Reflections on Teaching General Music Online During Lockdown

In this column, I reflect on my experiences teaching online during lockdown. In particular, I discuss the benefits and disadvantages of prerecorded lessons, when compared with live Zoom sessions, for elementary general music classes.

Elementary General Music Teachers’ Preparation in Classroom Management

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary general music teachers’ classroom management preparation within music teacher education programs. Participants ( N = 341) were active elementary general music teachers as identified by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Descriptive data included frequencies, percentages, and cross-tabulations. The most frequently reported sources of classroom management preparation were mentoring from a licensed teacher and supervised fieldwork, while creating classroom rules and expectations and teaching procedures were the most frequent examples of within-course content. Participants were most satisfied with their preparation received through licensed teacher mentoring and supervised fieldwork. Implications for music teacher educators are presented.

At the intersection of belief and practice: A mixed-methods study of elementary general music educator praxis

Recent research describing the practices of specialist elementary general music teachers and students is limited, and few research studies specifically examine how practicing music educators think about their music teaching practices. In this mixed-methods case study, we bridged these areas of research by examining music educators’ expressed beliefs about music teaching and learning in light of descriptive analysis and hierarchical linear models (HLM) of time sampling data of their teaching practices in elementary music classrooms. Participants ( N = 7) shared beliefs that everyone is musical and that music educators must therefore create an environment in which children develop their musicianship by singing, moving, and playing. Time sampling data indicated that teachers spent most of their time talking, while students spent most of their time sitting still and silent. Children in younger grades spent significantly more time in movement activities than those in older grades. HLM analyses provided predictive implications for teachers’ use of singing and movement. In this article, we present findings from qualitative analysis of planning artifacts, reflections, and interviews and from HLM of time sampling data, and discuss potential meanings for music teaching and music teacher education.

Characteristics of Early Childhood and Elementary General Music Methods Coursework for Preservice Music Teachers

Although many music teacher candidates begin university studies planning to teach secondary ensembles, most will ultimately be certified to teach younger children and may be called to do so. The purpose of this study was to examine how music teacher education programs prepare preservice music educators to teach music to children from birth through elementary school through coursework. We emailed survey invitations to representatives from 512 institutions accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music to prepare music educators. We received 134 usable responses (response rate = 26%). Nearly all respondents offered elementary general music methods (EGMM), and over three quarters required EGMM for all students in initial licensure programs. Only about one in ten responding institutions offered early childhood music methods (ECMM). We describe findings on EGMM and ECMM course structures, content, and materials as well as the employment status, degree background, and other qualifications of the person who typically taught this coursework

A Historical Perspective from Folklorist Henry Glassie: Roots of Folk Songs in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the sociocultural roots of folk songs from the perspective of renowned folklorist Henry Glassie. Dr. Henry Glassie holds the rank of Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, where he previously served on the faculty for the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. Primary sources included Glassie’s archived collection of folk song transcriptions, recordings, and field notes from the Appalachian region between 1961-1967, housed at the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University. A total of 1,665 titles from elementary general music sources were cross-referenced with Glassie’s collection, 26 of which appeared in the archived account. Two oral history interviews with Glassie revealed that folk songs that are commonly used in elementary general music classrooms have historical roots of which teachers may be unaware. The songs in this study raise ethical and moral questions regarding their use in the general music classroom and suggest that teachers carefully research folk songs and their related meanings.

Elementary General Music Performances and Teachers’ Perceptions of Stress

The purpose of investigation was to examine the perceptions of elementary music teachers concerning the preparation of elementary music performances and the impact on their perceived stress. Participants were practicing elementary general music teachers ( N = 3) representing three different elementary schools from a metropolitan area in the Midwest. All participants were interviewed twice over a period of two months via Zoom. Data were analyzed through an open coding process (Gibbs, 2007), which yielded three themes: time management, control, and isolation. Facets of time management included strategic planning, organizational techniques, and instructional time; control concerned scheduling, repertoire selection, equipment, and performance venues; and isolation pertained to relationships with colleagues and administrators and an overwhelming amount of responsibility. These findings indicate the importance of acknowledging various stressors affecting music educators and how those might positively and negatively affect teachers and students.

Stereotypically gay- and straight-sounding auditory cues change adolescent music students’ perceptions of men’s teaching effectiveness

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a stereotypically gay-sounding voice on middle- and high-schooler’s perceptions of teaching effectiveness. Participants ( N = 273) listened to two men with stereotypically gay and straight voices, respectively, reading a short paragraph. Afterwards, they rated the likelihood of each speaker’s ability to demonstrate top skills and behaviors associated with effective music teaching and also predicted whether each man would be a band director, choir director, string orchestra director, or elementary general music teacher. The results from measurement invariance analysis show that participants rated the gay voice higher on measures of maintaining high musical standards and organization, whereas they rated the straight-sounding speaker higher on measures of leadership. The results from a multinomial logistic regression show that listeners predicted that the gay-sounding speaker would most likely be an elementary general music teacher and that the straight-sounding speaker would be a band director. The differences between these findings and prior research, nuance of leadership versus classroom management, and the need for further research on stereotypical voices are discussed.

Factors Impacting Elementary General Music Teachers’ Career Decisions: Systemic Issues of Student Race, Teacher Support, and Family

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may influence the projected career plans of elementary general music teachers. Survey participants ( N = 972) completed a questionnaire designed to elicit responses about multiple factors and projected career plans in 1 year and in 5 years. The vast majority of participants planned to remain in their position the following year, yet a little under half of them planned on remaining in their positions in 5 years. The variables associated with teacher migration or attrition in 5 years were issues of teacher support (i.e., participation in a mentoring program and recognition in the form of teaching awards), student race, and family responsibilities (i.e., number of children at home). Movers were also more likely to have received a teaching award than those who intended to stay in their current positions or those who planned to leave the profession. Implications for the profession as well as for practice and future research are discussed.