Reference STAMER2004; Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012), all of which may lead to improved musicianship (Hurst & Ramsay, Reference HURST and RAMSAY1991; Stamer, Reference STAMER2004; Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012). On the other hand, it has been noted that competition in music can be damaging to students’ self-esteem (Miller, Reference MILLER1994; Conrad et al., Reference CONRAD, GARDNER, HANLEY, ROBINSON, ROGERS, STRAUB, LEE WASHINGTON, WOLFMAN and PONICK2001; Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012), and that contests among secondary ensembles can engender a focus on winning at the expense of quality music-making (Sheldon, Reference SHELDON1994; Stamer, Reference STAMER2004; Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012). In one study that chronicled students’ opinions (rather than the perspectives of music educators), secondary school students confirmed that they find the competitiveness of band festivals to be motivating (Gouzouasis & Henderson, Reference GOUZOUASIS and HENDERSON2012).
One study investigated primary schoolchildren's attitudes towards competition. Austin (Reference AUSTIN1988) conducted an experiment with fifth and sixth grade band students (ages 10–12 years), in which half of the students received contest ratings and written comments, while the other half received comments only. When asked if they would choose to compete for ratings in the future, a significant number of students answered affirmatively. As ratings can be seen as an indicator of competition, the finding suggests that competition may have been a motivator for these students. No research was found concerning competition in the general music class. The extant literature on student preferences towards competitive experiences in music education, while minimal, suggests that primary students could conceivably view them favourably.
Competition: gender, culture and age
When exploring the nature of competitiveness in children and youth outside the field of music education, a robust set of literature has compared the experiences of boys and girls. Most studies have found competitive dimensions to be more prevalent in boys’ stated preferences and lived experiences than those of girls. For example, when provided with a choice, boys aged 8–19 were shown to be more likely than girls to elect to participate in a competitive maths tournament (Sutter & Rützler, Reference SUTTER and RÜTZLER2010). In the primary school classroom, girls have been found to display higher levels of discomfort with direct competition (Berenson et al., Reference BERENSON, ROY, WAITE, GOLDBAUM, LINDERS and SIMPSON2002) and to be less likely to engage in it (Weinberger & Stein, Reference WEINBERGER and STEIN2008). Interpersonally, competitive elements have been shown to be more common in middle school boys’ friendship than in those of girls (Hartup, Reference HARTUP, Shantz and Hartup1992; Schneider et al., Reference SCHNEIDER, WOODBURN, DEL TORO and UDVARI2005), with extrinsic goals such as winning more important to boys (Patrick et al., Reference PATRICK, RYAN and PINTRICH1999; Hibbard & Buhrmaster, Reference HIBBARD and BUHRMASTER2010). In the context of informal musical play, boys have been found to be more likely to play games characterised by overt levels of competitiveness, such as chase games (Merrill-Mirsky, Reference MERRILL-MIRSKY1986; Minks, Reference MINKS2008; Marsh, Reference MARSH2008). While exceptions can be found (e.g. Dreber et al., Reference DREBER, VON ESSEN and RAMEHLL2011), most studies suggest that competitiveness has come to be viewed as a masculine trait.
Social role theory offers one lens through which to view the gendered experiences of competition (Eagly, Reference EAGLY1987; Bosak et al., Reference BOSAK, SCZESNY and EAGLY2012). It proposes that many behavioural differences between males and females develop as perceivers observe groups of people in specific roles. When one gender is over- or under-represented relative to their numbers in the general population, stereotypes concerning gender-appropriate activities and traits emerge. For example, the greater prevalence of women as the stay-at-home parent causes social perceivers to believe that females are inherently more communally oriented (Bosak et al., Reference BOSAK, SCZESNY and EAGLY2012). In the USA, where the current study was undertaken, the most visible manifestation of competition lies in professional sports, a field that is dominated by men. By noting the gender discrepancy in the population of competitive athletes, social role theory would posit that children develop beliefs that competitive sports are more appropriate for males. This belief regarding competitive sports transfers more broadly into a trait, and competitiveness becomes seen as a masculine attribute.
