Secondary Music Classroom Research Articles

Examining Cultural Identity in Secondary Music Classrooms: Perceptions of Teachers and Students

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of secondary-level music teachers and students when teachers implemented cultural identity affirming activities for their culturally diverse students. The method of this qualitative study was a phenomenological interview design. Teachers ( n = 2) and students ( n = 6) were selected from a racially diverse suburban area in the southern United States. Participants recounted their past and present musical and cultural backgrounds to provide insight into how these identities are represented in their music classrooms. Data were collected an in-depth interview series where “meaning-making” was studied through recounting the lived human experience. Interview transcripts were analyzed to understand how participants aimed to respect cultural identities in the music classroom, while also identifying any power imbalances that could hinder these efforts. Findings revealed that teachers’ own cultural background affected their pedagogical decisions and how they provided culturally responsive music experiences for their students. Students shared the kinds of musical experiences they expected in their music classroom and how their cultural identities were being acknowledged in their music experiences. Students recognized culturally responsive environments when student input in programmed music was respected, community was built through acknowledgment of each other’s cultures, and when open discussion about one another’s cultures occurred.

Teaching music unmusically: The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on secondary school music curricula in England

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic, which emerged during 2020, had a wide‐ranging impact on all forms of social engagement in England until February 2022, when all COVID restrictions were lifted. Schools were widely affected during this time in both tangible and tacet interactions. The impact of COVID restrictions on curricula for 11–14‐year‐olds in the Key Stage 3 secondary music classroom in schools has been among the more hidden educational impacts, and research in this area has been limited. This article discusses research conducted between November 2020 and June 2021, which took the form of an online survey with 59 classroom music teachers and semi‐structured interviews with 12 music teacher participants. Adopting a methodology of descriptive coding and thematic analysis for interviews and open‐response survey questions, the findings reveal 10 unintended consequences of COVID‐19 safety measures for curriculum music teaching in schools. The article concludes by developing the concept of the ‘funnelling’ of music teaching during this time and explores the lasting impacts of such treatment, tracing the implications for the future of music curriculum in school and policy contexts.

Characterizing musical vulnerability: Toward a typology of receptivity and susceptibility in the secondary music classroom

Although teachers and researchers frequently acknowledge that music education can benefit pupils’ academic achievement, health and well-being, and social development, classroom music-making can have long-lasting, detrimental impacts. Individuals’ experiences of failure, disappointment, and exclusion in the music classroom highlight an urgent need for music education to be reframed by an understanding of “musical vulnerability”: individuals’ inherent and situational openness to being affected—positively or negatively—by the semantic and somatic properties of music-making. Drawing on existing vulnerability studies, I evaluate how classroom music-making can foster both positive receptivity and negative susceptibility, depending on its delineation of identity and physical embodiment. I then present reductive analyses of phenomenologically-informed interviews in which 12 secondary music teachers described their past experiences of being pupils, and their present experiences of teaching pupils, in music classrooms in the United Kingdom. Using excerpts from their observations of teaching pupils, I describe how interactions between individuals’ interpersonal and personal vulnerabilities—including personality, musical, and neurological differences—affected occasions of musical receptivity and susceptibility. As individuals negotiated conflicting musical expectations, they sometimes fostered fruitful resilience but sometimes encountered profound resignation. I draw on these findings to construct a preliminary typology of musical vulnerability and emphasize the need for future research into proactive differentiation in the music classroom.

Curriculum power positioning in classroom music education: music curriculum design in the secondary music classroom in England

Classroom music teachers in England design their own music curricula for Key Stage 3 (11 − 14 year olds, 6th – 8th Grades). These curricula are designed in a context where policymakers define, regulate and legitimate curriculum formulations. This study traced curriculum development in England, where government has validated a policy driven approach. It explored programs of study, which music teachers in England design as summaries of musical learning for Key Stage 3. The research consisted of documentary analysis in a two-phase study of 13 secondary (high) schools in the English midlands, exploring musical knowledge for musical learning, which is analyzed utilizing qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The paper concludes with a discussion which explores the impacts of music education policy on classroom practices, and presents a proposed model which captures this interaction.

