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A large segment of society is either preparing to enter the work force, or is already engaged in some chosen line of work. Preparing to enter the work force takes a considerable amount of time and effort. The decision to follow one career path over countless others may, on the surface, appear to be discretely individual. But when viewed from a sociological perspective, occupational choices are implicitly and explicitly reached through a consensus of contributing factors. Consequently, an occupational identity is not how an individual describes a personal work-related self, but is rather dialectic. It is the merging, albeit, negotiation of viewpoints which causes persons to view themselves in relationship with how others think of them. It is expected that students newly enrolled in music education degree programs will, with time, replace erroneous lay conceptions of music teaching with those presented in curricula and espoused by significant role models. However, the professional socialization process, characteristic of music education degree programs, has not always been successful in transforming students’ personal perspectives of music teaching. This transformation process is critical toward the development of occupational identities that are congruent with school music teaching positions. There has been an established line of research in music education that examines who school music teachers are from a sociological perspective. When pursuing this literature, however, it became evident that, over time, the term identity had been used under many different guises, incorporating mixed perspectives from among the social sciences. The studies that have dealt with occupational identity have done so for different purposes, employing different theories and methodologies. While any of these previous research protocols may be useful for particular purposes, the reality is that the terms identity and occupational identity have become interchangeable. The term identity is sometimes used to denote self-concept or role concept without being clear about what these mean or how or if they are different from occupational identity. The underlying issue here, and a principle concern for music education, is whether or not music education degree programs are guiding preservice music teachers toward an occupational identity that matches with the occupation. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the field of occupational identity by developing a researcher-designed measurement tool for occupational identity in music education. This study focused solely on preservice music teachers, their perceptions and demonstrable behaviors, associated with the changes that might occur over the course of their professional preparation. The data in this investigation, subjected to principal components analysis, resulted in a 5-component solution rotated to simple structure using oblique Oblimin rotation. Thirty-five items from a pool of 106 with component loadings >.35 explained 57% of the total variance. Reliability estimates using Cronbach’s alpha were .93 for all 35 items and ranged from .92 to .66 for the five components.

School choirs, bands, and orchestras in the United States have long been guided by exacting standards of performance practice that require high levels of technical proficiency. Such ensembles are also socially situated, requiring interpersonal interaction as participants work toward achieving a shared set of goals. These factors could combine to exacerbate individuals’ perceived pressure to meet goals. Hewitt and Flett (1991) called this pressure socially situated perfectionism. Some researchers have argued that perfectionism might be tempered or exacerbated in certain environments (Damien et al., 2014; Dunn et al., 2012; Flett & Hewitt, 2002; Hewitt et al., 2003; McArdle, 2010; Mouratidis & Michou, 2011). The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of perfectionistic students, particularly their perceptions of expectations, self-worth, and acceptance associated with socially situated perfectionism, in a high school choral classroom. In order to carry out this examination, a multiple case study methodology was employed; three high school students and their choir director were interviewed and observed in choral rehearsals, with students also asked to journal about their experiences. To varying degrees across cases and within cases, participants displayed behaviors that aligned with descriptions of socially situated perfectionism outlined by Hewitt and Flett (1991). The presence of these behaviors suggests that perfectionism may play a role in their music making. It appears likely that the choral classroom environment, as facilitated by the instructor and including instructor critique/feedback as well as peer interactions, merits further study for its potential role in abating or exacerbating perfectionistic tendencies in certain individuals.

