Date of Award

Fall 12-2017

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Chair

Eric Platt

Committee Chair Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Member 2

Lilian Hill

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Member 3

Kyna Shelley

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Research and Administration

Committee Member 4

Thomas O'Brien

Committee Member 4 Department

Educational Research and Administration

Abstract

Institution-specific music is any song or piece of music which is performed by a college or university ensemble such as a marching band, basketball pep band, orchestra, or choir and conveys college/university traditions, arouses enthusiasm and emotions, inspires school spirit, and promotes unity within the college community (Studwell, 1995; Studwell & Schueneman, 2013). Places where one can hear institution-specific music are pep rallies, athletic events, and ceremonies such as commencement. Research that has been conducted in the past has focused on those performing in an ensemble setting (Kokotsaki & Hallum, 2007, 2011). This study looked to better understand how hearing institution-specific music influenced sense of belonging of non-music performing undergraduate college students.

There were 12 participants from three institutions in this qualitative study. The institutions chosen were selected based on the recognizability of their fight song. The use of a semi structured interview protocol allowed for participants to describe in detail how institution-specific music influenced their sense of belonging to their institution and community. This study found that their sense of belonging did change when they heard institution-specific music.

This study provides recommendations for future research and implications on how to implement the study into higher education. One implication is how higher education administrators can use this study to determine how to better use institution-specific music to engage their students to be involved in the college community.

ORCID ID

0000-0002-2204-9329

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