Primary School Extracurricular Music Activities in Covasna and Harghita Counties

Arts education, including music teaching (Dohány, 2010) in elementary schools is getting less and less importance in our present day education system, accordingly we find quite relevant to investigate the situation of music teaching in Romania among the Hungarian minority educationís elementary classes. This present study would like to map the extracurricular fields of music teaching in Covasna and Harghita counties in Hungarian classes through a questionnaire research made among teachers. Our objective is to investigate extracurricular musical education in elementary classes, where we would like to find out what kind of musical activities exist in this area and how intensively do pupils take part in these activities. The self-made questionnaire was sent out online in Covasna and Harghita counties, based on the teachers ‘database at the end of January in 2020. 78 elementary school teachers took part in this research. All the collected data was processed with the help of a statistical data analysing software, examining the descriptive statistical indicators. The analysis shows that few elementary class students take part in extracurricular activities. Romanian music pedagogy research do not extend to Hungarian minority classes, thus we see it important to investigate the extracurricular activities in counties where Hungarian minorities live.


Extracurricular activities
Learning is a continuous process which cannot be confined to a particular age-group or to a particular place. Continuous growth and development are part of our human nature and can be achieved through lifelong learning. Learning activities are defined as "any activities of an individual organised with the intention to improve his/her knowledge, skills and competences" (CLA, 2016:8).
School, the medium for intensive learning, should be an attractive place which awakens children's curiosity, motivates their learning and sets their heart on further education. This idea is also expressed in the Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, issued in 2000, following the Lisbon meeting of the European Council. The Memorandum enumerates three basic categories of purposeful learning: formal, non-formal and informal. All three forms surface in the teaching-learning process conducted in educational institutions.
Formal education takes place in the classroom, where school subjects are taught in compliance with the national curriculum and regular exams and tests are conducted. Children's knowledge is evaluated and a certificate is issued after the completion of educational stages. Training courses which issue a certificate on completion also belong to the category of formal education. Courses can be addressed not only to schoolchildren but they can also offer professional training for adults (Memorandum, 2000;Váradi, 2017).
Non-formal or extracurricular education takes place in the form of after-school activities within or without the boundaries of the educational institution. Children can choose from activities -offered by the institution or other organizations-according to their own interests. These activities are suitable for addressing the curriculum in a less formal context, giving space to experiential learning in order to develop certain skills and arous children's interest in the subject (Adăscăliței, 2014;Vidulin, 2016). Activities usually take place outside the classroom, in a different space, such as dance hall, studio, stage, library, lab, music room or sometimes a museum, art gallery, concert hall or theatre (Barabás, 2019). "Non-formal education mostly leads to qualifications that are not recognised as formal or equivalent to formal qualifications by the relevant national or sub-national education authorities or to no qualifications at all" (CLA, 2016:15).
Unlike formal and non-formal learning, informal learning is not necessarily intentional learning. It results in spontaneous acquisition of knowledge. Informal education, which goes beyond educational purposes connected to a certain subject, surfaces also in activities outside schools. Trips, camps, field trips, concerts and competitions also have an informal educational effect on children (Nahalka, 2003). Báthory (1997) identified two learning settings: outside the walls of the school, called "extramural setting" and within the limits of the school, called "intramural setting". One feature of the intramural setting is the curriculum, which comprises the teaching-learning of the subject matter in the classroom. The second area is the extra-curriculum, or after-school activities characterized by differentiated learning. Differentiation takes place in the form of groups with similar interests. By forming groups, learning materials can be adapted to children interests and their intrinsic motivation is also a factor leading to success. Knowledge gained in the classroom can be enhanced, intensified in this setting, while art activities can activate certain skills and abilities (Báthory, 1997).
Non-formal education proves to be efficient in teaching talented children as there are cases when the teaching material set out in the curriculum is not sufficient for talent development (Csapó, 2006). Non-formal education can be implemented for most subjects, however, children's strong motivation to achieve goals, and time invested, both in learning and in deepening the knowledge acquired (in the case of music -practice) are indispensable for success. The teacher, or in this case mentor, has to have the right attitude, he/she has to use methods tailored to individual needs and has to provide constant feedback. A personal student-teacher relationship can motivate children. Parental financial and moral support is another prerequisite for non-formal education (Pásku & Münnich, 2000).
The proposed categories by the Classification of learning activities -Manual, European Communities (2016), classes and sub-classes for the classification of learning activities summarised in the following table. Non-guided visits The curriculum system in Romania allows for extracurricular activities, which can be chosen from a group of optional subjects. Primary school children can have one optional class per week. The teacher, the children and their parents decide together on the nature of this class, which then needs to be approval by the school (Barabás, 2019). Teachers create a syllabus for the optional subject in which they outline the aims and objectives and the teaching materials used. When creating the syllabus teachers have to consider the maximum number of hours specified in the curriculum framework. In case the number is exceeded, the optional class cannot be implemented. In primary schools where the language of instruction is Hungarian, mother tongue classes takes up five-six hours per week. Consequently, the optional subject cannot be implemented as it would violate the maximum number of hours permitted. A study conducted by the ministry of education in 2018 shows that the optional subject is implemented in urban educational institutions, however, at national level there is very little demand for optional classes, given the already overloaded schedule (Barac, 2018).

