Using music philetics to optimise social climate in the classroom

Abstract

Music philetics is a classroom-based approach using structured musical activities to support pupils’ socio-emotional learning and peer interaction. This study examined whether a structured music philetics programme was associated with changes in classroom social climate in the lower secondary level of a Slovak primary school. We employed a non-equivalent groups pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design involving two intact sixth-grade classes from a rural Slovak primary school (intervention group n = 21; comparison group n = 20). Classroom climate was measured before and after the programme using the My Class Inventory (MCI; Lašek & Mareš, 1991), a 25-item instrument covering satisfaction, conflicts, competitiveness, learning difficulty, and cohesion. Following 15 sessions delivered within regular music education lessons (45 minutes each), the intervention group showed a reduction in conflict and competitiveness scores relative to the comparison group, alongside improvements in classroom satisfaction and cohesion. Findings are discussed in relation to the potential role of structured music-based classroom programmes in supporting everyday peer relations, while acknowledging methodological limitations of non-randomised designs and culturally specific measures.