In the view of social role theory, then, gender norms are context-specific, arising out of the specific patterns within different societies (Wood & Eagly, Reference WOOD and EAGLY2002). With regards to competition, most studies have shown boys to act more competitively than girls, but the finding has not been universal. Males have been found to be more competitive in most studies, such as those performed in Israel (Gneezy & Rustichini, Reference GNEEZY and RUSTICHINI2004), Austria (Sutter & Rützler, Reference SUTTER and RÜTZLER2010), Tanzania (Gneezy et al., Reference GNEEZY, LEONARD and LIST2009), and among Mexican American and European American children in the USA (Strube, Reference STRUBE1981). Conversely, females were found to act more competitively than males among the Maori in New Zealand (Thomas, Reference THOMAS1975) and the Khasi in India (Gneezy et al., Reference GNEEZY, LEONARD and LIST2009). In Sweden, boys and girls were equally drawn to competitive experiences (Dreber et al., Reference DREBER, VON ESSEN and RAMEHLL2011). These discrepancies have led to suggestions that gender-based stereotypes of competitiveness differ across countries.
Age is another variable that affects children's interactions with competitive activities. In school and extracurricular settings, experiences with sports grow increasingly competitive as children grow older, as informal games in which a score is not kept give way to contests with winners and losers (Friedman, Reference FRIEDMAN2013). As students age, it is believed that they develop the maturity and experience to be able to respond to losing in ways that are socially acceptable (Darst & Pangrazi, Reference DARST and PANGRAZI2006). In children's musical cultures, too, older children have been found to engage in competitive singing games in their free time, while ceasing to perform non-competitive clapping games more common among their younger peers (Koops, Reference KOOPS, Campbell and Wiggins2013). Despite the challenges of negotiating the emotional disappointment that comes with losing, it has not necessarily followed that younger children prefer less competitive activities. Sutter and Rützler (Reference SUTTER and RÜTZLER2010), for example, found that preschool-aged children are equally as likely to select competitive experiences as children between the ages of nine and 17. Although competition becomes more common as children grow older, children of a variety of ages have been found to favour competitive experiences.
Primary schoolchildren's preferences for music class activities
Researchers have explored children's attitudes towards music class and the specific activities within it, considering issues such as student age and gender. As primary school students grow older, research has consistently indicated that positive attitudes towards music class and its constituent activities decline (Haladyna & Thomas, Reference HALADYNA and THOMAS1979; Vander Ark et al., Reference VANDER ARK, NOLIN and NEWMAN1980; Eccles et al., Reference ECCLES, WIGFIELD, HAROLD and BLUMENFELD1993; Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998; Phillips & Aitchison, Reference PHILLIPS and AITCHISON1998; Siebenaler, Reference SIEBENALER1999; Ruismäki & Tereska, Reference RUISMÄKI and TERESKA2008). This is a cause for concern. If students do not enjoy their experiences in upper primary school, a period when music education in the USA is mandatory for all students, they may be less likely to register for music classes in later years, when they become elective (Harackiewicz et al., Reference HARACKIEWICZ, BARRON, TAUER and ELLIOTT2002).
Studies have shown that girls generally hold more favourable attitudes about music class and musical experiences than boys do (Haladyna & Thomas, Reference HALADYNA and THOMAS1979; Vander Ark et al., Reference VANDER ARK, NOLIN and NEWMAN1980; Crowther & Durkin, Reference CROWTHER and DURKIN1982; Eccles et al., Reference ECCLES, WIGFIELD, HAROLD and BLUMENFELD1993; Phillips & Aitchison, Reference PHILLIPS and AITCHISON1998; Ruismäki & Tereska, Reference RUISMÄKI and TERESKA2008). Further, as primary students grow older, the gender gap in positive attitude towards music class has been found to widen, with boys developing increasingly negative attitudes (Nolin, Reference NOLIN1973; Vander Ark et al., Reference VANDER ARK, NOLIN and NEWMAN1980). For example, in a study of song preference, Siebenaler (Reference SIEBENALER1999) documented a more significant decline in attitude among boys than girls from third through to fifth grade.
