The study addressed the problem of recurring technical and musical errors exhibited by students in their private lessons. In an effort to remedy this problem, an attempt was made to structure the entry and exit environment of the private lesson in such a way as to increase the improvement in performing skills by scheduling thirty minutes of practice immediately before and immediately after the private lesson. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect on growth in performing skills (as measured by sight performance) of this arrangement called the Structured Border Lesson (SBL).

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This quantitative study explores string teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education and its use in the private lesson. Guided by Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) model of citizenship education the study sought to identify (a) how private string teachers perceive citizenship education, and (b) the factors that influence these perceptions. Four hundred and fifteen (415) members of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) participated in this study by completing an on-line survey that contained both closed and open-ended questions. The resulting data was coded and organized according to the survey questions and the conceptual framework. Research findings revealed that, although teachers did not explicitly consider citizenship education a part of their lessons, their intentions and their report on pedagogical practices could be described as citizenship education when viewed through the conceptual framework used in the study. Indeed, nearly all of the participant responses revealed intentions to include attributes of what Westheimer and Kahne refer to as the Personally Responsible Citizen in their music lessons with students. Educating for traits of other types of citizenship was also reported. Factors deemed influential in string teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education included the following: If the teachers had earned certification in Suzuki pedagogy; the number of years of teaching experience; if teachers self-identified as primarily educators, performers, or both; the age of the students who are taught. Additionally, the study addresses teachers’ statements about the use of competitions, dialogue in lessons, and general attitudes about the appropriateness of citizenship education in several different learning environments. The study findings add to a small but growing body of research that furthers understandings of the links between citizenship education and music education. In addition, the findings contribute to our understanding of the complexity of the relationship between private teachers and their students.

This quantitative study explores string teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education and its use in the private lesson. Guided by Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) model of citizenship education the study sought to identify (a) how private string teachers perceive citizenship education, and (b) the factors that influence these perceptions. Four hundred and fifteen (415) members of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) participated in this study by completing an on-line survey that contained both closed and open-ended questions. The resulting data was coded and organized according to the survey questions and the conceptual framework. Research findings revealed that, although teachers did not explicitly consider citizenship education a part of their lessons, their intentions and their report on pedagogical practices could be described as citizenship education when viewed through the conceptual framework used in the study. Indeed, nearly all of the participant responses revealed intentions to include attributes of what Westheimer and Kahne refer to as the Personally Responsible Citizen in their music lessons with students. Educating for traits of other types of citizenship was also reported. Factors deemed influential in string teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education included the following: If the teachers had earned certification in Suzuki pedagogy; the number of years of teaching experience; if teachers self-identified as primarily educators, performers, or both; the age of the students who are taught. Additionally, the study addresses teachers’ statements about the use of competitions, dialogue in lessons, and general attitudes about the appropriateness of citizenship education in several different learning environments. The study findings add to a small but growing body of research that furthers understandings of the links between citizenship education and music education. In addition, the findings contribute to our understanding of the complexity of the relationship between private teachers and their students.

This quantitative study explores string teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education and its use in the private lesson. Guided by Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) model of citizenship education the study sought to identify (a) how private string teachers perceive citizenship education, and (b) the factors that influence these perceptions. Four hundred and fifteen (415) members of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) participated in this study by completing an on-line survey that contained both closed and open-ended questions. The resulting data was coded and organized according to the survey questions and the conceptual framework. Research findings revealed that, although teachers did not explicitly consider citizenship education a part of their lessons, their intentions and their report on pedagogical practices could be described as citizenship education when viewed through the conceptual framework used in the study. Indeed, nearly all of the participant responses revealed intentions to include attributes of what Westheimer and Kahne refer to as the Personally Responsible Citizen in their music lessons with students. Educating for traits of other types of citizenship was also reported. Factors deemed influential in string teachers’ perceptions of citizenship education included the following: If the teachers had earned certification in Suzuki pedagogy; the number of years of teaching experience; if teachers self-identified as primarily educators, performers, or both; the age of the students who are taught. Additionally, the study addresses teachers’ statements about the use of competitions, dialogue in lessons, and general attitudes about the appropriateness of citizenship education in several different learning environments. The study findings add to a small but growing body of research that furthers understandings of the links between citizenship education and music education. In addition, the findings contribute to our understanding of the complexity of the relationship between private teachers and their students.

This ethnographic study describes the teaching and learning experiences of private music teachers, students, and students’ parents among the Taiwanese Canadian community in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The following elements are examined in this study: the context of private music lessons of Taiwanese Canadians; the private music teaching and learning experience of Taiwanese Canadians; the cultural beliefs underpinning Taiwanese Canadian private music lessons; and the valuing of private music lessons by Taiwanese Canadians. Five Taiwanese Canadian private music teachers and five of their students and the students’ parents living in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia participated in this research. Data were collected through formal and informal interviews and observations of video-recorded lesson. The findings indicate that the context of Taiwanese Canadian private music lessons is similar to that of the Western private music lessons, a consequence of the emphasis on the talented and Western teaching styles in private and school music education in Taiwan. Cultural values nevertheless have a strong but unacknowledged influence in the private music lessons of Taiwanese Canadians. The Confucian value of obedience to authority and a desire for Western independence are the two seemingly conflicting values that surfaced in the study. Taiwanese Canadians private music teachers teach to remove students’ doubts about music. The students, on the other hand, learn to put the skills and knowledge they have acquired during their private music lessons into practice. In addition, parents were involved in the private music lessons through various interactions associated with “pei.” Engaging their children in private music teaching and learning represents a status symbol for Taiwanese Canadians. Lastly, teaching privately is often a fall back job which provides financial security for private music teachers.