Extracurricular art activities
Arts education is a segment of education which has an indirect effect on the development of children's values, such as self-esteem, self-expression, and creativity, leading to a well-balanced identity formation (Kiss, 2010). Arts education develops children's emotional intelligence, which later in life might become the key to their success (Szűcs, 2017).
The demand for arts education is impacted by the cultural capital of the society, which presupposes education and knowledge, and can be directly linked to cultural capital within the family. These two factors jointly influence the economic capital of the milieu (Bourdieu, 1999).
Apart from the social environment, children's cultural capital is also determined by cultural activities within the family, which can serve as a model when choosing art activities for children (Kiss et al., 2020). A larger proportion of children coming from highly-educated families can have a positive impact on the class as a whole, as these children's behaviour, achievements, cultural attitude and habits can serve as a model for the other children (Fényes & Pusztai, 2004).
Burton, Horowitz and Abeles from Teachers College, Columbia University reflected on the issue of the transfer of arts to other subjects. They investigated the effect of arts on learning and behavioural outcomes. The study involved 2046 children in secondary education, in grades 4-8. Results show that children who received highlevel arts education achieved better results in activities requiring creativity, analysis, synthesis, and responsiveness; and their teachers evaluated them as more collaborative and willing than those children who received a low level of arts education. In addition, high level arts education has a more significant impact on children's average learning outcomes as high socioeconomic status, even though, as we know economic capital in most cases presupposes a financial background, which is needed in order to benefit from arts education (Bresler, 2002).
Extracurricular activities provide the best setting for arts education. Since there are no grades, children can develop their skills and abilities without constraints.
Participation in extracurricular activities is influenced by children's social background, i.e., the economic and cultural capital of their family (Pusztai, 2009); by the curriculum system, which can arouse children's interest in a particular art activity; and by the teacher, who points out children's talent and motivates participation in nonformal activities (Kiss et al., 2020).

