2006 Senior Researcher Award Acceptance Address: Observations about Music Education Research in MENC's First and Second Centuries

Abstract

It is an honor and privilege to serve the profession as the nint_h chair of the Editorial Committee (editor) ofthejourn~l of~earch m Music Education (]RME), and I look forward to the snmulatmg and challenging work ahead. I would like to extend thanks on behalf ' ;>f the research community to my immediate predecessor, Corneha Yarbrough, and to .all those esteemed editors before he~, who. de~ot-d extraordinary time and energy' in the interest of disseminating ~utstanding and innovative research in music education. Thanks als?to the members of the Editorial Committee, whos~ ~owledge, dedication and integrity ensure the quality of the _Pubhcation, and ~hose detailed reviews· help improve the manuscnpts that appear In. the JRME and provide valuable feedback to the authors ?f submitted manuscripts not accepted for publication. We owe our sincere appreciation to the members who have rece!J.tly completed 6-year terms. of service: Patricia Flowers, Donald Hamann, Jere Humphreys, JaniceKillian, Clifford Madsen, and Gary McPherso":.. As I assume this position, I want to take ~us opporturucy to state emphatically that the JRME Editorial Committee has been an? continues to be willing to consider original research co~ducted ~n any mode of inquiry, with p;::trticipants of any demographiCS, that IS c~:m sistent with our mission of enhanc;:ing knowledge about the _te;::tc~ung and learning of music. Editorial Committee membe~ are hig~ly_ qualified and well-eqUipped to review rese~ch repre~enting the Wide range of research methodologies and topics extant m the field. On the rare occasion when there is not expertise on the Committee to review a particular submission, the editor is fre~ t? cal~ upon ad hoc reviewers as necessary. The evaluation of submissions lS based up~:m the quality of the research prOcesses and pro~edures, the success_ With which this is communicated in the manuscnpt, and the p~ten~al of the manuscript to make an excellent and important contnbu~on to the research literature. These have been, are currently,_ and wtll c~:m tinue to be the criteria used as the basis for manuscnpt evaluation and publication decisions..

Multicultural and popular music content in an American music teacher education program

“…Despite numerous calls for multicultural music teacher education in recent decades, this finding reinforces assertions that western art music continues to predominate in American music teacher education programs. When western-derived non-art music styles are added to this total, the percentage increases to 99.77 percent, a finding that strongly confirms statements to the effect that university music curricula remain heavily westernized (Asmus, 2001;Burton, 2002;Chin, 1996;Emmons, 2004;Humphreys, 2002Humphreys, , 2006Nettle, 1995;Norman, 1999;Rideout, 1990; Robinson, 2002;Volk, 1998;Wicks, 1998). The remaining .23 percent comes to a mean of only 8.19 clock hours per student over four years, in class and out, devoted to the formal study of non-western music styles.…”

United States of America : Reflections on the Development and Effectiveness of Compulsory Music Education

“…Documented contributing factors include too little class time and, in the case of classroom teachers teaching music, inadequate teacher qualifications. What has not been discussed as a possible factor in these dismal results is compulsory schooling itself (including most general music), with its emphasis on middle and lower achieving students and therefore minimal standards of achievement (Humphreys 2006).…”

“…Furthermore, school music experiences do not seem to extend into adulthood for most participants (Humphreys, May and Nelson 1992). On the positive side, ensembles offer one of the relatively few truly challenging experiences in schools for students with high levels of ability and motivation (Humphreys 2006) and there is ample evidence that the performance quality of school performing ensembles has improved markedly over the century of their existence. Many teachers and some scholars also attribute significant extra-musical benefits to ensemble participation (Humphreys, May and Nelson 1992).…”

Relationships Between Pitch-Matching and Grade Level, Sex, Ethnicity, and Classroom Teachers’ Use of Music in Grades K-3

“…The self-report on teacher use of certain musical activities predicted only 5% of variance in achievement gains, but small, incremental improvements in student achievement can result in significant aggregate results in music education (Humphreys, 2006). Listening to students sing in class, playing recordings in class, and singing with students in class were all correlated significantly with improvements in pitch matching, and hearing students sing outside of class entered the final regression model.…”