The Impact of a Funded Research Program on Music Education Policy

Sounds of Learning: The Impact of Music Education is a research program designed to allow researchers to examine the roles of music education in the lives of school-aged children to expand the understanding of music's role in a quality education. The NAMM Foundation, the sponsoring organization, has provided more than $1,000,000 to fund research on the impact of music education on student achievement and success in school; all aspects of a child's growth and development; the uses and functions of music in daily life; and home, school, and community environments. Quality research about the role and impact of music education conducted by experienced researchers who publish in rigorous, peer-reviewed, scientific research journals plays a vital role in moving a public policy agenda forward to achieve expanded access to music education for all children. The goal is that this research will inform policy debates and development to achieve policies that support opportunities for every child to experience the power and benefits of learning music.     

A View of Current Evaluative Practices in Instrumental Music Teacher Education

The purpose of this study was to examine how instrumental music educator skills are being evaluated in current undergraduate programs. While accrediting organizations mandate certain elements of these programs, they provide limited guidance on what evaluative approaches should be used. Instrumental music teacher educators in the College Music Society (n = 303) supplied data about their respective programs through an online survey. Participants reported using written and verbal feedback, self-evaluation, and rubrics most frequently. Similar evaluation processes used across program courses or experiences, such as rubrics and ePortfolios, were described by 35 percent of the music teacher educators. Most programs culminated in a semester-long student teaching period, during which preservice teachers were observed and evaluated by university supervisors three to four times. Weak correlations were indicated between some evaluative practices and music teacher educators’ expectations for program graduates’ music educator skills. Implications for music teacher education programs and suggestions for establishing evaluation policies are discussed.     

Music Education for Young Children in Scandinavia: Policy,Philosophy, or Wishful Thinking?

The author discusses current policies, philosophies, and educational practices of early childhood music education in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) and to what extent they meet the challenges of music education for young children. Nearly all children use day care provisions, and they are a governmental responsibility. The author reviews governmental policies regarding general pedagogical goals of day care and kindergarten in Scandinavia. During the last decade, teaching plans for preschool pedagogy were implemented and the author discusses to what extent the plans meet current challenges of music education. The author also discusses the challenges of teacher-training programs in light of current policies regarding music education in early childhood.     

School-University Partnerships in Music Education: A Status Report

A survey was distributed to the members of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC)'s Society for Music Teacher Education that presented members with seven questions about the types and nature of their school-university partnerships. The majority of respondents (N = 251) reported that they engaged in multiple partnerships that included not only universities and schools, but also music education associations, community and private arts organizations, individuals, and businesses. The benefits of these partnerships to preservice music teachers were (a) improved learning experiences, (b) the opportunity to gain real-world teaching experience and apply theory to practice, and (c) interaction with musicians and ensembles. The primary benefits to the university and school-based teachers were (a) professional development opportunities, and (b) opportunities for collegiality. Challenges to partnerships were (a) the difficulty of scheduling, (b) a lack of time, and (c) communication. Results revealed that respondents perceive partnerships as being between individuals, that one person usually takes the lead to develop the partnership, and that the benefits of the partnerships outweigh the challenges. Suggestions for policymakers are provided to address the challenges of partnership work.     

The Impact of Neuroscience on Music Education Advocacy and Philosophy

This content analysis examines how philosophy and advocacy articles published between 2005 and 2010 were influenced by current neuroscience research. The contents of twelve journals were explored, resulting in the inclusion of forty-five articles in this analysis. Recently, there has been a growing interest in neuroscientific research on music. Articles were coded for latent content and emerging themes to determine if this interest has begun to be expressed in philosophy and advocacy writings. The educational implications and issues of using neuroscientific findings are addressed, and recommendations are offered for using future research for advocacy purposes.     

Contemplating a Constructivist Stance for Active Learning within Music Education

This article examines constructivist philosophies for learning with an emphasis on student-centered environments in education and the active involvement of students in learning as they relate new understanding to what they already know and refine previous skills in terms of newly acquired proficiencies. Active learning is explored from a constructivist perspective in which students adopt an analytic approach to questioning and problem solving. Through these processes, students extend their current understanding and emerge as independent musicians, actively engaged in their work as singers, players, composers, improvisers, and listeners. This approach is contrasted with student involvement in hands-on activities in which the focus is on the actions needed to fulfill a given task and limited awareness is devoted to the thinking required to complete the work. I examine the implications of this approach for educational practice and call on policymakers to re-envision music education with attention to engaged learning as perceived within constructivist ways of knowing.     

Merit Pay and the Music Teacher

Current proponents of education reform are at present seeking to fundamentally change the system of teacher compensation by eliminating the traditional single salary schedule and instituting a merit pay system that directly links teacher pay to student achievement. To date, the scholarly literature in music education has been silent on the subject of teacher compensation reform. This article reviews the political arguments and empirical evidence on teacher merit pay while considering these reforms’ potential deleterious effects on music educators. After examining the potential pitfalls of a merit pay system for music educators, I propose one possible framework for evaluating music teachers in a merit pay system.     