Determining specific classroom experiences that students find interesting may be a way of reversing this declining trend in overall attitude towards the music class (Hidi & Renninger, Reference HIDI and RENNINGER2006). Activities that have been found to hold high favourability ratings among primary students include playing instruments (Murphy & Brown, Reference MURPHY and BROWN1986; Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998; Killian & Basinger, Reference KILLIAN and BASINGER2004), observing visiting performing artists (Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998) and working with a partner (Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998). Some research has found singing to be the favourite activity (Vander Ark et al., Reference VANDER ARK, NOLIN and NEWMAN1980; Bowman, Reference BOWMAN1988), or that children at least like to sing (Mizener, Reference MIZENER1993; Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998), while others indicate that children (particularly those in upper primary) dislike singing-based activities (Phillips & Aitchison, Reference PHILLIPS and AITCHISON1998, Reference PHILLIPS and AITCHISON1999). The preferences for music class activities have generally held true for both boys and girls. One exception has emerged with singing activities, which have been viewed particularly negatively by boys (Nolin, Reference NOLIN1973; Mizener, Reference MIZENER1993; Phillips & Aitchison, Reference PHILLIPS and AITCHISON1998). This is consistent with Green's (Reference GREEN1997) views on gendered musical meaning, in which singing is an activity that has come to be viewed as a feminine music-making experience. Combining a trait that has been seen as masculine (competitiveness) into an activity viewed as feminine (singing) may be a way to facilitate more positive reactions by boys.
Several researchers have addressed children's attitudes towards games in the context of children's music classes. In a study of students in kindergarten through to fifth grade in the USA, Bowles (Reference BOWLES1998) found that playing musical games was among the most desired activities across all grade levels, although it is unclear whether these games included singing games. Others have looked specifically at singing games or songs with movement. Moore (Reference MOORE2002) found that songs with more movement elicited less off-task behaviour and more enthusiasm by four- to seven-year-olds. Similarly, Mizener (Reference MIZENER1993) reported that third- to sixth-grade students would rather play games in which they ‘get up and sing and dance and move around the room’ rather than ‘sit or stand at our places and sing and do motions’ (p. 240). This result suggests that students prefer activities involving a high degree of active, physical participation, a characteristic of many singing games.
It appears that no study has explored children's attitudes towards competitive singing games. Some music educators caution that competition can negatively impact students (e.g. Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012), but given the widespread presence of competition in many children's lives, it is conceivable that children would find competitive singing games particularly enjoyable. By many accounts, boys are more drawn to competitive ventures than girls are, so it may be a particularly effective way of stemming the declining attitude of upper primary boys towards the general music class. The research questions were as follows: Do primary school students prefer competitive singing games to non-competitive ones? Do upper primary students and boys prefer competitive singing games at a greater rate than lower primary students and girls?
Method
In order to better understand primary schoolchildren's preferences for competitive or non-competitive singing games, this study surveyed fourth graders (n = 67) and second graders (n = 65) from one school in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. Four singing games were selected based on musical and extramusical similarities, two for fourth graders and two for second graders. The major difference within each set of games was that each round of one game ended with a winner and a loser, and the other did not.
Surveys have been the most common way that preference has been examined in music education. Researchers have stressed the importance of simplicity when using surveys with children (Borgers et al., Reference BORGERS, HOX and SIKKEL2003; Bell, Reference BELL2007), so a two-question format was utilised. The first question asked the students to name one of the two games as their favourite. Such forced-choice questions have been used in order to ‘require respondents to make an explicit judgment’ about an issue (Dillman et al., Reference DILLMAN, SMYTH and CHRISTIAN2009; p. 130), an appropriate approach when seeking to identify preference between two activities. In addition to the forced-choice question, the survey included an open-ended question in which students were asked to provide reasons for their preference. This particular mixed method survey was chosen in order to incorporate both the quantitative component, which can ‘provide a general picture of a research problem’ (Creswell, Reference CRESWELL2012, p. 515) and the qualitative one, to ‘refine, extend, or explain the general picture’.
