Die invloed van geskikte agtergrondmusiek op die studie -oriëntasie en prestasie van graad 8-leerders in wiskunde
Abstract
The poor performance in mathematics of South African learners in grade 8 is of great concern.
This may be attributed, inter alia, to the negligence towards study orientation of learners in
mathematics. In order to alleviate this problem, a programme of intervention that focuses on the
improvement of the study orientation of learners in mathematics should be implemented at
schools, with the aim of improving the mathematics achievement of learners. This study
investigated appropriate background music as a means of intervention. More particularly, the
effect of the background music on the study orientation and mathematics achievement of grade
8 learners was investigated.
Study orientation comprises a number of aspects, including: the learner's study habits and
attitude; problem solving behaviour; study milieu; level of anxiety; and information processing in
the context of mathematics. These aspects are interdependent and mutually supportive. The
utilisation of appropriate background music in the mathematics classroom is considered as a
study orientation optimisation technique, which is in turn an important precondition for the
improvement of learners' mathematics achievement. Appropriate music includes instrumental
works of the Baroque, Classique and Romantic eras, with which learners did not have negative
associations. The selection of the music was made by conducting a pilot study, prior to the
empirical study.
This study took place in grade 8 classrooms of two secondary schools in Potchefstroom. One
school consist of learners from the "Afrikaner" culture. The other school's medium of education
is English and consists of learners from different cultures. A pragmatic approach is followed
using the mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. The pretest-posttest control group
design is used in the quantitative research. A qualitative study took place by means of
interviews, questionnaires and observations to determine the experience of learners with the
background music and to enlighten the quantitative results.
The influence of appropriate background music had a varied effect on the study orientation of
learners. This variation of effect can be attributed to cultural differences and can therefore not
be generalised. The background music had a positive effect on the study orientation of high
performance learners. It also prevented further deterioration of the study orientation of low
performance learners.
The background music may influence the study orientation of grade 8 learners positively due to
its calming effect, as long as the culture of the learners is taken account of during the selection
of the music. The mathematics classroom should also be arranged with a good quality sound
system and remote control.
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