Access to Music Education with Regard to Race in Two Urban Areas

This quantitative study examined access to school music instruction with regard to race in two urban areas: Detroit, Michigan, and Washington, DC, in 2009–2010. We found significant differences in the provision of music instruction between schools with high and low proportions of nonwhite enrollment, in categories including curricular offerings, extracurricular offerings, and resources. In the Detroit area, only 31 percent to 60 percent of schools with high percentages of nonwhite students offered any music instruction at all. We contrast our findings with those of a National Center for Educational Statistics report to demonstrate how regional and national averages can obscure information that should guide policy, such as the influence of location and racial demographics of schools on the provision of public school music instruction. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of using flawed data in the creation of policy and suggestions for more comprehensive and accurate data collection and analysis.     

Early Childhood Music Education in Australia: A Snapshot

Policy for early childhood music education (birth to eight years of age) in Australia covers a complex and diverse range of curriculum guidelines and legislation relating to the contexts of day care, preschool, and the early years of school. Australian models and policies vary from state to state and according to setting. Furthermore, early childhood education is constantly changing and evolving, responding to new practices, altered government priorities and funding, and community needs. In this article, the author aims to provide a snapshot of the situation by reviewing and analyzing educational policies, teacher training, and providers of early childhood music programs as well as suggesting some future directions.     

Revisioning and reinstating: Music education after the Great Recession

ABSTRACT

The Great Recession caused many school districts across the country to make numerous cuts in their annual budget models. As a result of these austerity measures, administrators often reduced arts education offerings. In the current study, we highlight how budget reductions in three districts negatively impacted music education curricula, and how education policy makers in each district developed unique frameworks to revision and reinstate music instruction in their schools. Themes from multiple stakeholder interviews revealed a process for those who seek new advocacy messages including hearing the voice for the arts/music, revisioning music curricula, and understanding agents of change. A key finding in the current investigation was the importance of all players accepting and understanding the different approaches to reinstating and revisioning music curricula. Suggestions for further investigation include varying the type of district selected for investigation and including teacher and community member voice in policy discussions and development.     

Intersections between music education and music therapy: Education reform,arts education,exceptionality, and policy at the local level

In this article, a music teacher educator and a music therapy clinician and educator discuss special education policy and arts instruction at the district level. To illustrate the gulf between federal and local policies with regard to exceptional learners and arts instruction, we examine the intersections of music therapy and music education with regard to self-contained classes of students with moderate to severe disabilities. Our discussion focuses on provision of services and opportunity to learn, and results in specific policy suggestions, including: (a) increasing administrators' understanding of music therapy, adaptive music education, and music education, so that decisions regarding arts instruction can be better-informed and more child-centered, (b) treating music therapists as allied health professionals who do not need to be certified teachers to practice in schools, and (c) improving initial music teacher preparation and providing opportunities for professional development to increase awareness of necessary information and effective strategies to improve music teaching and learning for students with special needs.     

Undergraduate Music Program Alumni's Career Path,Retrospective Institutional Satisfaction,and Financial Status

The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate music education and performance alumni's career path, retrospective institutional satisfaction, and financial status. Data for this study were drawn from respondents from the 2010 administration of the nationwide, multi-institutional survey conducted by the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP). Regarding career path, nearly half of the music performance degree graduates reported performing as their current job, and slightly more than half of the music education degree graduates reported working in K–12 schools. Participants were generally satisfied with their institutional experiences, although relatively low levels of satisfaction were reported for networking and career advising services. The respondents reported being most satisfied with aspects of their current jobs that reflected the intrinsic benefits of contributing to a greater good, satisfying personal interests and values, and opportunities to be creative. The majority of the sample reported accruing student loan debt ranging between $10,000 and $30,000; however, no significant differences were found between groups, and 40 percent of the participants reported having accrued no debt at all. The reported annual income of the participants varied significantly, with music educators reporting higher earnings than performers.     

Press discourses on Roma in the UK,Finland and Hungary

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the political and media discourses on Roma in Hungary, Finland and the UK, in relation to the local Roma in these countries as well as those who migrated from Central and Eastern Europe countries following the fall of communism. The authors have analysed left of centre and right of centre major newspapers in these three countries, focusing on specific case studies which were the foci of public debates during the last two decades. We also examined a common case study in 2013 (“blond Maria”) that was discussed throughout Europe. In each news paper, the constructions of Roma, local and migrant, and the changes to related discourses over the period were studied. In conclusion, we examine the multi-layered processes of social and political borderings in Europe which dominate discourses on Roma, “indigenous” and migrant, and the extent to which they constitute a coherent “European” construction of “the Roma”.     

