| The benefits of choral membership have been widely documented, but the factors that influence persistence in choral performance have not. This study reported herein investigated why only some students persist through the critical transition from secondary to post-secondary schooling -- a transition characterized by substantial attrition from choral participation. The study examined five possible predictors of persistence in choral music -- vocal ability, vocal self-efficacy, perceived encouragement, prior experience, and sense of agency. Surveys and vocal performances were collected from 96 undergraduates, all of whom had sung in choir in high school but only some of whom continued singing at the college level. The data indicated strong relationships among persistence, vocal ability, and self-efficacy. Multiple regression analysis revealed that vocal ability was the strongest predictor of persistence, followed by vocal self-efficacy; other predictors were not significant. In a logistic regression analysis, a one-point increase in vocal ability score was associated with an increase in the odds of persistence by a factor of 1.11. To increase the probability that students will persist at the post-secondary level, secondary choral music teachers might well go beyond encouragement, working to build students' vocal ability and vocal self-efficacy. |
