Music Education Faculty Research Articles

Beliefs of Applied Studio Faculty on Desirable Traits of Prospective Music Education Majors

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the beliefs of applied music faculty on desirable traits of prospective music education majors. Researcher-designed surveys were sent electronically to applied music faculty at 12 National Association of Schools of Music–accredited institutions randomly selected from each of the four major divisions of the United States. Data from returned surveys were analyzed to describe the admissions process for music majors at each institution, in addition to respondents’ perceptions of the desirability of various professional dispositions and selection criteria for entering music education majors. Results suggest that music education faculty hold limited responsibility in the admissions process at the majority of respondents’ institutions and that admissions decisions are primarily determined by applied music faculty. In addition, respondents reported that certain professional dispositions and selection criteria were more important than others in admitting prospective music education majors. Implications for music teacher educators are discussed.

Family Music Concerts

This article describes how conductors of the top performing groups and music education faculty at one university collaborated to create a Family Concert Series for parents and children of all ages, including infants in arms. Recognizing the conflict between “The first three years of life are the most important for educating a young child in music” and “Children under the age of six are not allowed to attend the concert,” the Family Concert Series is an attempt to resolve the issue. The Family Concerts require a minimum of extra work for conductors and are becoming a curriculum component for university music education students. This article also includes strategies that teachers might use in classrooms with recorded music when live music is not available.

Being an iPadist

This column offers the personal reflections of the author on being a member of the band Touch, an iPad performing ensemble composed of music education faculty members and doctoral students at the University of South Florida. The ensemble primarily performed its own arrangements of popular music selections from a number of genres including, but not limited to, rock, hip-hop, and classical. The group began when the iPad was created by Apple in 2010 and had been performing all over the Tampa Bay (Florida) region, Texas, and Georgia, at the time of this publication. In this article, the reflections of the author are presented to inform the profession on how tablet technology can be used in the music performance arena and on how these devices can function as musical instruments in the general music classroom.

Multiple Constituent Mentoring: A Policy for Capitalizing on Authentic Learning Contexts in University Curricula

In this article we propose a policy intended to alleviate the typical problems of student internships and improve the usefulness and relevancy of any partnership. We extend previous ideas about professional development schools or partnerships to eliminate the disconnect between K–12 schools and universities and add a component of multiple constituent mentoring necessary for effective music teacher and music teacher educator training. A partnership with multiple mentors—K–12 students, K–12 teachers, undergraduate students, graduate students, and university music education faculty—can provide the most benefits to the greatest number of people. The policy presented in this article will likely require the implementation of philosophical and curricular changes, but these efforts would be well worth the investment of time and resources.

A Comparison of Contracted and Ideal Music Education Faculty Workload

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare contractual and ideal teaching, research, and service workload data for tenured and tenure-track music education faculty working at National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)-accredited institutions that offered undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in music education. More specifically, two research questions informed this study: (1) What are the contracted and ideal teaching, research, and service workloads for tenured and tenure-track music education faculty according to institution: type (private/public); enrollment; mission (liberal arts, research or teaching/comprehensive); and community (rural, suburban or urban)? And (2), how do these compare? The researchers developed a two-page, 14-item questionnaire, the Music Education Workload Questionnaire (MEWQ) to explore these questions. The 88 completed questionnaires (32.6% return rate) highlighted that contractual teaching, research, and service responsibilities differ little between tenured and tenure-track music education faculty, and that workloads generally involve about 74% teaching, 14% research, and 12% service. In addition, respondents felt that the ideal workload would involve 63% teaching, 22% research, and 15% service. The ideal workload trend of less teaching and more research and service held true regardless of school type, enrollment, mission, or community.

