Relationship-based teaching: an exploration of its potential role on post-primary school music students' self-efficacy in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

This dissertation examines potential correlations between Relationship-Based Teaching (RBT) and the self-efficacy of a set of post-primary school music students in the Republic of Ireland, placing the research within the historical and pedagogical developments of Irish music education. Self-efficacy, defined as individuals’ beliefs in their capabilities to perform tasks successfully, has been widely linked to improved performance outcomes.

The relationship between teaching methodologies and student self-efficacy in post-primary music classrooms in Ireland remains underexplored. No research appears to have examined how post-primary music educators’ methodologies in Ireland potentially affect their students’ self-efficacy. This represents a gap in the literature and an opportunity for an original contribution to knowledge by integrating relationship-based teaching with self efficacy in music classrooms in Ireland.

To study the potential correlation between relationship-based teaching and music students’ self-efficacy, surveys were completed by 100 students and their 9 respective educators. A quantitative cross-sectional correlational analysis was then conducted to explore the level of relationship-based teaching that educators self-report, the level of self-efficacy that students reported and any relationships that may exist between these two variables.

The findings indicate that students in this sample reported generally high levels of music self-efficacy, while educators reported moderate to high engagement with relationship-based teaching practices. Among the four sources of self-efficacy, mastery experience emerged as the strongest contributor to student self-efficacy, followed by verbal/social persuasion, while vicarious experience was consistently the weakest contributor across student responses.

This study contributes new evidence to Irish music education research by highlighting the self-reported data of post-primary music teachers and students in Ireland as well as the exploration of potential links between relational teaching practices and student self-efficacy.