‘Chasing every mark’. High stakes assessment and curriculum narrowing: the case of disciplinary literacy in the Irish secondary music classroom

AbstractThe critical role of disciplinary literacy in enhancing understanding and engagement within arts-based subjects has drawn increased recognition amongst researchers and practitioners alike in recent years. The successful integration of disciplinary literacy into the classroom however has been challenged in equal measures by a prevailing sense of confusion and misunderstanding surrounding the concept of disciplinary literacy and by the concurrent, deep-rooted pressures of performativity experienced by teachers and pupils operating within regimes of examination intensification. The result of these tensions has been a documented increase in reductionist classroom-based approaches to the development of disciplinary literacy. Given the frequently cited importance of engaged disciplinary literacy encounters in the music classroom, a review of the dominant pedagogical practices in this field is germane. This paper reports on the findings of a study exploring the integration of disciplinary literacy in the Irish secondary school music classroom. The findings of this research demonstrate a dominance of listening and performing strategies in classroom-based literacy development initiatives and an aligned relegation of student verbalisation in the music classroom. Recommendations for more disciplinary engaged, student-centred approaches in the development of music literacy within the secondary classroom are outlined.

Examining Cultural Identity in Houston-Area Secondary Music Classrooms: Perceptions of Teachers and Students

Examining Cultural Identity in Houston-Area Secondary Music Classrooms: Perceptions of Teachers and Students

Participatory performance in the secondary music classroom and the paradox of belonging

ABSTRACTParticipatory performance, as defined by Thomas Turino, holds the potential to contribute to enhanced social bonding, cooperation, and the realisation of community among participants – despite the conflict or ‘paradox’ between self-expression and collective affiliation which it often provokes. This study considers how managing this underlying ‘paradox of belonging’ can positively contribute to the development of participatory performance’s social benefits. It presents a case study of practitioner research situated in a UK secondary school, in which pupils (aged 11–13) faced the paradox of belonging during participatory performances of Terry Riley’s In C. Pupils perceived an emerging conflict between individual ability and interpersonal affinity, and in response proposed and practised different models of leadership to avoid, activate, and transcend the paradox. The study concludes by evaluating how these same responses could allow other participatory practices in secondary music classrooms to equip pupils to negotiate the paradox of belonging.

‘Waiting for the wow factor’: Perspectives on computer technology in classroom composing

Due to advancements, affordability and increased accessibility of technology, composing using computer technology has become prevalent in English secondary music classrooms. Despite this, there is still little research investigating the use of technology in music classrooms, resulting in teaching and learning approaches going unchallenged. This article explores how and why computer technology is being used for composing in upper secondary school music classrooms in England. Data were collected through a mixed-methodology approach involving five case-study schools and a survey of 112 classroom music teachers in England. Findings outline both positive and negative aspects of using computer technology to compose, such as how it was often perceived as a shortcut; however it can be argued that the computer software encourages a linear approach to composing, and the unrealistic Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) sounds can be a demoralising factor for students’ creativity.

Assessing complexity. Group composing for a secondary school qualification

This article examines a unique music curriculum and assessment environment through the findings of a practical action research project carried out in secondary schools. I address two current international educational issues: the relationship between formal and informal learning in music, and how individuals’ contributions in collaborative groups might be summatively assessed. Following this I present a model of group composing and explain how it was used as a pedagogical tool in secondary music classrooms. The purpose of this was to help students and their teacher to conceptualise collaborative composing, thereby leading to a clearer understanding and more valid assessment of the processes in which they were engaged.

Wellbeing in the Secondary Music Classroom: Ideas from Hero's Journeys and Online Gaming

This paper explores the idea that wellbeing and healthy development should be the central goal of school music programs. After establishing a framework of student wellbeing, the metaphor of rites of passage experiences is employed—through Joseph Campbell's hero's journey and Jane McGonigal's analysis of the benefits of online gaming—as one way to think about high school music programs as potential sites for contributing to optimal adolescent wellbeing. Writing at the nexus of practice and theory the authors analyze two rites of passage examples from their high school music classrooms. Musicking experiences that offer students openings for embarking upon rites of passage hold potential for addressing students' needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence—needs Richard Ryan and Edward Deci document as predictive of psychological wellbeing in all cultures and that Dissanayake argues are evolved psychobiological needs.

Student teachers’ conceptions of creativity in the secondary music classroom

This study aims to explore the meaning of the concept of creativity from the perspective of student teachers pursuing a one year teacher training course following their first degree. Seventeen student teachers following a specialist music teaching route in secondary education were selected as the sample for this study to offer their understanding on creativity in the secondary music classroom. Data were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews and were subject to in-depth qualitative analysis using Atlas.ti software. All student teachers seemed eager to teach for creativity as they thought it was a vital component of their pupils’ musical engagement and development. However, some held richer conceptions than others or tended to overlook significant areas of musical involvement, such as improvisation, group work and engagement in evaluating and refining the creative musical product. Creativity was generally expected but it would emerge on an intuitive level as a by-product of a learning objective rather than being explicitly considered in the planning process. These narrow conceptions of the meaning of creativity in the music classroom need to be taken seriously and explicitly addressed in music education programs in order to maximize the expression of pupils’ creative potential in the music classroom and beyond.

