Music Education Programs Research Articles

Musical Counterstories: Racialized Experiences of Asian/Asian American Music Teachers

Despite being the fastest growing population in the United States and a part of many music education programs, Asian and Asian American (AAM) music teachers’ voices often are unheard in music education discourses. The purpose of this study was to begin bringing visibility to the experiences of AAM music educators. The research questions explored in this article are: How do AAM music teachers describe their experience in relationship to their racial identities? and How might AAM educators’ experience be similar or differ in relation to immigrant generational statuses and transnational contexts? We utilized Asian critical race theory as a framework to examine the experiences of 10 AAM music educators. Although collective themes emerged around patterns of racialization, each participant had unique experiences shaped by transnational contexts and immigrant generation. We hope that these data become part of a more robust discourse around AAM experiences in music learning and teaching.

Historical Development and Learning of Marimba in Chinese Educational Institutions

Background and Aim: The significance of the historical development and learning of the marimba in Chinese educational institutions lies in the evolutionary and developmental process of these institutions and the interesting nature of the learning process. It is necessary to study the introduction and learning process of the marimba. The aim is to explore the historical development and learning of the marimba in Chinese educational institutions. Materials and Methods: Qualitative research and content analysis were used, based on the principles of the historical development of the marimba, to convey and promote Chinese culture through marimba sound, playing techniques, and the learning process in educational institutions. Results: The marimba was introduced to China in the 1980s. Teaching and playing methods mainly follow the international mainstream. Due to its low popularity, few schools offer marimba courses. Automatic lifting systems have emerged. There is scope for further development. The learning is comprehensive, in-depth, and innovative, helping students gain proficiency and cultivate musical literacy and innovative abilities. It originated in Guatemala and spread worldwide, entering China in the 1980s. In China, it has gradually become an important part of the music education system. Courses and training programs have been established in various educational institutions. Learning requires basic skills and the pursuit of artistic expression and cultural understanding. In the future, the marimba will have broader prospects with the development of music education and the acceleration of the internationalization process. Conclusion: Despite its initial lack of popularity, the marimba—which was brought to China in the 1980s—has grown to be an essential part of the country's music education program. Students develop proficiency and musical literacy through thorough and creative teaching methods, and as internationalization and music education progress, the instrument's future in China appears bright.

A partnership composition project between professional composers, a university music education program, and a comprehensive school extended music program

In this Finnish-based study, professional composers ( n = 2), student music teachers ( n = 6), eighth-grade comprehensive school pupils studying in an extended music program ( n = 22), and university and school music educators ( n = 2) were brought together to pilot a partnership model for teaching and learning music composition. The one-year project offered (a) a composition pedagogy course for student music teachers, including lectures by composers and a seminar and teacher training in a comprehensive school, and (b) collaborative composition workshops for eighth-grade pupils under the supervision of student music teachers, professional composers, and a school music teacher. In Part 1, we conducted a survey to investigate pupils’ experiences relating to their creative musical agencies and basic psychological needs. In Part 2, we used a phenomenographic approach to examine educators’ perceptions of student music teachers’ development as composition teachers. In Part 3, we used phenomenography to study the student music teachers’ experiences of their development as composition teachers. The results indicate that (a) the musical agency and basic psychological needs of the eighth-grade pupils were supported; (b) the educators succeeded in planning and implementing the pilot course, taking into account both the social and pedagogical aspects of collaborative composition; and (c) the student music teachers felt that their attitudes toward teaching music composition changed and that their confidence increased during the project. We recommend future modifications to the present educational model and consider its potential implications for music education in the Finnish context.

A portrait of self-regulated musical learning behaviors among rock musicians: Applications in music education

Rock music and Western classical music seem very different but musicians in the two cultures may have enough self-regulated musical learning behaviors in common for concurrent application in school-based music education. In this paper, I describe the self-reported self-regulated musical learning behaviors of seven successful rock musicians, compare their behaviors to those expected in the Western classical tradition, and suggest ways to combine norms from both traditions in effective music education programs. Data are collected through digital ethnography methodology from a series of interviews published in YouTube. Emergent themes in the self-regulated musical learning behaviors of rock musicians include (1) passion for music making, (2) the importance of choice, (3) a need for personal control over learning, and (4) an emphasis on musical composition in daily practice.