Beyond innumeracy: heuristic decision-making and qualitative misperceptions about immigrants in Finland

Population innumeracy (the tendency to overestimate immigrant or minority population sizes) has sparked scholarly interest. However, erroneous size estimates are not the only consequential misperception. There are also qualitative questions that are prone to error, such as the most common origin of immigrants. Using data from the Finnish National Election Survey, the current study provides the first detailed examination of misperceptions about the primary source of immigration. I consider both their extent and correlates. Results indicate that about one-fifth are incorrect, with most faultily identifying Somalia as the primary origin. These misperceptions are related significantly to media exposure and demographic factors, suggesting that they are more than random ignorance. Source misperceptions are strongly associated with perceptions of cultural threat from immigrants, suggesting potential consequences for faulty views. Overall, findings indicate that innumeracy research should expand to include misperceptions beyond size.     

A geographical survey of littoral crustacea in Norway and their use in paleolimnology

Littoral Crustacea from 400 sites all over Norway were related to lake pH, conductivity, altitude and major biogeography. Being tolerant animals, littoral Crustacea do not fall into clear pH classes as do many Bacillariophyceae or Chrysophyceae. Littoral Crustacea were subdivided into 4 main pH classes: acidobiontic, acidophilous, circumneutral and indifferent, the last group containing most species. Species typical for acidic lakes in the region were: A. excisa, S. serricaudatus, A. curvirostris, A. nana, S. mucronata and D. brachyurum; whereas D. longispina, S. vetulus, A. intermedia and A. rectangula were more common in circumneutral waters. Many littoral Crustacea were shown to be related to altitude, which should be considered in studies on lake histories. Some species showed in addition a restricted geographical distribution. Conductivity, with values recorded in this study, played a minor role in distribution of taxa. More ecological studies are necessary to fully utilize the potential of cladoceran remains in understanding lake histories.     

Why music matters in urban school districts: The perspectives of students and parents of the Celia Cruz High School of Music,Bronx, New York

Despite their long history and importance in the American curriculum, music programs must constantly justify their place in the twenty-first century. Urban areas that are economically depressed sometimes may not be able to offer music instruction due to the emphasis on raising test scores as well as unfavorable economic conditions that may limit their options. Despite these challenges, community leaders and educators successfully established a school of music in the Bronx, New York. Celia Cruz High School, the focus of this case study, was created to offer a musically centered curriculum in the borough of the Bronx as well as address the epidemic of large failing schools. Celia Cruz in its design and current state serves the population of the Bronx and reflects that demographic. Interviews with parents and students were carried out as a means of establishing the perspective of a musically focused education within this context. Based on interviews, parents and students of Celia Cruz value music as its own form of knowledge and view it as a vital part of the academic lives of the students of Celia Cruz High School. The purpose of this study was to share the stories, perspectives, and experiences of the Celia Cruz community and the impact that a musically focused education could have on the lives of students in the Bronx, New York.     

Fallout from the Chernobyl accident and overall cancer incidence in Finland

Aim: We studied whether incidence of all cancer sites combined was associated with the radiation exposure due to fallout from the Chernobyl accident in Finland. An emphasis was on the first decade after the accident to assess the suggested “promotion effect”. Methods: The segment of Finnish population with a stable residence in the first post-Chernobyl year (2 million people) was studied. The analyses were based on a 250 m × 250 m grid squares covering all of Finland and all cancer cases except cancers of the breast, prostate and lung. Cancer incidence in four exposure areas (based on first-year dose due to external exposure <0.1 mSv, 0.1–1.3, 0.3–0.5, or ≥0.5 mSv) was compared before the Chernobyl accident (1981–1985) and after it (1988–2007) taking into account cancer incidence trends for a longer period prior to the accident (since 1966). Results: There were no systematic differences in the cancer incidence in relation to radiation exposure in any calendar period, or any subgroup by sex or age at accident. Conclusion: The current large and comprehensive cohort analysis of the relatively low levels of the Chernobyl fallout in Finland did not observe a cancer promotion effect.     

Music education and the well-rounded education provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act: A critical policy analysis

Critical approaches to policy analysis, although common in general education, are rare in arts education literature. By adopting critical approaches, researchers can produce scholarship that will be transformative for policies that impact arts education and for the profession as a whole. In this article, I present a framework that allows researchers to incorporate critical theory into policy analysis. This ideological work can expose sources of power and help reveal the ways in which the targets of policy are complicit in their own domination. Adopting this framework, I examine the well-rounded education provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 to better understand the policy's origins, its development, and the potential implications for music education.     

Defining Seaward Boundaries in a Domestic Context: Norway and the Svalbard Archipelago

Abstract

This article analyzes a little-noticed aspect of the international legal controversy pertaining to Svalbard’s maritime zones. It concerns where and by which method Norway should draw the boundaries between Svalbard’s continental shelf and the 200-mile zone, on the one hand, and other maritime zones subject to Norwegian jurisdiction, on the other. The assumption upon which the discussion rests is that the Spitsbergen Treaty signatories enjoy treaty rights in the maritime zones beyond Svalbard’s territorial waters. The law of the sea does not contain rules on the drawing of maritime boundaries between different parts of a state’s territory, but the rules on delimitation between states offer a strong analogy. In the search for an equitable solution, primacy should be given to geographical factors. The article argues that Norway could do more to enhance the openness regarding the Svalbard delimitation question since its outcome will be of significant interest to other states.