The effects of background music within the classroom: Part 2

1) Introduction

           Music is all around us and part of everyday life. For thousands of years, music has been as a tool for communication and entertainment (Inskip & MacFarlane, 2007). Many researchers have found that music has the ability to affect the listener in a wide variety of ways by affecting their emotions and mood (Mori, Naghsh & Tezuka, 2014). This study aims to find if background music within the classroom has the ability to affect a listener’s ability to study, concentrate and influence their behaviour within the classroom and during independent learning.

           Many individuals listen to music while they are studying. Which suggests these individuals believe they receive a benefit from listening to music while studying. Many researchers have found the variety of effects music has physically and mentally on a listener (Hodges, 2000).

           However, researchers are not all in agreement that music provides benefits to the listener. Although most studies tend to find that music is beneficial (Hodges, 2000; Koolidge & Holmes, 2018; Salmon, 2010), some researchers have found music to have no significant impact (Flavel, 2015), while others found music to be detrimental to listeners who are trying to concentrate and study as it is a form of distraction (Tze & Chou, 2010; Schwartz, Ayres & Douglas, 2017).

           Much of the research conducted on the effects music has on a listener focused on the effects on adults within a workplace environment. In which these studies found music to increase performance and worker interaction (Huang & Shih, 2011). This study focuses not on adults, but children. More specifically, how music affects pupils within an education setting, by affecting the pupil's ability to perform tasks independently, their focus within the class and their behaviour within the class.

2) Observations

           During this study, the main method of data collection was done via observations. The main reason for observations to be used was due to their ease to carry out as well as provide me with the ability to pick out key information within the classroom which traditionally would go unnoticed if using other data collection methods (Griffee, 2005). Cohen, Manion & Morrison (2007, p. 260) states that observational studies are better than other data collection methods when non-verbal behaviours are being investigated.

           As the focus of this study was to understand how music can affect the listener within a classroom setting, the observation of non-verbal behaviours was the key to truly understand the effect music can have. Observations allowed me to record the subtle hints that the music was affecting the listeners (Kawulich, 2005; Fry, et al., 2017). These include the pupils becoming restless, shouting out, their general behaviour and attitude within the class and much more.

           To create a more concrete study and provide significant data I wanted to remove as many potentially influential variables as possible. I wanted to remove the potential chance of the data being collected to be useless due to an outside variable affecting the pupils. Because of this, I aimed for the pupils to be as relaxed as possible within the class, as pupils work best when they are relaxed (Tze & Chou, 2011; Labbé, et al., 2007).

           Using observations enabled me to build a better relationship with the pupils (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007, p.260). This then enabled pupils to be more relaxed and familiar with me in the classroom. By doing this, I was able to reduce any outside stresses and distractions which would potentially affect the pupils, and in turn, affect the data collected.  

           Observations also allowed me to truly analyse each individual pupil’s behaviour and performance over a longer period of time, which was extremely beneficial (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007, p.260). For example, if pupil A poorly behaved during the first week of the study, but over the coming weeks their behaviour greatly improved, that could potentially be a result of the music. However, if pupils B demonstrated great behaviour which quickly deteriorated I could also assume the music was the cause. By using other data collection methods such as surveys or interviews, I may not have been able to see the continuous effect of music can have over that longer period of time. These other methods would give me a basic and simplistic snapshot of the effects.

           I presumed it would be easier to carry out observations during the study as I would be teaching at the same time, as I am already observing the class. Although, observations proved to be very difficult to carry out. As Cohen, Manion & Morrison (2007, p.260) mentions, for observations to be effective the observer has to adopt a system which is effective yet fast. Although the system I used for taking note was fast and efficient it was difficult to teach the class as well as observe them for this study. This was the main issues encountered while doing this study and proved to be detrimental.

3) Events

           A tally table was created to easily and efficiently record all of the relevant data during the study. A series of events were selected to be the main observation focus within the class. These events were chosen as they are relevant to the pupil's behaviour, concentration and boredom. By specifically observing these key events over a period of time, it is easier to analyse the effects of music, as there is more of a focus.

           The events all have different severity levels. For example, a pupil swinging on their chair is not sever, though a pupil using physical violence is. I chose to have a variety of severity levels to see if low-level behaviour or high-level behaviour within the pupils would be most affected.

