Applied Transactional Analysis in Music Education: Naturally Occurring Teacher Ego State Behaviours and Their Effect on Student Motivation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of teacher behaviour on student motivation during teacher-pupil interaction in music education. Observations of communication between music teachers and their students were made by the author from the perspective of Transactional Analysis. The students who participated were between 7 and 12 years old, and there were 7 adult teacher participants. Naturally occurring ego-state behaviour in these teachers during interactions with their students was observed and recorded with the intention of assessing the impact on student motivation. The hypothesis was that the effects of teacher behaviour that manifests as Adult, Nurturing Parent, and Free Child ego states significantly increases student motivation. The results of the study suggest that this hypothesis is valid.

Keywords

• Teacher Behaviour, Student Motivation, Teacher-Pupil Interaction, Music Education., Transactional Analysis, Ego States