Latvian Music Teachers’ Survey on the Assessment Criteria of Mastering Improvisation

Abstract

Improvisation has been used in music practice for ages, but at present it is a component of several subjects on music. The research aim is to study the attitude of Latvian music teachers to the criteria developed for assessing the level of mastering improvisation. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was carried out, with music teachers of different schools and higher education institutions from all regions of Latvia (N=187) participating in it. A paired comparison method was applied: the respondents were supposed to compare each assessment criterion of mastering improvisation with respect to each other assessment criterion of mastering improvisation. The SPSS software was used for the analysis of statistic data and presentation of the research results. The research outcomes show that the respondents’ opinions on the assessment criteria of mastering improvisation differ depending on their gender, work place, involvement in improvisation, concert activities, self-identification and length of service. Therefore the assessment made by different music teachers may also be different and equal attention should be paid to all assessment criteria.