Event

Tally

Total

Notes

The pupil is swinging on a chair

The pupil is off task and typically distracted

The pupil is disruptive by speaking out

The pupil is talking to peers too much

The pupil is off task and going on other media

The pupil is using their phone or earphones

The pupil has done very little work

The pupil is using inappropriate language

The pupil has used physical violence

The pupil has been excluded from the class

           The table uses tallies to record the information. When a pupil triggers one of these events a tally will be placed in the relevant location. I aimed to not intervene as much as possible as I did not want to be the outside factor which affected their behaviour. However, if the event was severe enough, I did intervene immediately.

           As Cohen, Manion & Morrison (2007, p.260) noted, observations note taking needs to be quick. If an observer was to spend too much time writing notes on their observations they could potentially miss important information. Due to this reason, tallies were chosen to record the data observed. By doing this I was able to spend more time observing the class rather than writing data, which would enable me to effectively observe key events. A section specifically for notes was added to provide more information on the reason for a certain event occurring. This could range from the class starting late, to the computers not working. I felt it was crucially important to add this section for me to properly understand the data and have a reason for potential anomalies would occur in the data.

           I have found anecdotally that if the computers are not working, the class starts late or there is an unexpected interruption within the class the pupils get restless quickly and tend to participate in some of these events. If this situation did occur, I would add a note stating the possible reason for the classes’ current behaviour. For example. There was a particular instance in which a class was abnormally badly behaved without music being played. However, this may have been because we were placed in a different classroom in the middle of the lesson. This upset would have swayed the results of the study if a note had not been taking.

4) Surveys

           A number of various other data collection methods were considered to be implemented for this research. However, it was chosen that only observations were to be used. Surveys, in particular, was a strong candidate to be used throughout this study as many researchers have found that surveys can be beneficial. Although surveys help stimulate the survey taker (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007, p.260), which could potentially lead to more intellectual responses from the pupils. Surveys and mental stimulation were deemed not to hold major significance for the outcome of this study. Although, within teaching practice, a teacher aims for a pupil to be mentally stimulated the main focus of this study was on how music can impact the natural behaviour of the pupils.

           However, surveys do hold some beneficial properties for this study. Surveys could have been used to first find out if the pupils usually listen to music while studying, what music, in particular, they listen to and most importantly, what benefits they feel they gain from listening to music.  Looking back on this study, surveys would have been useful to answer these questions, which would have helped in selecting various types of music to be listened to.

5) Participants

           The participants involved in this study were all within the same year group, which was year 8. All participants were either 11 or 12 years old. Although throughout this study I taught an additional 4 classes, which would equate to a total of 15 additional teaching hours throughout the 2 weeks. I decided not to expose them to the study as they were of different age ranges and I did not teach them the same amount as the year 8s. Once again, removing as many other variables as possible. Each class had around 20 pupils and were of mixed gender and ability. The reason for choosing the year 8 classes to conduct this study was opportunistic sampling.

6) Ethics

           Before this study started all of the staff within my classes were aware of the study and permission was granted to me by the relevant members of staff within the school. The staff and I discussed suitable music which would be allowed to be played during the class. It was agreed that it would be best to play a radio station which features music rather than playing music from an online source such as YouTube or Spotify. This was chosen as the music being played on the radio wouldn’t contain unsuitable language and references in which the pupils would be exposed to. The radio station would also play the most popular music at the time of the study, music which the pupils would have already been familiar with. Researching the effects of different types of music can have would have been interesting, although the scope was too large for this study.

           The pupils were aware that I was conducting a study regarding the use of music within the classroom. However, they were not given any detailed information. They were also made aware that I was taking notes during the lesson in regard to their behaviour. I specifically limited the amount of information given to the pupils as I did not want the pupils to act any differently due to them knowing how the study was being conducted. The aim was for the pupils to act as naturally as possible. Pupils were told they did not have to take part in the study, however, no pupils chose this.

           Parents did not have to provide a consent form as the pupils were not being individually studied nor did pupils have to do anything outside of their usual class time. Although parents did not have to consent, all of the relevant staff within the school were notified of this study and approved of the study being carried out. The only issue which arose was the type of music which was to be played during the study. The radio was to be used for the reasons mentioned.

           The data gathered on the pupils were not pupil specific. The data collected was based on how the class acts as an entirety. This was because one pupil could sway the results if they were having a difficult day. Anonymity was maintained and not a single pupil was targeted on how the music affects them uniquely. When one of the particular events being analysed occurred a tally was added. No other information about the event was recorded such as the pupil involved, or any other information regarding the pupil which could have influenced the event occurring in the first place.