This mixed methods study examines the lived experiences of six female high school band directors in the state of Florida as they related to the perceptions of the professional band association membership. This research focuses on how women and men perceive their experiences in relation to gender roles and gender-stereotyping in the traditionally masculine field of secondary instrumental music. A quantitative survey was distributed to the professional band association membership and 99 responses were recorded. Participants answered questions regarding years of teaching experience, grade levels taught, primary instrument, and their thoughts on the impact of gender on several aspects of instrumental music education. The survey results revealed that women feel strongly about the impact that gender has on instrument selection, performance opportunities, and job opportunities while men remain largely neutral. Out of the 99 responses, 6 participants that met the criteria for the qualitative interview portion of the study were contacted to arrange interviews / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Equality of condition (Lynch & Baker, 2005) is “the belief that people should be as equal as possible in relation to the central conditions of their lives” (p. 132). Those who strive for equality of condition aim to equalize people’s options in a given situation. In education, inequality may result when teachers assess their students without considering equality of condition's five dimensions: resources; respect and recognition; love, care and solidarity; power; and working and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine how five secondary school chorus teachers create and implement assessments (musically or participatory) for their students, and if/how their views of assessment evolve as a result of their collective understanding of the five dimensions of equality of condition. The following questions guided the study: 1. How did the participants assess students at the beginning of the study? 2. Did participants’ perceptions of student assessment evolve over the course of the study, and if so, how? 3. Did participants modify their student assessments to align with the dimensions of equality of condition over the study’s duration? If so, how? Participants met in a collaborative teacher study group; data sources included meeting transcripts, journal entries, and sample assessments. The data were analyzed using descriptive coding (Saldaña, 2016) and axial coding (Merriam, 2009) to address the research questions. In total, four themes emerged from the data as being central to views on assessment and equality of condition: teaching philosophy, student relationships, democracy, and motivation. Four participants reported their philosophies had changed and two reported they adjusted assessments as a result of this study. Participants indicated barriers were time needed to plan and modify assessments, isolation as a result of being the only or one of only a few music educators in their buildings, and sharing control in a democratic classroom environment. The implications for these findings suggest that teachers are implementing formal assessments inconsistently; therefore, inequality of condition in the classroom regarding assessment may be present.

The purpose of this study was to examine 7th-grade composers’ strategies, processes, and perceptions, and the compositions they created using music technology in a constructionist-oriented learning environment. This embedded multiple case study examined the composition activities of eight 7th-grade students with varied musical backgrounds. During the 10-week data collection period, participants composed music using Hyperscore software underpinned by a constructionist-oriented theoretical framework. Hyperscore facilitates intuitive music composition and enables a composer to notate music with graphic notation without the need for understanding conventional music notation. I found that novice composers with relatively little to no formal musical training or experience creating original music could produce compositions emulating the strategies of professional composers. I also concluded that participants relied on inspiration as do professional composers and were able to intuitively and successfully create compositions including multiple sonic elements with minimal guidance and instruction. Participants exhibited evidence of thinking in and about sound. Findings also alerted future music educators and researchers to the potential of graphic notation software such as Hyperscore to undermine thinking in sound because of its unique sketch-oriented design that might emphasize symbol (i.e., drawing) before sound. I found that technology effectively scaffolded two participants’ processes. Contrastingly, in two cases and possibly more, results showed that participants might have benefited from more situated and responsive scaffolding by the instructor. My study also supported previous researchers’ findings that a balance between freedoms and constraints is essential to a novice composer’s success. Participants expressed general skepticism of themselves as bona fide composers, a desire or need for more time to develop their compositions, and value of agency, originality, and prior experience. Participants conveyed that individual and collaborative composition processes each had advantages and disadvantages; however, overall, they preferred collaboration over individual work. Participants attempted to reconcile their knowledge of traditional notation with graphic notation and drew from prior instrumental experience, familiar music, and their previous compositions to develop their pieces. I also discussed the extent to which and how particular Papertian, Piagetian, and Vygotskian theoretical constructs revealed themselves in my study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how to choose, adapt, and arrange music for school full orchestras with incomplete instrumentation that are not yet ready to perform unarranged standard literature. The literature suggests that while school full orchestra directors may be able to find some published arrangements that include generous cues for missing instruments and parts for substitute instruments, the most effective approach is to alter and