The purpose of this study was to examine the degree withdrawal patterns of undergraduate music education majors, with a specific focus on the individual experiences of students withdrawing from the major. Data from recently withdrawn students ( N = 14) were assembled using a qualitative methodology that included semistructured interviews, questionnaires, researcher journals, and meetings with experienced researchers. The data were analyzed and coded, generating a number of categories for discussion and analysis. Students’ experiences during college were diverse, with concerns focused on the applied music component of the degree surfacing as important to many students. The reasons given for withdrawal from the music education program also were diverse, including dismissal from the applied music studio, erosion of personal confidence as a musician, realizations about their feelings toward music versus their feelings about teaching in general as it related to their personal career goals, and personal life issues. Following withdrawal from the music education curriculum, all interviewed students reported that they remained actively involved in music in some way. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to individual experiences and the function of those experiences within the context of current models of student persistence.
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of students (N = 26) in an undergraduate music education degree program in an attempt to identify commonalities among students persisting to degree completion. All participants were in their final year of the music education degree at the time of the study. Multiple data collection methods were used to gather information about the students' experiences in music and teaching, including experiences before and during their time in the degree program. These methods included semistructured interviews, focus groups, written questionnaires, and a researcher journal. The data were analyzed and coded, generating a number of categories for discussion and analysis. The following themes emerged: (a) participants experienced a notable drop in musical confidence early in the degree; (b) participants believed the degree is quite stressful compared to other degrees; (c) participants cited field experiences as important; and (d) participants indicated the importance of peer support to get through the "hard" times.
This study examined the effect of audio recording and playback on middle school instrumentalists’ self-assessment. Middle school student musicians ( N = 112) completed a self-assessment immediately following their individual performance of an etude. The student musicians then listened to a recording of their individual performance and completed another identical self-assessment. A third identical self-assessment occurred 2 days later, again utilizing the recorded performance as subject material. The self-assessment tool asked students to rate individual aspects of their performances on a 7-point Likert-type scale. The elements of tone, pitch, and rhythm all evidenced significant differences in self-assessment ratings from the live performance to the recorded performance 2 days later. There were also significant differences in self-assessment ratings between the live performance and recorded performance conditions for the elements of pitch and rhythm. Only tone evidenced a significant difference in self-assessment ratings from the first recorded condition to the second recorded condition. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The present study was designed to pilot test an adjusted version of a questionnaire, used in earlier studies with college music students, to determine opinions of college music faculty on the topic of private lesson teaching. Full-time tenure-track college music faculty, with primary appointments in applied music at two universities in the United States, were contacted for the project. Thirty-two of 51 completed the task with no negative comments about the format, focus or specific questions in the instrument. Results were similar in many ways to previous student responses, and this group felt strongly that they liked teaching, training for teaching is important, and that their applied music lesson students would likely teach someday themselves. They enjoyed talking about pedagogical issues with students and liked the challenges of teaching musicians. Future research with this instrument should focus on larger groups with delineations in specialty area, faculty appointment, institution type/size, teaching assignment, and global representation.
The current study was designed to help examine attitudes toward private lesson teaching of a cross section of wind and percussion instrument instructors (N = 72) who represent teachers with the potential to influence present and future instrumental music education students. The subject pool was drawn from the membership of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI). Results were similar in many ways to responses in previous studies involving music faculty and music students. These respondents indicated that they liked teaching, liked the challenges of teaching musicians, indicated that teaching served to help their personal performing, and that good teaching technique was not obvious and needed to be taught. They also enjoyed talking about pedagogical issues with students, periodically shared pedagogical information as part of students’ lessons, but were not committed to recommending that students take a pedagogy class. Engaging the membership of organizations such as NACWPI will be necessary if the music teacher education profession is to find ways to include the pedagogy of individual music lesson teaching for musicians interested in becoming teachers.
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