The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to understand what motivated former high school music students who failed an adjudicated festival audition, their perseverance to improve, and their return to the audition process in following years. In direct connection, this study fills a gap in literature regarding why students remain motivated throughout their high school years of music festival auditions. A focus on what motivated these students to persist through challenging music auditions was guided by the theoretical framework of self-determination theory. Data analysis was conducted on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory evaluations and in-depth student interviews. Through this case study, three primary themes of relationships, audition, and persistence/rejection emerged with 10 emergent subthemes. The primary supports in motivation for learning music were positive attitudes, an interest in learning to play music, and external factors such as relationships with their music educator and their course of study. When educators create systems to support students through autonomy, positive relations, and a focus on the process of learning, students develop intrinsic motivation and build a level of persistence. Findings from this study may be useful for festival organizers, K–12 school systems, high school music students, music teachers, and teachers in general.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to understand what motivated former high school music students who failed an adjudicated festival audition, their perseverance to improve, and their return to the audition process in following years. In direct connection, this study fills a gap in literature regarding why students remain motivated throughout their high school years of music festival auditions. A focus on what motivated these students to persist through challenging music auditions was guided by the theoretical framework of self-determination theory. Data analysis was conducted on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory evaluations and in-depth student interviews. Through this case study, three primary themes of relationships, audition, and persistence/rejection emerged with 10 emergent subthemes. The primary supports in motivation for learning music were positive attitudes, an interest in learning to play music, and external factors such as relationships with their music educator and their course of study. When educators create systems to support students through autonomy, positive relations, and a focus on the process of learning, students develop intrinsic motivation and build a level of persistence. Findings from this study may be useful for festival organizers, K–12 school systems, high school music students, music teachers, and teachers in general.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wilkin, Edward D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jacqueline Lookabaugh","Andrea Disque","Mary Therese Hissong"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:27Z","subjects":["Educational Leadership"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/theses/309","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jacqueline Lookabaugh","Andrea Disque","Mary Therese Hissong"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wilkin, Edward D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-07-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Leadership"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/309"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to understand what motivated former high school music students who failed an adjudicated festival audition, their perseverance to improve, and their return to the audition process in following years. In direct connection, this study fills a gap in literature regarding why students remain motivated throughout their high school years of music festival auditions. A focus on what motivated these students to persist through challenging music auditions was guided by the theoretical framework of self-determination theory. Data analysis was conducted on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory evaluations and in-depth student interviews. Through this case study, three primary themes of relationships, audition, and persistence/rejection emerged with 10 emergent subthemes. The primary supports in motivation for learning music were positive attitudes, an interest in learning to play music, and external factors such as relationships with their music educator and their course of study. When educators create systems to support students through autonomy, positive relations, and a focus on the process of learning, students develop intrinsic motivation and build a level of persistence. Findings from this study may be useful for festival organizers, K–12 school systems, high school music students, music teachers, and teachers in general.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Former High School Music Students’ Motivation To Persist Through Yearly Adjudicated Music Festivals"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jacqueline Lookabaugh","Andrea Disque","Mary Therese Hissong"],"dc:creator":["Wilkin, Edward D."],"dc:date.available":["2020-07-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to understand what motivated former high school music students who failed an adjudicated festival audition, their perseverance to improve, and their return to the audition process in following years. In direct connection, this study fills a gap in literature regarding why students remain motivated throughout their high school years of music festival auditions. A focus on what motivated these students to persist through challenging music auditions was guided by the theoretical framework of self-determination theory. Data analysis was conducted on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory evaluations and in-depth student interviews. Through this case study, three primary themes of relationships, audition, and persistence/rejection emerged with 10 emergent subthemes. The primary supports in motivation for learning music were positive attitudes, an interest in learning to play music, and external factors such as relationships with their music educator and their course of study. When educators create systems to support students through autonomy, positive relations, and a focus on the process of learning, students develop intrinsic motivation and build a level of persistence. Findings from this study may be useful for festival organizers, K–12 school systems, high school music students, music teachers, and teachers in general.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/309"],"dc:subject":["Educational Leadership"],"dc:title":["Former High School Music Students’ Motivation To Persist Through Yearly Adjudicated Music Festivals"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:27Z"}