Ina Reić Ercegovac

The Relationship between Music Preferences of Different Mode and Tempo and Personality Traits--Implications for Music Pedagogy.

The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between music preferences of different mode and tempo and personality traits. The survey included 323 students who had to fill out the following tests: questionnaire of music preferences, scale of optimism and pessimism and International Personality Item Pool for measuring Big Five personality traits. Results showed that female in comparison to male students reported a higher degree of music preferences, regardless of tempo and mode, while the male and female showed a higher degree of preference for musical fragments in the fast tempo and major key. Results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that emotional stability and optimism were significant predictors of preferences for music in fast tempo and major key, while openness to experiences, introversion and gender were significant predictors of preferences for the slow tempo and music in minor key. The authors suggest the importance of applying these results in creating the curriculum of music teaching.

Relationship Between Music and Visual Art Preferences and Some Personality Traits

The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between musical and visual art preferences, and the role of personality traits in predicting preferences for different musical styles and visual art motives. Participants were asked to fill out the following instruments: Questionnaire of music preferences, Questionnaire of visual art preferences, Questionnaire for personality traits International Personality Item Pool [IPIP]; the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking. Results showed that most participants preferred popular and classical music, and landscape motives, while they showed the lowest preferences for heavy metal music and paintings that represented motives of violence and cultures of the world. With regard to the relationship between music and visual art preferences, classical music preferences were positively related to preferences for all visual art motives, while preferences for jazz and world music were positively related to visual art preferences of all motives except religious. Heavy metal music preferences were related to preferences for all motives except landscapes, and popular music preferences were positively associated with religious motives and landscapes. The results of this study suggest a relatively modest contribution of personality traits in explaining music and visual art preferences, although traits for intellect, sensation seeking, and agreeableness were shown to be significant predictors in many instances.

How important is it to my parents? Transmission of STEM academic values: the role of parents’ values and practices and children’s perceptions of parental influences

ABSTRACT The success of science education in classroom and out-of-school settings can be influenced by parents’ behaviours and STEM-related values. The present study investigated pathways in parent-to-child transmission of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) values by examining at same time parents’ values and behaviours, along with their children’s perceptions of these parental influences. The study included 1071 students (Mage = 12.15) and the same number of their parents. Path analysis revealed that children’s importance value of the STEM school fields was best explained by their perceptions of parental values and behaviours in STEM. On the other hand, parents’ self-reported values and behaviours had a weak effect in predicting children’s values, which can be explained by inaccurate children’s perceptions of their parents. The results suggest that parents more easily convey beliefs about the utility than the attainment value of STEM. Namely, parents’ utility value had a larger effect in predicting children’s value, partly mediated through children’s perception of parents’ encouragement of STEM interests. The study highlights the role of children’s perceptions of their parents’ beliefs and behaviours and the importance of communicating STEM-related values within the family. Practical implications for parents and science educators are discussed.

Music preferences with regard to music education, informal influences and familiarity of music amongst young people in Croatia

The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between music preference and music education, informal influences (attending classical music concerts and musical theatre productions) and familiarity of music. The research included students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split (N=341) 1 . The results showed that participants usually listen to popular music in their leisure time and that popular music is their most preferred music style. A positive relationship between familiarity and preferences was found but this effect was not unambiguous. A relationship between music preferences and secondary school music education was not found, but those participants who attended music school preferred some music styles more than did those participants who did not attend music school. There was a significant correlation found between the frequency of attending classical music concerts and preferences for classical music, jazz and world music. Finally, the results indicated that people who frequently attend musical theatre productions have significantly higher preferences for jazz and world music. The authors pointed to the problem of unattractiveness of music lessons in secondary schools and suggest possible solutions to the problem.

School Governance Models and School Boards: Educational and Administrative Aspects

Through adoption of the democratic system in the 1980s and the 1990s,the countries of South-East Europe began decentralizing their school systems and introduced the school board as the governing body which, in co-operation with the principal, is responsible for the functioning of the school. In most countries of the region, the role of school boards has not been defined with sufficient clarity and, although school boards are responsible for the management and development of schools, their role is in practice frequently unclear, and they are often ineffective. Consequently, aiming to improve their quality of work, better defining their roles and enhancing the competencies of school board members are imperative, both in the professional and pedagogical field, and in the decision-making processes.