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Today, on March 23^rd, Marit Koit will defend her PhD Thesis at the Tallinn University Institute of Educational Sciences. The thesis is a pilot research that regards music-consciousness and music-behaviour as  expressive and formative factors of Estonian pupils’ lifestyle.

“Listening to music is without a doubt the number one everyday activity among school youth. At the same time, the styles they listen to vary greatly, depending on the general lifestyle of the listener. Thus listening to music can be seen as a differential phenomenon in lifestyle – it links all of the youth together, but at the same time separates them,” explains Marit Koit.

The thesis shows that many young people centre their lifestyle (incl. identity, values, everyday activities and the reality surrounding them) around music-consciousness and music-behaviour, even though the styles and role of the music can be very different. For example, those listening to pop- and electronic music value it as a means of communication and source of entertainment, whereas those listening to jazz and folk music value these genres as art and artistic expression.

Favouring a certain style of music influences the formation of a young person’s reflexivity or self-consciousness. The more reflective they are in their relationship with music, the more it shows in their lifestyle – for example, they explain their understanding of their own lives and the world as being based on their own thoughts, not being influenced by trends or the opinions of public figures.

The thesis is novel in the context of sociology of music and educational sociology, as well as music pedagogy, since it handles the subjects as a complex, rather than focusing on a single aspect. It also offers a vital supplement to research on youth studies within the Estonian school of educational sociology, by setting the emphasis on music-consciousness and –behaviour.

Marit Koit’s doctoral dissertation “Music-Consciousness, Music-Behaviour and Youth Culture as Expressive and Formative Factors in the Lifestyle of School Youth/ Muusikateadvus, muusikakäitumine ning noortekultuur kui koolinoorte elustiili väljendavad ja kujundavad tegurid” was supervised by prof. Airi Liimets of Tallinn University. Opponents are research fellow Triin Roosalu of Tallinn University and associate professor Kerri Kotta of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

The dissertation can be accessed at the TU Academic Library repository .

Public defence of the thesis will take place today, March 23^rd at 11AM in Tallinn University, room M-213.