I was the students’ teacher as well as the researcher. The teacher–student research paradigm poses potential problems with regards to the power differential that exists between the researcher and the researched (Wyness, Reference WYNESS2006). Trustworthiness issues can emerge, in that children may be more likely to provide answers to questions that they believe will please the researcher. A number of methodological choices were made to address this issue. First, I told students that there were no correct answers. Second, the forced-choice question format caused the students to prioritise one of the games. Had the students rated each game independently on a Likert-type scale, they could conceivably have rated both games more highly, in an attempt to provide answers they perceived to be teacher-approved. Third, I emphasised to the students that they were the experts about children's opinions, and that I would share their viewpoints with other teachers in a bid to include their perspectives into music classes (Fontana & Frey, Reference FONTANA, FREY, Denzin and Lincoln2005).
Materials
Four singing games were selected, two for fourth grade and two for second grade. The two fourth-grade games were Tideo and Chicken in the Fencepost (see Figure 1). They are of similar range (Tideo an octave, Chicken in the Fencepost a ninth). Both are in major keys, with pentatonic scales (Tideo: drm sl d’, Chicken in the Fencepost: s,l, drm sl). Both songs fall in duple meter, and have the same rhythmic elements (quarter notes, paired eighth notes, and groups of four sixteenth notes). Although Chicken in the Fencepost contains two characters, a chicken and Josey, the texts of each song have no clear meaning, and there is no narrative or specifically gendered character to whom students might relate.
Singing games for fourth graders.
The two second-grade games were Cut the Cake and Wallflowers (see Figure 2). They too are of similar range (an octave and a sixth, respectively). Both are sung in major keys, with a similar range of solfege notes (Cut the Cake: drm(f)sl d’, Wallflowers: drm sl). Both songs are in duple meter, but Wallflowers has a measure in 3/4 time towards the end of the song. Rhythmically, Cut the Cake consists of quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests, while Wallflowers contains more syncopation and is sung in a more rhythmically free style. Textually, the two songs differ considerably. The words in Wallflowers, an Irish song, refer to a measles epidemic in which many people died. The song uses the death theme playfully, with text that describes the freedom children would experience if their family members died. Cut the Cake, on the other hand, has no narrative, but is a more straightforward action song in which the text dictates the movements that students perform.
Singing games for second graders.
In both sets of games, the major difference lies in their competitiveness. In Chicken in the Fencepost, which the fourth graders played, two players vie to be the first one to the middle of a double circle to grab a stuffed chicken. In Tideo, on the other hand, no one wins or loses. Students must try to complete a move that can be somewhat physically challenging (jumping 360 degrees without touching the ground), but there is not a built-in rivalry to the game. In the second-grade game Cut the Cake, two players race around a circle in opposite directions, resulting in a clear-cut winner and loser. In Wallflowers, however, individual students stand in the middle of the circle, kick as high as they can at a specific time in the song, then sing the name of the next student they want to replace them.
Procedures
The two fourth-grade singing games were taught to the three classes of fourth graders. Familiarity with song material has been found to affect preference (Gregory, Reference GREGORY1994; Siebenaler, Reference SIEBENALER1999), so both games were played during five different class periods. Research has suggested that children prefer songs with faster tempi (LeBlanc & Cote, Reference LEBLANC and COTE1983), so the songs were sung at the same tempo (quarter note = 80). In order that the songs would be sung within a comfortable range, Tideo was performed in D major and Chicken in the Fencepost was sung in G Major. Pedagogically, students had derived rhythmic patterns from both songs in previous classes, and Tideo had been examined for its melodic patterns, specifically the high do, a note the students had not previously learned.
The two second-grade games were taught to the three classes of second graders (n = 65). Both games were played during six different class periods. They were sung at approximately the same tempo (quarter note = 72), in keys that would promote comfortable singing (D = do). Rhythmic or melodic concepts had not been derived from either game; they had been used solely as singing games. In Wallflowers, individual students were given the opportunity to sing measure nine alone.
On the final day of the game, the students entered the class and played each game for approximately five minutes. The order of the games was randomised among classes. On a questionnaire, students identified themselves by gender, named one of the two games as their favourite, then listed the reasons for their preference. Students were instructed not to discuss their answers with other students.