Extracurricular music activities
Recognising the dramatic effect music has on the development of our personality goes as far back as Plato, who claimed that music and singing have an educational effect and need to be taught for the sake of a high level of education. In Greek culture, musical literacy and the complex effect of music on social life was considered essential (Gönczy, 2015). The effect of music on our health is also unquestionable. Research conducted in recent years shows that musical vibrations have a positive effect on the neurochemical activity of the brain, on the central and peripheral nervous systems, on the vegetative nervous system, on the endocrine system, and thus, on the immune system (Răpițeanu, 2009). The connection between musical skills and the other following forms of intelligence can be: linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodilykinesthetic intelligence and personal intelligences. Based on Hungarian music pedagogy when examining the transfer effect of music, five areas can be distinguished. First, we can highlight the impact of music on health, skill development, on the physical territory, (Kokas, 1972;Szűcs, 2017). The effect of music on cognitive abilities has been known since the Middle Ages. Some music students used a solution strategy to describe their work in mathematical tasks and thus performed better than their peers in the area of spelling (Kokas, 1963(Kokas, , 1972Barkóczi-Pléh, 1977;Szűcs, 2017) personality development and intelligence, compensatory role, and community building.
The most fundamental aim of music education is to arouse children's interest in music and shape their understanding and reception of music. To achieve this, children need to have positive experiences related to music. This might be accomplished through extracurricular activities (Váradi, 2017). Extracurricular music activities complement formal education as children learn theoretical concepts in the classroom and then have the opportunity to put theory into practice in an appropriate setting. Achieving good results will increase their self-confidence and self-esteem, i.e., it will contribute to the development of children's personality (Saranciuc Gordea, 2016).
When non-formal music activities surpass children's abilities, they encourage improvement and motivation (Csapó, 2006). Joy and the so-called flow experience are indispensable elements of both formal and non-formal music education. These are influenced by two factors: teachers, on one hand, who should provide carefullyplanned and enjoyable lessons; and the groups of children, on the other hand, whose members are motivated to the same degree (Dohány, 2009;Váradi, 2017).
Non-formal music activities can have the following objectives: enhance children's appreciation of music, form future audiences, or prepare children for a professional life in music through talent management activities (Váradi, 2010). In the light of those presented above, extracurricular music education can have the following functions: 1. informal function -developing music skills and abilities, enriching knowledge of music, turning theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge. 2. vocational function -comprises talent management, discovering talents that might later play a crucial role in career choice. 3. development -transfer function -comprises the development of creativity, emotional-and rational intelligence, self-esteem, memory, cognitive skills, imagination, association, and critical sense. 4. social function -mutual encouragement and acceptance, working for a common goal, collaboration between children coming from different social backgrounds or even different age groups, which is a fundamental basis of socialization. 5. rehabilitation function -refers to the therapeutic nature of music, its beneficial effects, which facilitate maintaining spiritual balance. 6. enriching experience function -through extracurricular activities children enrich not only their musical experiences but also their personal experiences by having fun, travelling, meeting new people.
Learning music involves complex and diverse activities, such as: learning music, learning about and through music. One of the factors influencing music learning is identity (Johansen, 2010). Contemporary identity has an impact on music learning and on the development of our musical identity. In the midst of existing social influences, it is very difficult to formulate the concept of quality music to the young generation. Youngsters are tempted to follow music trends at the expense of their own musical taste and identity. Extracurricular music activities provide a setting in which, with the use of appropriate teaching methods, children's interest is directed towards quality music.
Another influencing factor of musical identity is folk music, which plays a key role also in national identity formation. The "musical mother tongue" of a nation is represented by lullabies, nursery rhymes and folk songs.
The setting for "learning through identity" is the school, while "identity learning" takes place outside school (Johansen, 2010). The Communist dictatorship in Romania tried to weaken the national identity of the Hungarian minority and speed up assimilation by crushing their musical identity. The concepts of folklore, folk music and folk song had to be avoided in schools, and barn dance, which provided a setting for encounters with authentic folk music, was dissolved. This may be the reason why today folk songs, folk music and folk dance make up a large segment of extracurricular music activities in Hungarian schools in Transylvania.
Educational institutions are granted autonomy in deciding on extracurricular activities. Therefore we find institutions which give priority to sport or music activities, while others give priority to arts. Parents are familiar with the choices of institutions and they can consider this aspect as well when deciding on a school for their children.
The most common forms of extracurricular music activities within the school are as follows: • vocal and instrumental ensembles (choir, classical-, folk-and popular music ensembles) • vocal and instrumental circles (folk song circle, recorder ensembles) • attending classical-, folk-, and popular music concerts • school festivities (events on special days, school year closing ceremony, school year opening ceremony) • folk dance • music workshops The activities enumerated above take place within smaller or larger size communities. We can speak of a community when individuals meet regularly, they have common interests and activities and they form a strong spiritual community. Members of a community experience community cohesion and identity created for the sake of the common goal. Music communities can range from vocal or instrumental ensembles, with two or three members (duo, trio, quartet) to choirs or symphony orchestras with up to 30-40 members (Szabóné Fodor, 2017). It should be also noted that music activities can compensate for disadvantages (Szűcs, 2017). The joy of singing, playing an instrument in an ensemble, working together for a common goal and taking part in a creative process with others children will minimize the importance of social and ethnic differences.
Provided they have qualified professionals, educational institutions strive to form and run school choirs and instrumental ensembles. They try to sustain quality music ensembles, which represent the institution at events organized by the school or at local level, as well as competitions.

