Music is considered a vital element in young people's lives. It functions as an important means for expressing the emotions and feelings they experience in a daily basis. As such, this study explores the music preferences of high school Brazilian students (N = 940), 530 female (56.9%) and 410 male (43.1%) participants between 14 and 20 years old (M = 16.14 years old, SD = 1.22). The main instrument for data collection was the Questionnaire on Musical Style Preferences, which was adapted to the Brazilian context and encompassed 33 different music styles. A principal component analysis resulted in five dimensions representing different musical styles: (1) Intense, (2) Unique, (3) Sophisticated, (4) Contemporary, and (5) Mellow. The results of this study reinforced theory of the five-factor model of musical preference. Results also suggest that Mellow music was the most preferred while Sophisticated music was the least preferred among participants. Regarding gender, male participants showed a greater preference towards Contemporary, Intense, and Sophisticated music, whereas women generally preferred Mellow and Unique. Regarding age, participants under 20 years old showed a greater preference towards Mellow musical styles as compared to older participants. On the one hand, regression analyses showed that preferences towards Intense music decrease with age. On the other hand, gender was a better predictor for music preferences than age. Although the results of this study correspond to those of previous studies, more research studies are necessary to further explain musical preferences within the Brazilian context.

This study examines the state of music education in the public schools of Ecuador from the perspective of school administrators. A survey that was distributed to 1800 school administrators (27.4% response rate) was used to answer the following research questions: What are administrators’ perceptions of the current national policies for arts education? What are administrators’ perceptions of the current state of the music curriculum? Is there a difference between administrators’ perceptions of current and ideal states? What are administrators’ perceptions of the degree to which numerous variables impact on the music curriculum in their schools? What are the obstacles and challenges that administrators’ face in supporting the music curriculum? Are there differences by political zone in the ways administrators implement policies and oversee arts education instruction in their schools? Findings show that despite the creation of a national curriculum for arts, there is limited access to music. Moreover, there is a generalized lack of familiarity with policy and curricular implementation, especially among administrators who do have music. Despite this, significant differences between current and ideal conditions showed that administrators believe improvement is possible. The administrators also indicated budget and lack of music teachers were factors that had a negative impact on their music programs.

La educación musical formal está presente en un gran número de escuelas primarias y secundarias a lo largo de las Américas, aunque tanto las políticas educativas, planes de estudios y su implementación varían según regiones, estados e instituciones educativas. El conocimiento de las condiciones actuales de la educación musical en un hemisferio, cada vez más interconectado e interdependiente, podría ofrecer ideas para resolver desafíos de acceso, igualdad, y equidad hacia una educación artística de calidad. Este artículo ha sido escrito para proporcionar una sintaxis general, no exhaustiva, de la investigación sobre programas y políticas de música escolar a lo largo de las Américas. Más específicamente, dentro de un marco socioeconómico, hemos tratado de determinar de qué manera factores externos afectan las prácticas docentes así como el impacto de los docentes de aula en estas fuerzas. Se espera que esta examinación ofrezca ideas a quienes elaboran y promueven políticas educativas en artes, para asegurar que los estudiantes tengan igualdad de oportunidades y acceso a una educación musical escolar de calidad.

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