Results
The surveys were tallied by preference for game type, and then analysed to determine statistical significance using a chi-square statistic for goodness of fit. Overall, the students grade significantly preferred the competitive game to the non-competitive one, χ2 (1, n = 132) = 66.94, p<.05. Of the 132 students who answered the surveys, 113 listed the competitive game as their favourite (Chicken in the Fencepost for fourth grade or Cut the Cake for second grade), while 19 students selected the non-competitive game (Tideo or Wallflowers). See Table 1.
Student preference for competitive or non-competitive singing game, by gender and grade
Using a chi-square statistic for independence, the surveys were then examined for difference by grade level. The fourth and second graders’ opinions towards competitive and non-competitive games did not significantly differ, χ2 (1, n = 132) = 3.26, p>.05. Older students did not prefer the competitive game at greater rates than the younger children. Again using a chi-square statistic for independence, the surveys were analysed for difference by gender. The gender of the students did not significantly interact with their preference for game type, χ2 (1, n = 132) = 0.11, p>.05. Both boys and girls preferred the competitive game.
When survey results were organised by the intersection of grade and gender, all student groupings showed the competitive game as the preferred activity. However, a chi-square statistic for independence indicated that preference was not independent of group, χ2 (3, n = 132) = 12.2, p<.05. While in second grade, 11 of the girls named the non-competitive game as their favourite, in the fourth grade no girls preferred the non-competitive game. In second grade, two boys preferred the non-competitive game, and in fourth grade, six boys named the non-competitive game as their favourite activity. All six male fourth graders came from one of the three classes. In the other two classes the boys were unanimous in preferring the competitive game.
The free responses, none of which were more than two sentences long, were analysed using both the prefigured category of competition as well as emergent ones (Creswell, Reference CRESWELL2012). Following open coding, in which all possible themes were identified, the openly coded answers were refined through closed coding (Emerson et al., Reference EMERSON, FRETZ and SHAW1995), in order to narrow the answers into themes. Other than the issue of competitiveness, the other major theme that emerged as a reason for students’ preference was the level of kinaesthetic activity.
Discussion
Significantly more students preferred the competitive singing game to the non-competitive one. Additionally, the preference for the competitive game was not dependent on either grade or gender. When asked to provide reasons for their choice, however, competition did not emerge as the top reason. For fourth graders, the most commonly given reason was the higher level of action or athleticism they experienced in Chicken in the Fencepost. For example, individuals preferred it ‘Because I like being active and running’; ‘because you get to dive for the chicken’; ‘[because] we get to walk fast and Tideo your [sic] just jumping and clapping hands’. Interestingly, the boys who chose Tideo (the non-competitive game) as their favourite gave similar reasons: for example, ‘I like to jump and do a 360’; ‘More exercise and more singing’; ‘It's more active. Spin! Clap!’ This finding echoes Moore's (Reference MOORE2002) research with slightly younger children, which found that four- to seven-year-olds preferred songs with more action to songs with less action. Mizener (Reference MIZENER1993) also found that students in upper primary preferred games with more activity, and Roberts (Reference ROBERTS2015) determined that increased kinaesthetic activity elicited interest in classroom activities.
The fact that so many students mentioned the level of activity is notable because Tideo appears to contain more movement across all students in the class. In Chicken in the Fencepost, two children race, but the rest of the class walks in a circle, holding hands. In Tideo, all students perform a hand clapping pattern, switch partners, move around the circle, attempt to jump 360 degrees without touching the ground, and perform a somewhat challenging movement called ‘wring the dishrag’, in which two players raise their joined hands, then turn towards each other, ducking under their hands and turning in a full circle. It is possible that merely watching the racers run provides all players with the feeling that they have been active. Also, if the game is played six to ten times per class, one-half to two-thirds of the students are afforded the chance to act as one of the ‘chicken-hunters’. Running even one time may leave students feeling that they were highly active.