Piano Teaching Within the Framework of the Flipped Classroom Model: Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation

This study, aiming to evaluate the piano teaching and post-process gains of music teacher candidates based on their experiences with the flipped classroom model (FC), was designed as a case study. The study group consisted of 24 music teacher candidates studying in the 2022 to 2023 academic semester in the Music Education Program. The research design includes implementation of piano teaching with the FC model and the application of diary and questionnaire forms to obtain qualitative data during weekly teaching practices. The qualitative data reveal the positive and negative aspects, opportunities, threats, the effects on learner gains of the general evaluation of piano teaching with the FC model, and the evaluation of videos as extracurricular teaching materials. It has been concluded piano teaching with the FC model has a positive effect on the components of the teaching process, learner-teacher communication, use of teaching materials, active participation, feedback correction, psychomotor and affective learning outcomes, the ability to play the piano musically and technically, and anxiety and motivation. In addition, the data show videos are preferable as extracurricular teaching materials, and it is seen as an important component affecting the suitability, usability and effectiveness of the FC model for piano teaching.

Developing the music listening skills test (MLST) for pre-school and elementary school teacher candidates

In this study, it was aimed to develop a music listening skill test for primary school teacher candidates to determine their levels of perception of basic musical structures through listening. A total of 260 teacher candidates studying in the department of primary education (early childhood and elementary education) of a public university in Türkiye formed the study group of the research. KR-20 internal consistency coefficient of the Music Listening Skills Test (MLST) was determined as 0.731. The mean of the item difficulty index of the test is 0.60, and the mean of the item distinctiveness index is 0.38. The MLST consists of a total of 27 questions with 53 listening contents converted into audio files in MP3 format to be played by the practitioner. The MLST can be used as a preliminary assessment tool in studies on the development of musical competencies. In addition, the musical structures in the test content can be handled in the music education processes of teacher candidates. Assessing music listening skills can also make it easier to follow the steps to be followed in the education of teacher candidates. In this way, educational contents can be developed and music education programs can be updated.

The Influence of Music Training on Language Processing Skills in Adolescents in South Korea

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of music training on language processing skills in adolescents in South Korea. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study on the influence of music training on language processing skills in adolescents in South Korea revealed significant positive correlations between music education and language processing abilities. Adolescents who received music training demonstrated enhanced linguistic skills, including vocabulary acquisition and syntactic comprehension, compared to their peers without musical instruction. The findings suggest that musical training may contribute to cognitive advantages in language development during adolescence. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Neurocognitive theory of music, transfer of learning theory & socio-cultural theory may be used to anchor future studies on the influence of music training on language processing skills in adolescents in South Korea. Advocate for the integration of structured music education programs in South Korean schools, emphasizing its potential benefits for language development. Advocate for policies that support the inclusion of music education as a core component of the curriculum, highlighting its role in fostering holistic cognitive development and academic achievement.

Higher Music Teacher Education Programs in Mexico from the Professors’ Perspective. A Descriptive Study

Introduction: Despite the significant promotion and undeniable growth of music education in Mexico, three major issues have hindered its full consolidation and appropriate development: 1) There are few higher music education programs; 2) Enrollment in these programs is extremely low; 3) There is a deficit of well-trained music educators. Unfortunately, few studies in Mexico have addressed these issues, with most focusing on curriculum design. Objective. To address these concerns, this study conducted a quantitative, descriptive analysis to determine the profile of tertiary music education faculty and explore their perceptions regarding the functioning of their academic programs, their students’ profiles, and the teaching-learning conditions. Methodology. Data was collected through an ad hoc survey created by the researcher and validated through the expert-judgment validation process. The survey was sent to the 14 music education programs listed in the ANUIES Yearbook 2022-2023. Data was statistically analyzed by using the software SPSS, 2.0. Results. The findings highlighted the strengths and weaknesses perceived by professors and provided insights that may explain the current situation. Conclusions. While there are notable strengths, significant weaknesses need to be addressed, including the hiring of more well-prepared full-time professors, the implementation of effective recruitment mechanisms, adequate psycho-pedagogical support, and appropriate funding programs.

A Study on the Development and Effectiveness of Multicultural Music Education Program Utilizing Musical Instrument Museums

A Study on the Development and Effectiveness of Multicultural Music Education Program Utilizing Musical Instrument Museums

생태전환교육으로서의 음악교육에 대한 중등 음악교사의 인식 조사

This research aims to propose a direction for ecological music education through an investigation on music teachers’ perception regarding music education as an ecological transformation education. The research was carried out by analyzing literature related to ecological music and conducting a survey on ecological music education of 321 music teachers. The data was analyzed by SPSS 29, conducting frequency analysis and descriptive statistics. Additionally, the t-test and linear regression analysis were carried out to explore the relationship between teachers’ background and their perception of ecological music education. The result demonstrated that music teachers positively perceived a potential behind music as an ecological transformation education, believing music and ecology were related, and therefore music could be used to resolve ecological crisis. Furthermore, although many teachers didn’t teach music classes related to ecology, most of them had willingness to receive training about it. On the other hand, they indicated a need for standardization of terminology such as ‘ecological music’, an introduction of example cases for ecological music classes, and the development of ecological music education programs. Also, perceiving that the workplace was nature-friendly had a positive impact on perceiving that music and ecology were related.