           All of the data collected was written on paper and placed in a secure and locked location, resulting in pupils being unable to look at the data. The data was then transferred onto a computer for it to be analysed.

7) Limitations

           Unfortunately, there were a variety of limitations which were encountered during this research. Although most of these limitations were accounted for before begging the research they proved to make the research a lot more difficult to carry out than originally thought.

           The main limitation which was encountered was simply not having enough time with any given class. Over a 2 week period, each class was only taught 3 times, which equates to 3 hours out of the total 50 hours of total teaching the pupils receive every 2 weeks. This made it extremely difficult to see the true effects music could have within the classroom as the pupils were not exposed to the study for a long period of time.

           The original observation plan was to allow students to conduct independent tasks with background music playing. I would then observe the pupils and how they act with the music playing. However, with my classes receiving such little teaching time I am forced to try and cram as much information and knowledge into my pupils as possible. This led to very little independent task time for my pupils. They would only have around 10 minutes to complete a task, which would not give enough time for the background music to take a true effect.

           I chose to collect my data by observing the pupils at work. I felt observations was the best data collection method as I could pick up on the subtle clues that the music was having an effect on the pupils. However, observations proved to be extremely difficult to carry out in a classroom setting. A classroom is a very dynamic place which requires the teacher to multi-task (Eisenwine & Hadley, 2011). I had to manage classroom behaviour, provide pupil feedback, answer questions and everything in between. Essentially, I had to teach and manage an entire classroom while trying to conduct this study. Due to this, I was left with very little opportunity to observe the pupils at work for this research which I feel was detrimental to this study.

8) Results

           The graph below shows the total amount of events from all three classes before and after the music was introduced into the classroom. The results indicate that music has had a positive effect on the pupils. The most notable improvement is with event five. Event five saw a decrease of 81.5% while music was playing. This suggests that the music worked effectively as a form of entertainment as pupils found other sources of entertainment fewer times. Event four also backs ups this theory, as a decrease of 54% was found. Which also shows pupils are entertained and don’t need to talk to each other for their source of entertainment. These results also show that pupils concentrated better with music. Event two had a decrease of 33% while event seven had a 32% decrease. The following graphs provide a more detailed breakdown of the results.

9) Treats

           Many educators follow the practice of rewarding good behaviour rather than just punishing bad behaviour. This has been found to have such a positive effect within the classroom (Cowley, 2014, p. 85; Schwartz, Ayres & Douglas, 2017; Tervaniemi, 2017; Bowman, 2007). Throughout the study, this method was also adopted and yielded great results. Pupils were often told that if they worked hard and displayed good behaviour music would be played in this classroom. This highly encouraged pupils to act accordingly within the classroom in hope music would be played. When pupils were aware of this possibility they tended to work harder and behave properly. However, no significant data was collected regarding this, it is purely anecdotal as this was not the main focus of the study. However, Issues did arrive using this approach. Some pupils would let down the entire class which would result in the other pupils becoming frustrated and agitated as their fellow peer was ruining their chances for music. Due to this, they became less focused on the task and more focused on the particular pupil.

10) Behaviour

           A teacher may have the highest ability class within the school, however, if the classes behaviour is not managed correctly the academic results of the pupils will drop significantly [REF, sue?]. Throughout this study, the behaviour of the pupils within the class continued to improve. While listening to music pupils tended to not display bad behaviour, which improved my ability to teach and manage the class. This could be a result of many reasons. Pupils tend to display bad behaviour when they are bored or stressed with the work (Cowley, 2014, p.118). Potentially the music entertained the pupils as well as helped calm them down which led to this result (Thompson, Schellenberg & Letnic, 2011). Within some of my classes, pupils would continuously openly use bad language with no remorse. Strangely, while listening to the music the pupils rarely used bad language within the classroom. My research does not analyse the influence music can have on language, though this result is interesting to note.

           Although these results on the surface show music can greatly improve behaviour I am sceptical that music alone was the reason for this. This study was conducted over 2 months in a variety of classrooms. Over that time pupils grew accustomed to the rules and expectations within my classroom. Because of this and with my behaviour management improving, these results could be because of my personal effect on the pupils rather than the music itself.

