Different forms of students’ motivation and musical creativity in secondary school

Abstract

Student motivation has been conceived as a crucial factor in the learning processes. However, research in motivation and creative learning in the secondary education music classroom has been limited. Student motivation is explored in this article through a collaborative action research study, in the form of several projects centred on the creation of music through group improvisation and cooperative composition, conducted over the course of five 1-year cycles, from 2008 to 2013. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the aspects determining student motivation during creative learning processes. Three secondary schools in the region of Madrid (Spain), eleven third-year secondary school classes (n = 267), teachers, researchers and artists participated in the study. Data were gathered through participant and non-participant observations, interviews, a classroom diary, and a questionnaire. In the findings, six intrinsically linked connected forms of motivation are grouped in three levels and are related to different factors emerged during the teaching and learning processes and connected to creativity.