ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Harmonizing Lecture Slides Presentations with Background Music: Thematics Analysis of Students Experiences
Provisionally accepted
- Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Kumasi, Ghana
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Research shows that background music (BM) help people stay engaged and focused while learning, reading, or performing other cognitive tasks, though it can sometimes be distracting. However, its role in learning during lecture slide presentations is not well understood. This study explores the impact of BM on learning during PowerPoint lecture presentations among a convenient sample of 23 Master of Philosophy (MPhil) students in Ghana. Using a descriptive phenomenological qualitative design, a semi-structured interview was employed to elicit students' responses of their experiences. Thematic analysis was The study conducted thematic analysis of the interview data and identified three main themes were identified: (i) staying engaged, where BM made the learning environment livelier, (ii) effect on concentration, with mixed responses on whether BM helped or distracted attention, and (iii) effects on learning, where BM supported some students' understanding, but hindered that of others. The findings suggest that BM's impact on learning during slide presentation context is influenced by individual factors. That is, the effects of BM may differ based on individual or contextual factors. Thus, we recommend the need for lecturers to consider individual students regarding integrating BM into PowerPoint presentations.
Keywords: Background Music (BM), concentration, Lecture Slide Presentations, Learning retention, Powerpoint presentation
Received: 28 May 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gyasi Alfred. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bannor, Gyasi Alfred, agbannor@aamusted.edu.gh
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