Collaboration for Music Teacher Education between Higher Education Institutions and K-12 Schools

Abstract

This study's purpose was to investigate the extent and nature of collaboration for music teacher education between K—12 schools and higher education institutions across the United States. A survey was used to gather data from a stratified random sample (n = 204) of the 813 higher education institutions offering music education degrees. The findings indicated that 96.77% of colleges/universities collaborate with K—12 schools in some form, but the degree of collaboration varies widely. Higher education music faculty respondents reported a broad range of benefits to students, faculty, the higher education institution, and the K—12 schools. Communication, shared decision-making, funding sources, faculty rewards, trends, and reasons for collaboration were examined. An analysis of variance revealed significant relationships between the degree of collaboration and (a) the number of music education majors, (b) the institution's size, and (c) graduate study in music education.