<p> Within this qualitative multiple case study the ways in which music education specialists construct meaning out of their attitudes and beliefs concerning student musical aptitude and ability while assessing American-born and international students in the New England boarding school population were explored and explained. A phenomenological approach to data analysis was used in order to understand better the experiences of music education specialists within New England Boarding Schools and their attitudes and beliefs concerning musical aptitude and ability concerning the culturally and ethnically diverse students that they teach. </p><p> Eight overarching themes emerged during the process of analyzing data: (a) formative factors and influences, (b) acquisition of beliefs, (c) musical mastery and student needs, (d) music mastery and flexibility, (e) instructional approaches. (f) experience valued over formal education, (g) the benefits of autonomy, and (h) international student musical aptitude were identified as contributing to the process in which the participants constructed meaning out of their attitudes and beliefs concerning student musical aptitude and ability. The implication of this study for practice illustrates the need to create opportunities for music education specialists in which they can reflect and become more self-aware about the unconscious biases that they bring to their educational context particularly due to the diverse nature of the music programs within New England Boarding Schools. Recommendations for future research are: (a) whether the music programs in specific nation-states foster higher levels of musical aptitude and ability among students who participate in them; (b) exploration of the methods that school leaders in New England Boarding Schools utilize to better support teachers of diverse students in the adoption of inclusive, intercultural instructional strategies; (c) the policies that school leaders in New England Boarding Schools utilize to better support teachers of diverse students in the adoption of inclusive, intercultural instructional strategies, and; (d) the benefits of offering undergraduate music performance majors coursework focused on the literature and pedagogy of the instrument that they are studying in their degree program.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10165697 |
| Date | 02 December 2016 |
| Creators | Wojcik, Jennifer M. |
| Publisher | Northcentral University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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