Encouraging Cognitive Connections and Creativity in the Music Classroom

The ability to apply knowledge rests at the core of the educational experience and is an important aspect of all teaching. In music education, many experiences are structured so information gained can be related to another activity, but such transfer can be difficult. When students learn to transfer information and knowledge to new situations, they are more likely to retain that knowledge; this retention seems to be enhanced when the information is presented within an activity where creativity is encouraged. There is also evidence to support a technique where the teacher clearly states that transfer is a goal for learning in a “community-of-learners” environment, where the students share verbally their creative connections with the class. This article is an exploration of the concept of transfer and includes strategies for teaching creative thinking through transfer activities in the secondary music classroom or rehearsal setting.

Using rap and Jamaican dance hall music in the secondary music classroom

This article reports on a study carried out in a secondary school in the Island of Jamaica. One grade 7 class ( n=20) and one grade 9 class ( n = 23) were taught a six-week unit of lessons aimed at facilitating student listening, performing and composing. Rap and Jamaican dance hall music were used as the stimulus for students' rhythmic accompaniment compositions. Students performed their accompaniments and completed a brief questionnaire at the end of the unit. Students reported that the rap and dance hall music were a positive influence on their enjoyment of the unit. Listening skills were weak across both classes, and, overall, the grade 9 students performed at a higher level of skill than the grade 7 students. It is recommended that `directed listening' be emphasized in music classes, and that students be allowed time to self-reflect on their musical experiences.

What Music Teachers Want: The Emergence of a Unified Understanding of an Ideal Teacher Education Course

‘Burnout’ and praxis shock seem to be causing teachers to leave the profession early. Much research suggests that this is a reflection on the quality of teacher education programs. Interviews with teachers who were in their first four years in the secondary music classroom reveal how they view their pre-service preparation, and therefore provide an insight into how pre-service teacher education might be effectively reconceptualised. This paper explores the relationship between Zeichner and Liston’s (1990) teacher education ‘traditions’ and early-career music teachers’ perceptions of an ‘ideal’ teacher education course. Analyses of interviews with 15 early-career secondary classroom music teachers suggest the emergence of a common understanding regarding the design of effective music teacher education programs. Rather than representing any of Zeichner and Liston’s four traditions in particular, early-career music teachers speak of a music teacher education approach that incorporates all of the traditions in an integrated way. This understanding of an ‘ideal’ teacher education course should be considered when designing or reconceptualising teacher education courses in order to provide improved opportunities for future music teachers.

Engaging With Adolescent Musicians: Lessons In Song Writing, Cooperation And The Power of Original Music

This article reports a research project that explored the links between original music making, cooperative learning and sociomusical relationships. Our focus in this article is the cooperative learning strategies that emerged from the study and attendant issues such as power sharing, relationships, identity construction and cooperative musical processes. In particular we highlight the role that positive interdependence, the development of a sub cultural identity and original music making have in the formation of a personal musical aesthetic. The participants were twenty-one students from Year Eight to Year Twelve from a rural government secondary college who formed a self-titled group called Jungle Express. This group of 13 to 18 year-olds composed and performed their own fusion of contemporary and popular styles, producing a particular, context driven and immediate sound. The students identified closely with each other in a musical and social sense, as well as with the three staff members who were associated with the group. Through written narratives, interviews and rehearsal recordings the students explored their notions of cooperative learning, power sharing, relationships, identity construction and song writing. Jungle Express provided insight into the possibilities of cooperative music making which honours the experiences of the individual while contributing to the development of a long-term identity. The musical product whilst reflective of both the group membership and the environment, was ultimately concerned with the meaning-making journey of the individual. The findings of this study provide a reflection point on current practice in secondary music classrooms and performing ensembles.

Task Organisation and Management in Secondary Music Classrooms

Recent research and theory in the area of classroom management indicates that there is a relationship between the task organisation of the classroom and teacher management behaviours. That is, classroom settings such as seatwork and recitation are related to different kinds of pupil behaviour and different kinds of teacher response. A review of related literature and a study of music student teachers in secondary classrooms indicates that music teachers spend considerably more time in recitation-type settings than do teachers of other subjects and are thus required to be more constantly alert and more authoritarian in their behaviour. The implications of these data for teachers, teacher educators and administrations are discussed.