Fourth-grade students also mentioned the competitive aspect as a reason for choosing Chicken in the Fencepost. Individuals wrote that they like the game ‘[because] it is more fun to see who wins in the end’; ‘because in Chicken in the Fencepost we are actually going for something’; and ‘because you race’. While the competitive aspect seemed like the most obvious difference between the two games, only four fourth graders referred to the competitiveness as a reason for preferring the game. No fourth-grade students mentioned the degree of competition as a negative attribute. One girl also mentioned excitement: ‘Because I like the exitment [sic] and its fun to wack [watch?] boys crash through walls and get concushons [sic].’
Of the 52 second graders who preferred the competitive game, both competition and movement were the major reasons provided by the students. Eight students gave almost identical answers: ‘because I like to race’. Students mentioned higher levels of physical activity: ‘because it's more active’; ‘[because] you get to run and also sing!’; and ‘because it is much more funner [sic] than Wallflowers because in Wallflowers you just kick and wave’. Three students also mentioned the subject matter of the text in Cut the Cake: ‘because cake is good’.
Thirteen second graders preferred the non-competitive game, but clear themes for their preference did not emerge during the coding process. One student mentioned that she liked the non-competitive game ‘because you get to call someone yourself’. She enjoyed singing the solo, and choosing the next player in the game. The most notable reason came from a student who did not like the competitiveness of the other game. She wrote that she would rather play Wallflowers ‘. . . because in cut the cake it is not fare [sic] that some pepel [sic] lose’. This was the only comment from any student who expressed a dislike for competition. For other students who mentioned racing or competition, it was a positive attribute.
While it has been cautioned that competition within ensembles at the secondary level may negatively impact students (e.g. Rohrer, Reference ROHRER2012), the results from the current study do not suggest that primary students find this to be an issue, at least in the context of competitive singing games. It may be that the potential damage to students’ self-esteem is more a concern of adults than children. Additionally, some forms of competition at the secondary level, such as competing for seating in a secondary ensemble, may be seen as a more ‘high stakes’ endeavour, with the results impacting individuals’ experience for an entire school year. In a primary school singing game, the loss is short-lived, with a new round of the game occurring immediately. It bears noting that the open-ended question was phrased in such a way that students may have been prompted to provide a positive response (i.e. ‘Tell why that game was your favourite’), which could discourage negative comments. However, given that 86% of all children in the sample selected the competitive singing game as their favourite, this form of competition does not appear to be bothersome for most children.
Age did not significantly interact with preference, with both second and fourth graders preferring the competitive game. Although physical education literature has suggested that younger children may be less able to cope with the losing that can come as a part of competitive experiences (e.g. Darst & Pangrazi, Reference DARST and PANGRAZI2006), the difference between second and fourth graders did not occur. A follow-up study with kindergarten children could determine whether this equal interest in competitive singing games applies to younger students as well.
Gender played no difference in terms of preference, with both boys and girls preferring the competitive game. While research has suggested that boys are more likely to act competitively than girls (e.g. Schneider et al., Reference SCHNEIDER, WOODBURN, DEL TORO and UDVARI2005), girls were just as likely as boys to cite competition as the major reason for their preference. Further, among the fourth-grade girls, the degree of preference for the competitive game was higher than the boys. While the fourth-grade boys preferred the competitive game overall, it was the fourth-grade girls who were unanimous in their preference.
Social role theory perhaps offers insights here. While the broader US culture provides more examples of men acting in competitive situations, changes have occurred in recent decades. Title IX, the 1972 law in the USA that mandated equal allocation of financial resources at the college level to sports teams of men and women, has led to a greater visibility of women's competitive sports. This has trickled down to younger ages, with competitive girls’ teams spread throughout the country and in the greater metropolitan area in which the children live. Male athletes still dominate newspaper headlines, but there may be enough inroads made by women in competitive roles to lead to increasingly positive attitudes towards competition by girls. In addition, activities that have traditionally been viewed as feminine, such as cooking and dancing, have been transformed in some situations from cooperative ventures into competitive ones, through reality television shows and after-school experiences for children. The incorporation of competitiveness into conventionally feminine activities may be changing stereotypes within the USA.
