Facilitators and impediments for elective music and sport in adolescent males

Abstract

Within the culture of an all-male private school, sport often holds a special status as compared with music. As an area of learning and participation, sport is typically associated with masculinity and receives broad social acceptance, whereas music is often seen at the margins of the curriculum and considered as an activity for a select few who are innately talented. Because of these perceptions, participation rates for males are often higher for sport than they are for music. With this as our context, this study examined differences between the two elective subjects of music and sport, by seeking to investigate boys’ motivation to choose whether or not to elect music and sport in the final..