Research methodology, sample
Even though a vast number of researches have proven the positive effects of arts education (including music education) on personality development, this field is less and less represented in the modern-day education system. Music as a school subject does not always accomplish the central goal of music education, i.e., creating musical experiences (Dohány, 2009). Extracurricular activities provide more opportunities for experiencing music. Children can choose from a variety of music activities according to their own interests and musical abilities.
Little research has been done on music education in Romania and existing studies do not reflect on the music education of the Hungarian minority. Minority music education is a specific feature the same way mother tongue education is. Consequently, we have found it relevant to investigate primary school extracurricular music activities of the Hungarian minority in Romania. As pointed out in the theoretical background, the curriculum framework does not allow for optional classes where the language of instruction is Hungarian, given the already high number of instructional hours. For this reason, we consider it necessary to investigate the availability and demand for primary school extracurricular music activities.
The aim of our research is to investigate extracurricular music activities in Hungarian primary schools in Covasna and Harghita counties. Our first research question was whether primary school teachers in the aforementioned counties provide extracurricular music activities, and if they do, how often these activities take place. The second step was to investigate the type of extracurricular music activities children in Hungarian schools in Covasna and Harghita counties take part in.
Research questions:

Do primary school teachers in Covasna and Harghita counties provide extracurricular music activities?
If yes, how frequently? 2. What type of extracurricular music activities do children in Hungarian schools in Covasna and Harghita take part in? Hypotheses: 1. It is hypothesized that teachers with higher music qualifications regularly provide after -school music activities. 2. It is hypothesized that schools in Covasna and Harghita counties provide more space for teaching folk dance and folk music as extracurricular activities. Folk music is popular among children, however, less children sing in a choir or attend classical music concerts.

Sample and data collection
Our sample consisted of 78 teachers from Hungarian primary schools in Covasna and Harghita counties. Questionnaires were sent out online in the second half of January 2020, relying on the database of teachers in Covasna and Harghita counties. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter COVID-19 pandemic presented itself leading to online education. This overwhelmed teachers to such an extent that only 78 completed our questionnaire. As a result, this study can be considered a pilot study. 78 (n=78) individuals participated in the study, 98.7% women, which points to the overrepresentation of women in this profession. 52.6% of the respondents teach is Harghita county, while 47.4% teach in Covasna county. Since Covasna covers a smaller area, there are less teachers than in Harghita, which has more teachers and extends over a larger area. Consequently, the percentage distribution of the two counties will give us an overall picture.
65.4 % of the teachers in our sample teach in rural areas, while 34.4 % teach in urban areas. Concerning their qualifications, 5% graduated secondary teacher training, 16% graduated college, 62% graduated university, while 17% own a master's degree. Most of the primary school teachers in Covasna and Harghita counties make an effort to achieve didactical qualification level I, thus, 64% of the teachers in our sample have a level I qualification, 9% a level II qualification, and 27% a full-time professional degree. None of the respondents had a doctoral degree.

Measurement tools
In our research we used a self-constructed questionnaire with the aim of providing an overall picture of primary school music education in Covasna and Harghita counties based on teachers' opinions.
The first part of the questionnaire contains general questions relating to the teachers' gender, qualifications, qualifications in music, and their system of values and norms regarding music education. The second part of the questionnaire contains questions related to music education within the curriculum system, more specifically the music and movement class, trying to size up the inventory of musical instruments and rhythm instrument in schools. The third part of the questionnaire focuses on extracurricular activities, existing options and practices.
In what follows we will present an analysis of the third part of the questionnaire, which helps us reflect on the present-day situation of non-formal music education.
We performed a quantitative data analysis using the SPSS computer software, investigating descriptive statistical indicators.