11) Independent study

           Independent learning is a major skill which is needed in everyday life, and so this skill is taught within the classroom. While the pupils worked on independent tasks music was often played in the background. This yielded the best results to support the focus of this study. Pupils completed tasks faster, with more accuracy and generally found it easier to follow the tasks instructions. Although this could be due to the reduced amount of bad behaviour within the classroom as previously mentioned. Pupils may have found it easier to work independently as there were fewer distractions within the classroom. However, it could also be attributed to the emotional state of the pupils. Research has found that people work best when they are slightly relaxed and stressed at the same time (Mori, Naghsh & Tezuka, 2014; Labbé, et al., 2007; Tze & Chou, 2010). Listening to music while working may have calmed the pupils down which resulted in them feeling more confident in completing the task which was set.

12) Class concentration

           Overall the concentration of the class improved. Pupils interrupted the flow of the class fewer times, pupils engaged with the topic being taught more and pupils distracted each other very little. I theorise this is because music is a source of entertainment, which decreases the boredom of the pupils. I have found music to be a great benefit in the regard, a source of entertainment, to make a classroom or topic less dull than it is. It was noticed this trend became more apparent over the course of the study. Although, once again this could be because of my continuous progression teaching abilities and behaviour management.

13) Environment mood

           A major factor which influences pupils within the classroom is the general mood and environment of the classroom (Wang, et al., 2017). I have found the use of music within my classroom to be a great benefit in this regard. Music adds personality to the classroom and makes it less static. I have found pupils respond well to music in the classroom, they simply enjoy it and feel more relaxed. This is something I personally strive for within my classroom as I want to make my lessons an enjoyable experience. I have found music aids in doing this as I am usually asked by pupils to play some music, which shows they really enjoy it.

14) Evaluation

           I feel this study has been unable to truly analyse the effects background music can have within the classroom. Although the results found that there was a change in behaviour and performance while music was being played there simply wasn’t enough data collected to make this conclusion concrete, due to the fact I had to teach while observing the pupils - something which proved to be incredibly hard to manage and fulfil. Over time the pupil's behaviour did improve dramatically, though this is more than likely attributed to my behaviour management skills being improved during the course of this study and by the pupils understanding my rules within the classroom as time went on.

           Throughout the study, I used observations to collect the data. I now know this may not have been the best method for data collection. I now know that by using a variety of other data collection methods along with observations would have greatly increased the ability to truly understand the effects music can have. Ideally, there would be an additional member of staff who was observing the class while I taught as I simply could not observe the class efficiently enough. Other data collection methods could have also been implemented such as surveys and interviews to create a clearer picture.

           The main limitation which hindered this study is quite simple. All pupils are different. All of the pupils I taught have their very own personalities and interests. They all come from different backgrounds and will behave in a variety of different ways to a variety of different scenarios. A pupil could be having a particularly bad or good day which would drastically alter the results of the study on that given day. For logistic reasons, it was decided to observe the class as a whole. It may have been a lot more beneficial to observe some key pupils throughout the study and observed how they progressed throughout the study, which may have provided results which show a clearer correlation to the attitude of pupils within a class while music is playing. Quite simply, there are too many variables that can change which affects the study that could not be controlled.

           During this study, I have learnt a plethora of methods and techniques to use within the classroom as well as gained invaluable experience about pupils, their attitudes and how to run a classroom to provide a great learning experience. I have learnt that the classroom is an extremely dynamic place, teachers have to be able to respond to situations instantly. And to be able to multitask a variety of things such as behaviour, learning and the general running of the class (Eisenwine & Hadley, 2011). Teaching is a hard profession but also an extremely worthwhile profession. Although this research has not gone perfectly as planned I have still learnt a great deal during it.

15) Conclusion

               The aim of this study was to find and understand the potential advantages or disadvantages music can have on pupils. Studies have found a mixture of results on the effects of music. Though there is no single answer. Researchers tend to show music is advantageous though music can affect people differently. This study focused on how music affects the listener's behaviour, concentration and their ability to perform independent tasks within the classroom.

               Pupils were observed while music was not being played and while it was. Specifically, pupils were observed how often they triggered ten unique events. These events were chosen as they encompassed the three main focuses of the study. The results indicate that music does have a positive effect on the listener within an education setting. Ideally, I would have more time to carry out this study to provide more concrete evidence to back up this theory as more data needs to be collected.

16) References

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