Demographics and Faculty Time Allocation of Music Education Professors in the United States

The purpose of this study was to construct a demographic and time allocation profile of the typical music education faculty member in the United States. Participant institutions ( n = 220) were selected from a random sample of National Association of Schools of Music–accredited institutions offering music education degrees ( N = 517). The authors sent invitations to complete the online survey to 665 music education professors at the institutions in the sample. The completed response rate for the survey was 35% ( n = 236). Findings aided in the construction of a profile of the typical music education faculty member in the United States. The data demonstrate that the typical respondent has a doctorate, 9 to 12 years of K–12 teaching experience, and is 51.5 years old, but entered the professoriate around age 36. The typical respondent spends approximately 11 hours per week teaching undergraduate students and has only 10% of his or her workload devoted to research. The report explores numerous other variables as well. Certain characteristics of the profile varied according to the type of institution at which the respondent worked. For example, the data demonstrate a significant difference in mean percentage of workload devoted to teaching and research between various institution types but not in time devoted to service. The exploration of demographic and time allocation norms in the music education professoriate may be of interest to those who prepare music teacher education faculty. Such information may also be of value to current and future graduate students preparing for careers in the music education professoriate.

Reflective dialogues in community music engagement: An exploratory experience in a Singapore nursing home and day-care centre for senior citizens

This study documents a reflective journey of a community music programme initiated by a university music education faculty member and an occupational therapist within the setting of a nursing home and day-care centre in Singapore. Weekly music interaction sessions in conjunction with reminiscence therapy were conducted over a period of five months. The purpose of the study was to explore and examine the group music engagement process between the music educators and senior citizen participants. It was noted that the subsequent planning and execution of the programme catering to the social, cultural and historical contexts of the senior citizens created a mutual learning environment that brought enjoyment, social and physical engagement, social bonding, collective and personal expression, and empowerment to the senior citizens and the music educators.

The Impact of an E-Portfolio Program in a Music Education Curriculum

The electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) program at the Pennsylvania State University, initiated to assist students find employment upon graduation, quickly evolved into a 4-year sequential process for the documentation of, and reflection on, becoming a music educator. After 6 years of development, it seemed decision making for the program would benefit by being data driven. Six stakeholder groups were identified and surveyed as to their perceptions of the e-portfolio program (current students, student teachers, alumni, mentor teachers, employers, and music education faculty). Based on the questionnaire responses, a prevalent theme among undergraduate students was the importance of the ease of using technology. Alumni in general seemed to perceive greater value in the e-portfolios than current students, whereas mentor teachers and employers had minimal awareness, interest, and/or involvement in the e-portfolio process or outcomes. Questions about the possibilities, impact, and future of e-portfolios in the curriculum are raised based on the results.

Music Teacher Education Students as Cross-Age Reading Tutors in an After-School Setting

A class of music teacher education students ( N = 18) served as tutors in a cross-age reading program for fourth and fifth grade students enrolled in an after-school program. The qualitative study progressed in several phases: (a) Two experts with over 60 years collective teaching experience at the elementary school level were asked to recommend the “best book available for a cross-age tutoring project that would have the greatest appeal for this age category of student.” The selected book was The Pinballs by award-winning children’s author, Betsy Byars (Byars, 1977). (b) College-age tutors were asked to read the book, write a reaction to its content and give their opinion concerning how it could be used by classroom teachers. (c) Tutors were randomly paired with after-school children who were mostly identified as being low in reading skills and/or reading fluency. (d) Each dyad participated in a one-on-one session once a week for 30 to 50 minutes lasting for 10 weeks. (e) At the end of the 10 week period, each child was asked to write a short paragraph describing their reading experience. (f) Similarly, each college student was asked to write a lengthier description of their experiences. During the study, these college tutors were under the daily supervision of the regular after-school elementary teacher who supervised the entire program. Additionally, a university music education faculty member met weekly with the elementary teacher to discuss the project. This feedback loop provided an important aspect of the study.

A University—School Music Partnership for Music Education Majors in a Culturally Distinctive Community

University—community collaborations are a fairly recent phenomenon, which has often been manifested through the establishment of university partnerships with schools. This research sought to document the process and outcomes of a university—school collaboration called Music Alive! in the Valley (MAV), a yearlong partnership between 33 university music education students and faculty with an elementary school within a rural location of a western state. MAV was intended to serve a Mexican American migrant community whose children frequently spoke only Spanish at home and to provide occasions for university students of music education to engage in positive social contact via music performances, participation, and training experiences. An ethnographic method was employed by which observations, interviews, and examination of material culture were assembled over the course of the school year, and an assessment was offered of the benefits and challenges in the creation of a music education partnership in distinctive (and remote) cultural communities.