Results of primary school extracurricular music activities in Covasna and Harghita counties
One of the settings for developing musical literacy is school, where the success of music education depends to a large extent on teachers' commitment to music and their knowledge of music pedagogy (Shouldice, 2013). Teachers who favour music education are more likely to implement extracurricular music activities, such as playing the recorder, singing in a choir or holding a folk song circle.
We examined how many of the 78 teachers in Covasna and Harghita counties choose music activities as an extracurricular activity within the optional class. As fig. 1 illustrates 18% of the teachers use music activities within the optional class and 82% did not take advantage of the opportunity. However, as mentioned before, Hungarian children have 5-6 more instruction hours than Romanian children so this might also account for this data. Interviews will provide more details on this question.
Extracurricular activities are held weekly or sometimes only with the occasion of certain holidays or contests, when teachers hold music activities as workshops. On the other hand, optional classes are held weekly (in primary education in Romania only sport, religion and foreign language classes are held by specialised teachers, the other subjects are taught by primary school teachers). Our results also show that 14.1 % of the teachers use

Yes 17,9%
No 82,1% extracurricular music activities, workshops, on a weekly basis, while 52.2% use them once or twice a year when preparing for special days or events. We tried to answer the question whether the musical experiences children have in formal education, in this particular case in the music and movement class, can influence their choice of extracurricular activities. We asked teachers to express their opinion on the statement that a collaboration with folk dancers/folk singers would make the music and movement class more vibrant. Respondents could provide answers on a five point scale, 1= not true, 5 = absolutely true. The other question focused on after-school music activities. Answers were provided on a 1-5 scale as follows: 1 none, 2 one-two children, 3 less than half of the class, 4 more than half of the class, 5 everyone except one -two children. The crosstab and chi-square value indicate that there is a correlation between the teacher-folk dancer collaboration in the music and movement class and children's participation in folk dance activities as p=0.003. Our hypothesis -if children are motivated in the music and movement class and their interest is aroused, they are more likely to take part in extracurricular activities-was confirmed. As table 1 illustrates both negative and positive examples match. For 52.4% of the respondents who consider that a collaboration with folk dancers is absolutely necessary almost all children attend folk dance activities. In our days, folk music activities are highly popular among parents and children as well. This might be owing to the fact that before to the 90s, in the time of current parents, folk music and folk dance activities were not available.
Unfortunately, there is no significant correlation between involving artists and singers in the music and movement class and children's attendance of choirs or instrumental ensembles. This might be due to the fact that teachers have much less chances to collaborate with artists, or there are no funds for this. The opposite holds true folk dance and folk music. The next step was to investigate extracurricular activities within the school, based on teachers' responses. We asked them how many of their children take part in choirs, folk song circles, folk dance, instrumental ensembles or individual instrumental lessons. Respondents evaluated all activities on a 5 point scale as follows: 1 none, 2 one-two children, 3 less than half of the class, 4 more than half of the class, 5 everyone except one -two children.  Table 4 shows that on average a very low percentage of children take part in extracurricular activities. Higher percentages occur where less than half of the children take part in music activities.
As regards choir activities 59% of the respondents said that none of the children attend them, in the case of 3.8% almost all the class attends, and in the case of 5.1% more than half of the class sing in a choir. We can see similar percentages in the case of folk song circles and instrumental ensemble activities as well.
Folk dance participation rate is the highest. This can be attributed also to the fact that teachers teach folk dance in the second music and movement class in 2nd grade, and in the play and movement classes in 3rd and 4th grade.
In respect of individual instrumental lessons one or two children attend them in 20.5% of the classes. In the majority of schools, in particular in the countryside, music classes are not held by music teachers. Consequently, children do not have the possibility to sing or play in vocal or instrumental ensembles. Individual instrumental lessons are available only outside the classroom, at the child's own expense.
Class or school performances and concerts represent one segment of extracurricular activities. In our questionnaire we also focused on attending events. These were as follows: theatrical performance, folk dance performance, folk music performance, popular music concerts, classical music concerts, and opera. Teachers used a 5-point scale (never, once a year, 2-3 times a year, 4-5 times a year, more than 7 times a year) to evaluate attendance at each event.  Table 5 shows that 35.9 % of primary school children in Covasna and Harghita counties attend theatrical performances two or three times a year, while 17.9% of the children attend more than 5 times a year. In the case of folk dance and folk music performances 44.9% of the children are taken by their school to folk music performances at least once a year, and 42.3% attend folk dance performances 2-3 times a year.
47.4% of the classes are never taken to popular music concerts, 65.4% never attend classical music concerts, and the school never takes 76.9% of the classes to an opera performance. We know that the infrastructural development of the settlement is one of the factors affecting cultural capital (Pusztai, 2009). This also accounts for the fact that in our region there are very few possibilities for attending opera performances, thus this data does not come as a surprise.
Our analysis of the relationship between the type of settlement and attendance at extracurricular events also attests to the influence of the cultural milieu. There is a significant correlation between the settlement and the frequency of theatre attendance. The crosstab and chi-square value indicate that there is a correlation between the type of settlement and children's attendance at theatrical performances as p=0.001. 43.1% of the children who live in rural areas attend theatre 2-3 times a year, while 25.9% of the children who live in urban areas attend 4-5 times a year, and 33.3% attend more than 5 times a year.
There is no significant correlation between the settlement type and folk dance, folk music performances or popular music concerts. Nonetheless, the type of settlement does have an influence on attending classical music concerts and opera performances. A very limited number of children attend both activities (see table 3). According to respondents' answers 65.4% of the classes do not attend classical music concerts, while 76.9% of the classes do not attend opera performances. For the relationship between settlement type and classical music concerts p=0.041, while for opera performances p=0.038. This indicates that those few children who attend these performances live in urban areas.

