The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of composition (art or music) on the self-concept of hospitalized children. The music composition was created using the program Making More Music. The art composition was a drawing using standard medium. The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was used to measure self-concept. When examining subjects as one group, a significant difference from pre- to posttest for the Total score indicated an improved self-concept. Further analyses on each of the 6 categories indicated no significant differences. The art composition group had a significant difference from pre- to posttest for the Total score and for Popularity (POP). Although not significant, scores increased from pre- to posttest for Behavioral Adjustment (BEH), Physical Appearance (PHY), Freedom from Anxiety (FRE), and Happiness and Satisfaction (HAP). The music composition group had no significant difference from pre- to posttest for the Total score but a significant difference from pre- to posttest on Intellectual and School Status (INT) and Physical Appearance (PRY). Although not significant, scores increased from pre- to posttest for TOT, BEH, and HAP. There was a significant difference between the groups on 2 categories that indicated an improved self-concept for the music group under Intellectual and School Status and for the art group under Popularity.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if pre-service music educators could discriminate between novice and expert choral directors irrespective of the proficiency of the choral ensemble. A secondary purpose was to compare study results elicited in the USA with those from participants in Europe, South America and Asia. Previous research has indicated that teaching proficiency can be evaluated by people who are not speakers of the language of the lesson, but these evaluations have always occurred with participants in a natural environment, i.e., good teachers teaching students who perform well and deficient teachers in front of students who are struggling. This study was conducted to see if good teaching could still be identified, irrespective of student proficiency. Participants viewed videotapes of four different choral conductors from the USA. Two conductors were proficient and experienced, and two were novices. Participants viewed these conductors in the following counterbalanced settings: (1) an accomplished conductor conducting a fine choral ensemble; (2) an accomplished conductor conducting a poor choral ensemble; (3) a novice conductor conducting a fine choral ensemble; and (4) a novice conductor conducting a poor choral ensemble. Participants wrote observational comments and gave each teacher an evaluative numeric rating. Results of the quantitative data analysis indicated that participants evaluated the skills of the teacher and not the proficiency of the ensembles. Furthermore, results of the qualitative data analysis indicated that there were not only differences between participants from different continents, but also vast differences regarding the topics on which the participants commented, dependent upon the level of the conductor being observed.

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