The experiences of students in the particular school may also play a role in their attitude towards competitiveness. The school has a long tradition of successful extracurricular competitive sports programmes, exclusively competitive in nature. The sports teams are single-sex, and boys and girls participate in equal numbers. The success of the teams is often highlighted at the school, with announcements on the intercom lauding their latest wins. The teams begin in second grade, and it is plausible that the students in kindergarten and first grade are socialised into the competitive atmosphere, with the children developing a belief that competition is neither masculine nor feminine. Green (Reference GREEN1994) noted that musical experiences operate as a ‘cultural artifact within a social and historical context’ (p. 99); the immediate social context for the particular children under study – both the boys and the girls – may have been especially competitive.
In addition to influences of national culture and school culture, it is conceivable that issues of culture operated at the classroom level as well. Working in the context of an primary writing class, Nolen (Reference NOLEN, Hidi and Boscolo2007) found that the students’ interest in reading was influenced by the social context of the classroom, through the relationships that developed between the children. When filling out the survey, the children in the current study were directed not to discuss their answers with each other, but consensus can emerge in a particular classroom of students. LeBlanc (Reference LEBLANC1982) noted that ‘. . . opinions of the peer group . . . [can] influence the musical preference decision’ (p. 31). Perhaps this explains the fact that the six fourth graders who chose the non-competitive game as their favourite singing game were all boys, and all from the same class. Using a broader sample of students might negate the potential effect of classroom culture on the study.
Suggestions for future study
Social role theory suggests that stereotypes about masculine and feminine activities develop due to the over-representation of men and women in particular roles (Eagly, Reference EAGLY1987). Most prior studies found that boys acted more competitively than girls – but not all. For example, Dreber et al. (Reference DREBER, VON ESSEN and RAMEHLL2011), working in Sweden, found that boys and girls competed equally in tests of physical activity. They noted that gender equity in Sweden is among the highest in the world, and suggested that this contributed to the response of the students: relatively equal representation of men and women in a range of social roles may minimise gender differences across a variety of situations. The current study took place in the USA, a country that was recently ranked as 20th out of 142 countries on a gender equity index (World Economic Forum, 2013). Conceivably, broader issues of gender equity may apply to issues of competitiveness specifically. Replicating this study in other countries could help determine its generalisability.
In addition, the current set of students also came from one school, an institution with a particularly successful after-school competitive sports programme. School culture can influence the types of musical play that occur (Soccio, Reference SOCCIO2013), and a school in which collaboration is stressed over competition (such as a Waldorf school) might conceivably produce students with different perspectives on competitive games.
While the games were selected for the degree of their competitiveness, the children identified the level of kinaesthetic activity as the main reason for their preference rather than the presence of competition. In attempt to tease out the relative importance of movement and competition to children, future study could compare two games, one without competition in which the children move a great deal, and another in which children remain sedentary but winners and losers emerge over the course of the game.
I chose to use a forced-choice question format rather than a rating scale in order to ask students to make an explicit judgement about the two games, and also to minimise the chance that they would rate both games highly in an attempt to please me, an authority figure. While the students overwhelmingly selected the competitive game as their favourite, the forced-choice format does not allow the ability to assess the degree of preference. Future studies could employ rating scales to assess the extent of their inclinations. In addition, the open-ended question could be posed in such a way that children are asked to describe reasons that they do not like a game. Conceivably, some of the children who select the non-competitive game as their favourite would be more likely to comment on their dislike of competition. Qualitative studies, using interviews and other forms of data collection, would also allow for more in-depth explorations of attitudes towards competition.
In a bid to increase student interest in the music class, primary music educators should consider incorporating competitive singing games into the curriculum. In addition to creating an enjoyable atmosphere for students, singing games can be used to address common curricular goals, such as isolating musical material from the games to teach music literacy skills. As the educational community struggles to connect with today's diverse student body and ignite within each young musician a passion for musical participation, it is imperative that music educators consider their musical preferences as we make curricular decisions. Prior research has suggested that students enjoy games in music class (Bowles, Reference BOWLES1998) and games with higher activity levels (Mizener, Reference MIZENER1993). The current study extends this research, suggesting that students enjoy competitive games significantly more than non-competitive ones. The inclusion of competitive singing games in the primary general music curriculum may represent a means for engaging students in meaningful music-making experiences that they themselves value as fun and exciting.