arrange music as-needed. When arranging, it is important for teachers to make choices that allow for their students to be successful, but also preserve the original octaves, timbres, form, and tempo of the piece, as intended by the composer. Arranging options that accommodate incomplete instrumentation are demonstrated in an arrangement by the author for school full orchestra of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 82, Movement I. Further examinations of arranging techniques and abridgement considerations are provided in an additional arrangement by the author of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Movement I, for school string orchestra. Two different published arrangements of “Dance Bacchanale,” from the opera Samson and Dalila by Camille Saint-Saëns, are compared to each other and to the original, to observe how existing arrangements anticipate and accommodate incomplete instrumentation in school full orchestras. A brief history of the full orchestra ensemble in American schools is also included.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of humming as a viable musicking activity based on measures of children's pitch acuity. Students are kindergarteners from a public elementary school in northern Delaware. Based on each participant’s homeroom assignment, these students will be placed in one of two groups during music instruction: (a) singing instruction only and (b) singing and humming instruction. As all kindergarteners will be participating in music instruction, no data will be collected for students who opted out of the study. Students were pretested in their humming and singing accuracy (pitch reproduction acuity), followed by four weeks of instruction. The posttest documented students' humming and singing accuracy using the Wise and Sloboda (2008) rating scale for singing accuracy in song performance. Student data were analyzed through mean, median, and standard deviation, and comparative data were analyzed using a t-test. Findings showed mixed results in the effectiveness of humming as a viable musicking activity. Significant growth was found across all measures in both humming and non-humming classes. However, greater significance was observed for students in classes that had music later in the school year, indicating that time influences kindergarteners' musical growth. Findings also indicated that exposure to music instruction has an impact on kindergarteners' willingness to perform music. / Music Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate current evaluation practices in Virginia and to assess the impact of public school evaluation upon teachers of music. Traditional methods for the evaluation of teachers appear to have limited applicability for the majority of elementary and secondary school educators engaged in the field of performing arts, due primarily to the specialized nature of their respective teaching disciplines. Educational administrators charged with the responsibility for evaluating personnel confront an additional challenge when compelled to apply general models that are not suited to the highly complex world of performing arts instruction. Music teachers and school divisions in Virginia served as sources of data for this descriptive study.;In order for educators to make informed evaluation decisions, comprehensive information about the contributions of music and other fine and performing arts personnel will need to be considered. New evaluation models emerging in recent years may hold the key for a more inclusive view of teaching performance in the arts. This study explored the use of current evaluation models in the context of music education and addressed the need for more reliable approaches to the evaluation of music teachers.

Throughout history, professional musicians experience pain when singing or playing instruments (Fishbein et al., 1988). Research continues to indicate pain remains a problem amongst musicians. Musicians looking to solve performance-related pain have used a variety of solutions including somatic, or movement, study. One method of movement study, the only one specifically dedicated to musicians, is Body Mapping. In this qualitative study I used an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis design to explore the experiences of beginning string students using lessons infused with Body Mapping (BMg) principles and students utilizing a more traditional method. The purpose of the study was to understand the ways in which lessons based on BMg principles might affect students’ lived experiences as they began to play a string instrument (violin, viola, cello), as opposed to those students whose lessons were more traditional, based on published beginning method books. Two teachers and four sixth-grade beginning string classes at two schools participated in this study. Eleven students were selected for in-depth interviews about their experiences in beginning string class. The teachers utilized a traditional string method book Essential Elements for Strings 2000 (Gillespie, 2000) with both of their classes, but also incorporated a researcher-designed curriculum incorporating BMg principles with one of the classes. The researcher collected qualitative data through interviews and observations. Journals, completed by all students, provided both qualitative and quantitative data. Both journal and chi square data indicated that students in the BMg classes felt the BMg lessons were helpful to learn about their body in movement. Qualitative data showed students retained and used anatomical words presented in the BMg lessons while the qualitative interviews of BMg students expressed greater awareness of how their bodies worked than students in the traditional classes. Teachers found the BMg principles to positively impact their classroom environments and student responses. The BMg curriculum aided study participants in finding a common language with which to communicate about the body. Analysis of study participants’ lived experiences indicated that BMg made a positive difference in the early learning of string instruments. Results of this study suggest that it is important that a curriculum using BMg principles be further explored and implemented widely among string teachers as a means to prevent performance related pain and injury.