Collaboration, relationships and fleeting opportunities: growing the future early childhood music education workforce

ABSTRACT The aim of, Jane’s, Soundwaves Early Childhood Music lead, and Karen’s, Early Childhood Studies lecturer, inquiry is to encourage new insights into how multiple relationalities and learning play out, throughout Soundwaves, an early childhood music education (ECME) programme. We work with Barad’s diffractive methodology to shape our auto-ethnography. With pens, sparkly bits, ribbons, glue and paper, we map the Soundwaves narrative. Caring ethics, for the human and more-than-human, runs throughout our research practices. (Re)turning, the data, posthuman and critical new materialist theory, the Soundwaves narrative is (re)told. Concerns the neo-liberal narrative had played us, were replaced, when noticing the gap between our organisations offered reassuring insights. In this gap, resisting the neo-liberal narrative, is ‘fleetingness’, which welcomes experimentation and play to learning opportunities and our collaboration. These insights are useful to those who wish to maintain the visibility of ECME and resist creating instrumentalised learning experiences, whilst growing the ECME workforce.

D'Addario Foundation grants for music education programs

D'Addario Foundation grants for music education programs

메타버스 플랫폼을 활용한 국악교육 프로그램 개발 및 적용

The purpose of this study is to develop a program that can increase the effectiveness of Korean traditional music education using the Metaverse platform and to analyze the educational effect through application of the program. This study proposed a new direction for Korean traditional music education beyond the limitations of existing face-to-face practical education and sought specific ways to realize it. To this end, we reviewed existing studies and looked at the Metaverse platform currently being used for educational purposes. Then, according to the research procedure, Gathertown and Ifland were selected as the main platforms and a Korean traditional music education program based on them was designed over a total of 7 sessions. Each session included a variety of activities, including metaverse theory and practice and presentations of learners’ achievements. This program was pilot-applied to prospective culture and arts educators. A satisfaction survey was conducted on the effectiveness, ease of use, and necessity of continuous use of the Korean traditional music education program using Metaverse. Through this series of processes, it was confirmed that the Korean traditional music education program using the Metaverse platform was effective in improving learner immersion, communication and collaboration, and arousing interest in Korean traditional music. However, this study only described application results without controlling specific variables, and there are limitations in generalizing the results. In the future, based on this study, specific empirical research on Korean traditional music education using the Metaverse platform is required, considering various educational purposes and targets. This study provides a new perspective on Korean traditional music education methodology and is expected to promote follow-up research and practical application in this field.

Fuzzy Integrated Optimization-Based College and University Music Education Teaching System

Fuzzy integrated optimization refers to the application of fuzzy logic techniques in the optimization process to handle uncertain or imprecise information effectively. In traditional optimization problems, precise data and deterministic relationships are assumed. This paper proposes the construction of a teaching system for music education in colleges and universities based on fuzzy integrated optimization. Fuzzy logic techniques are applied to handle uncertain or imprecise information inherent in the optimization process. traditional optimization methods that assume precise data and deterministic relationships, fuzzy integrated optimization allows for the modeling of uncertainties in music education settings. By incorporating fuzzy logic into the design of the teaching system, educators can better adapt to the diverse learning needs and preferences of students. The implementation of the teaching system for music education in colleges and universities based on fuzzy integrated optimization yielded significant improvements across various performance metrics. Student engagement levels increased by an average of 25%, with a corresponding rise in satisfaction rates by 30%. Additionally, learning outcomes showed measurable enhancements, with a 20% increase in average test scores compared to traditional teaching methods. The adaptive nature of the teaching system resulted in a 15% reduction in dropout rates, indicating improved student retention and progression through music education programs. Educators reported a 40% increase in efficiency in lesson planning and delivery, attributed to the system's ability to provide personalized recommendations and insights tailored to individual student needs.

