This study is an experimental investigation of two groups of junior high school students in an effort to evaluate the advantages of workbooks in their music classes. The comparison was made with two classes composed of thirty-two students each from the two junior high schools in the Beaumont Independent School District. One class used the workbooks in conjunction with the regular singing and appreciation work, but the other class did not use formal workbooks. They discussed the theory and notation of the music in relation to the work they were doing.

The international drive among western countries to shift from industrial to knowledge economies has focussed considerable attention on education. United Kingdom government educational policy, influenced by the global knowledge economy, has shifted responsibility for learning work skills from the workplace to schooling and post-compulsory education. Government policy emphasises the importance of education's role in preparing students with the skills, knowledge and understanding required to enhance the United Kingdom's competitiveness in the global market. In contrast to the work-related emphasis of the wider educational context, music education emphasises the enrichment of experience. The value of music education is related to people's needs, and the functions it performs in their lives. Music education should be transformative, creative, enriching and relevant. Participation in music education is motivated by the intrinsic satisfaction of making music, rather than the extrinsic need for work-related competencies and qualifications. Music education competes for students with other subjects in the educational marketplace when the music curriculum ceases to be compulsory at age fifteen. Therefore, it is important to understand how students relate not only to music education, but also to the wider work-related educational context in which their subject participation choices are made. Therefore, the purposes of this study are twofold: (1) to establish an overview of how students perceive music education and the factors that influence their enrolment intentions, and (2) to establish an overview of how students perceive music within the wider context of education. Statements were chosen that were considered representative of the rationales for education presented by the government and the music education community. Questionnaires and interviews were developed using the statements, and were ii administered to a random sample of Year Nine and Ten (GCSE Music and non - GCSE Music) students Music was not a relevant subject for most students. However, the perceptions of a small percentage of students (mainly Music students) did find music education relevant in the ways the literature suggested it should be. The most common influences on enrolment were perceptions of ability and enjoyment (or lack of). Despite the strong emphasis on work-related skills and qualifications in the wider educational context, students generally agreed that Music was a subject better suited to enhancing life and lifestyle than career options. However, reflecting the wider educational context, Music was perceived as being more careers/future study orientated than transformative, creative, enriching and relevant.

In this research, an attempt is made to evaluate the music program of a typical high school in terms of its contribution to the development of pupils who show evidence of possessing musical talent. One of the aims of modern education is to help pupils develop emotional stability, desirable attitudes, and worthy ideals. In other words, the purpose is to teach pupils to feel, as well as to know and do. Music can be powerful force in fulfilling this aim. The purpose of this report is to apply the results of the Pitch and Tonal Memory tests of the Seashore Measures of Musical Talent and the results of the Kuder Preference Record to the building of a Program Music in Borger High School.

Examinations administered by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) play a major role in the musical education of many individuals across Canada. The evaluative process needs to be a constructive one in order to ensure its positive impact on students’ musical education. Examiners who are confident and comfortable in their roles as assessors are more likely to provide this ideal environment for the students. Individuals at the dawn of their examining careers are prone to lower confidence and comfort levels due to their inexperience. Yet all music students deserve an optimal examination situation, even from new examiners. Ensuring that an examiner receives proper training will help to increase their confidence and comfort levels while assessing students. This study examined the elements of an examiner’s education, experience and preparation which contributed to higher confidence and comfort levels as they participated in the RCM evaluative process. Ten individuals participated in surveys and interviews. Seven were recent apprentices of the examiner training program and three were senior examiners. Their experiences and insights given in a narrative form shed light on which elements of their background and training benefited them as examiners. According to the participants, varied and extensive pedagogical training, taking exams as students and intensive performance education gave them the most advantages during their early careers as examiners. Regarding the examiner apprenticeship program, participants felt that they would have benefited from more practical experience during the early classroom seminar, additional opportunities to observe students at varying performing levels and more time for discussion with their mentors. These recommendations for background preparation and enhanced training are intended to give examiners greater confidence in their evaluative roles early in their careers, enabling them to provide constructive and effective assessments for students and their teachers.

Examinations administered by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) play a major role in the musical education of many individuals across Canada. The evaluative process needs to be a constructive one in order to ensure its positive impact on students’ musical education. Examiners who are confident and comfortable in their roles as assessors are more likely to provide this ideal environment for the students. Individuals at the dawn of their examining careers are prone to lower confidence and comfort levels due to their inexperience. Yet all music students deserve an optimal examination situation, even from new examiners. Ensuring that an examiner receives proper training will help to increase their confidence and comfort levels while assessing students. This study examined the elements of an examiner’s education, experience and preparation which contributed to higher confidence and comfort levels as they participated in the RCM evaluative process. Ten individuals participated in surveys and interviews. Seven were recent apprentices of the examiner training program and three were senior examiners. Their experiences and insights given in a narrative form shed light on which elements of their background and training benefited them as examiners. According to the participants, varied and extensive pedagogical training, taking exams as students and intensive performance education gave them the most advantages during their early careers as examiners. Regarding the examiner apprenticeship program, participants felt that they would have benefited from more practical experience during the early classroom seminar, additional opportunities to observe students at varying performing levels and more time for discussion with their mentors. These recommendations for background preparation and enhanced training are intended to give examiners greater confidence in their evaluative roles early in their careers, enabling them to provide constructive and effective assessments for students and their teachers.