Conclusions
Extracurricular activities are an important segment of music education. They provide an opportunity for intrinsically motivated children to develop their musical abilities among children with similar interests and to put into practice and develop theoretical knowledge acquired in the music and movement class. Extracurricular activities can include choirs, folk song circles (folk dance), instrumental ensembles, individual instrumental lessons, attending concerts with the class, or the school.
The aim of the current study was to investigate non-formal primary school music activities in Covasna and Harghita counties by analysing a statistical database of 78 teacher respondents who had completed our selfconstructed questionnaire. The results show that more than half of the teachers in Covasna and Harghita counties have high qualifications. Our hypothesis that teachers who have higher music qualifications organize after-school music activities on a regular basis was not confirmed as the relationship between these two variables was not statistically significant. However, result show significant correlation in the case of the teachers who in the process of formal music education strive to offer music experiences and motivate children to participate in extracurricular activities.
Considering extracurricular activities on the whole, our hypothesis -that folk music is popular among children but there are less children who sing in a choir or attend classical music concerts-was confirmed. Educational institutions also prefer and encourage teaching folk dance and folk music.
Class or school performances and attending concerts represent a segment of non-formal music education. The present research has investigated this aspect as well. Results show that there is a preference for theatrical and folk dance performances, which children attend 3-5 times a year. Children who live in urban areas attend these events more frequently, which confirms the fact that the cultural development of the settlement is a factor affecting high-culture activities.
As a further step, we propose to extend the database, and conduct a quantitative data analysis using the SPSS software. In terms of research methods we propose to perform variance analysis, compute two and three way cross tabulation, as well as conduct logistic regression and cluster analysis.
We are not aware of previous research on Hungarian primary school music education in Romania. Consequently, we found it relevant to investigate this segment of Hungarian minority education, considering its strengths, revealing its possible weaknesses and investigating the underlying reasons.