Embedding the self-concept in music as a school subject into academic self-concept research

This study aims to embed the self-concept in music as a school subject into contemporary academic self-concept research. To this aim, we examined the relations between self-concept in music as a school subject and (1) other academic self-concepts in multiple school subjects and related to school in general, (2) school grades, and (3) intrinsic values in multiple school subjects. In addition, we examined invariance in the structure and latent mean levels of different academic self-concepts including the self-concept in music as a school subject between boys and girls and between musically active and non-active students. The sample consisted of N = 442 students of Grades 7 to 9. The self-concept in music as a school subject showed higher relations to verbal academic self-concepts than to academic self-concepts of the math/science domain. The self-concept in music as a school subject further showed higher relations to the school grade and intrinsic value of the same subject compared to school grades and intrinsic values related to other domains. Musically active and non-active students did not differ in the structure, but in the latent mean levels of academic self-concepts. The same was found for boys and girls. However, the gender effect in the mean level of the self-concept in music as a school subject in favor of girls might be due to the unequal gender distribution in musical activity. The results lead to the conclusion that well-established phenomena of academic self-concept research also apply to the self-concept in music as a school subject.