“Nobody Told Me”: First-Generation Music Educators’ Soundtracks to Navigating the Academy

First-generation college students (FGCSs) are the first in their families to receive a baccalaureate degree. As a result, they face multiple sociological, familial, and cultural challenges as they navigate their college and professional environments. The purpose of this study is to explore the cognitive soundtracks that FGCSs create to navigate the music academy, university culture, and their first few years of teaching. We conducted an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis with five first-generation music educators who successfully completed a bachelor’s degree in music education. We present the findings as individual soundtracks curated under a playlist titled “Nobody Told Me,” representing participants’ collective lived experiences. Findings suggest that FGCSs struggle with access to material resources, navigating hidden curricula, familial and cultural pressures, and an overarching fear of failure. Based on these findings, we present recommendations for programmatic changes and mentorship for music education programs and schools of music to better support FGCSs.

A Study on the Design of Music Curriculum-Based Ecological Environment Convergence Education Program for Elementary School Learners

This study is to devise a convergence education program with the ecological environment based on the music of elementary school learners. Various agendas surrounding the environment, such as carbon neutrality, climate crisis, and ecological environment conservation, are also being discussed with enthusiasm in the education world. From this point of view, this study is expected to be an education that can be practiced in their lives in the future by properly establishing elementary school learners' values for nature and the environment as well as music subject content in the music education field. To this end, this study developed a new music education program that can further implement environmental education based on two previous studies on music-based convergence education through literature research methods. Through this, conclusions corresponding to four implications were drawn, and it can be said that the review that environmental education can be practiced in a fusion manner within music education has been conducted to some extent.

A Grounded Theory of Early Preservice Music Teacher Identity Development

The purpose of this grounded theory was to discover the process of undergraduate students’ music teacher identity development in the first 2 years of their preservice music education program. Participants in this study were 21 undergraduate students from an introduction to music education course. We collected multiple types of data, including interviews and written artifacts, from a course-based undergraduate research experience that focused on music teacher identity development. Consistent with Charmaz’s approach, data collection and analysis were grounded in a constructivist paradigm. We analyzed participants’ music teacher identity development in a cyclical, three-phase process during the early years of their undergraduate teacher education programs. The three phases involved (a) outer experiences and interactions, (b) inner reflective processes, and (c) actions based on their reflections. The phases were situated within the context of participants’ developing sense of self. Central to this process was the students’ personal development, particularly as individuals in the stage of late adolescence.

Hong Kong popular music education and its (dis)contents

This article presents some of the data gathered in a study on popular music education in Hong Kong, which was marginalized in local schools until recently. The study was conducted between April and December 2021 to explore possible policies that could promote Hong Kong popular music via education. It adopted a mixed-method design that consisted of a survey questionnaire, ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with popular music education stakeholders and fifteen focus-group interviews with participants in various popular music education programmes. While the research findings are based on a small amount of data about a short period, from them I hope to offer a modest suggestion on how to draft policies that promote Hong Kong popular music, a genre that is generally agreed to be declining in the new millennium, through education in the future.

융합기반 음악교육 프로그램 <사운드스케이프 디자인>의 효과성 및 의미 고찰

This study examines the perceptual changes of learners after implementing the convergence-based music education program, Soundscape Design, which focuses on the integration of music and science. The study also investigates the effectiveness and significance of the program. The purpose of this program is to provide students with meaningful artistic experiences by consciously paying attention to sound as "artists of life," creating music pieces with intention, and reflecting on sound and music. The program is divided into two parts: Part 1, "Understanding Sound," based on M. Schafer's concept of Soundscapes, and Part 2, consisting of "Soundscape Design" and "Reflection" phases. The results of the reflection questions show that through the Soundscape Design activities, students underwent changes in their perception of sound and music. They gained the realization that an artist is not necessarily a great figure, but rather an ordinary person like themselves, capable of becoming an artist, dealing with struggles. Moreover, their perception changed regarding artworks, understanding that art requires considerable time and effort, holds intention and meaning, provides new perspectives, and encompasses everyday life. These changes suggest a potential shift in students' attitudes toward art.

Written and enacted policies in undergraduate music education admissions

Undergraduate music education programs are the most common pathway for someone seeking to become a music teacher. Admission into preservice programs may be a barrier for minority students. We conducted a collective case study and qualitative content analysis to examine the written and enacted policies of music education admissions at institutions within the BIG 10 academic conference. Utilizing Richerme’s feminine and poststructural extension of cosmopolitan ethics as a frame to consider our analysis, we considered how written policies present institutional priorities and compared them to enacted policies of local stakeholders. The results of this investigation highlight the varied interpretations of institutional and professional priorities, as well as the difficulty of determining responsibility and enacting change on the local level. Implications from this study include recommendations for changes to practice and policy, considerations for curricular shifts, and a discussion of ways to disrupt the seemingly iron-clad reproduction of a homogenous music education field that continues to exclude bodies and musicks that do not conform.