Complex Beginnings: Initial formal engagement in sport and music
Susan Beltman
Curtin University of [email protected]
Background
Nature-nurture; person-context debate (Barab & Plucker, 2002; Howe, Davidson & Sloboda, 1998)
Importance of quality programs and structured, deliberate individual practice (Ericsson, 1996)
Sociocultural approach to development of motivational constructs such as interest (Pressick-Kilborn & Walker, 2004)
Motivation seen as engagement, participation and persistence
Extra research
family and friends: important role in initial engagement in domains such as sport, music, drama, dance + art (Davidson et al., 1997; Patrick et al., 1999)
sport talent identification programs should not be based solely on presence of individual physical and psychological characteristics; deliberate practice + other domain activities crucial for elite athletes (Helsen et al, 2000; Williams & Reilly, 2000)
in development of musical skills, individual cognitive ability alone is insufficient; motivational, social and educational factors also involved (O'Neill, 1997)
Research questions
What characteristics of persons and of contexts are important in engagement in sport and music?
What is the nature of the interrelationship between these characteristics?
Participants
age sport music
male female male female totals
15-16y 3 4 4 4 15 teens
20-31y 4 4 4 3 15 adults
totals 7 8 8 7 15m 15f
15 sport 15 music n=30
Method
Two interviews over 12 months Time-Line Task in Interview 1 Asked how they started in sport and music Asked to describe major activities and
involvement during preschool (0-5), primary(6-12), secondary(13-17), early adult (18-21) and later adult (21+) years
Personal factors
a) Interest, aptitude or preference expressed or demonstrated
b) Willingness to accept invitation/openness to alternatives
c) Physical characteristics including age
Contextual factors (family/friends; community/school)
a) Environment conducive to sport or music
b) Invitation or recognition and acting on expressed interest, aptitude or preference
c) Resources available and provided to support individual’s involvement
Personal
Factors
Conducive Environment
Invitation Resources
Interest,aptitude
Open toalternatives
Physicalcharacteristics
Contextual Factors
Person-Context Matrix
Initial engagement with sport or music
Tania: “I was musical”; gifts of toy instruments and parents offered violin
Theresa: wanted to learn; family and school supported learning violin, piano and cello
Christine: minkey available when too young for hockey
Brad: “obsessed” with football; brothers played with him
Change of focus
Mary: tried many different sports available in high school and university
Brett: looking for alternative; sister and coach introduced to rowing
Jon: couldn’t play flute but accepted teacher offer of clarinet
Moira: loved sports but not suited until friend invited to row
Reciprocal Person-Context Relationship
Individuals make appraisals of themselves + specific sports or instruments and related communities
If positive then engagement occurs Contexts also appraise individuals If positive then interest cultivated, invitations
made or resources and support provided
Dynamic Person-Context Relationship
As individuals developed physically, met new peers and entered different contexts, interests and abilities changed and new opportunities and resources became available
Over half the participants changed their major focus
Issues
Issues associated with self-reports (Galbo & Mayer Demtrulias, 1996)
e.g. Data focused on participants’ recollected reasons for initial engagement; need corroboration from parents, teachers etc
But also a strength – rich data (de Groot, 2002; Lemos, 2001)
Overall findings
Personal and contextual factors operated in a reciprocal, dynamic way to shape engagement in sport and music
Same factors relevant for initial engagement and change of focus
Relative importance or presence of each factor different for different individuals
Consistent with other Research
Importance of interest in engagement, involvement and persistence (e.g. Ainley et al, 2003; Pekrun et al, 2002)
Need to consider physical factors in motivation (Williams & Reilly, 2000)
Importance of family in development of talent (Freeman, 2000; Sloane, 1985)
Importance of considering individual situations in motivation (e.g. Hallam, 1997; Lemos, 2001; MacCallum, 1997)
Implications for other domains
exploration of relationship between personal and contextual characteristics in areas such as homework, subject selection, workplace satisfaction could provide an understanding of people’s level of engagement in these activities
consideration of the whole person in multiple contexts needed to fully understand motivation – that includes initial engagement (MacCallum, 2001a, 2001b; Mansfield, 2004)
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