Action Research in Music Education

Abstract

he music education research community works hard to reach out and connect with K-12 music educators; Update: Applications of Research in Music Education itself is an example of this dialogue. Yet, despite these efforts, as Edwards (1992) suggests, "Research is not viewed as being in the mainstream of either music or music education. Most musicians and music teachers have little interest in what music researchers do, how they do it, or the conclusions that they reach" (p. 5). Even when music education research is presented in a practitioner-friendly way, problems arise because most research ideas and designs come from the university community. One way to make connections between research and teaching practice is through action research. When applied to music education, action research refers to studies of music teaching and learning that are designed and implemented by K-12 music teachers or in equal collaboration with them.Colleagues in educational research currently place increased emphasis on exploring designs that involve K-12 music teachers in the process. Many teachers in general education have become involved in identifying research problems, collecting and analyzing data, and writing research reports. The field of music education has just begun to take an active interest in promoting this type of research (Bresler, 1995). Practicing music teachers, therefore, can benefit from the results of action research; this account of a recent action research study serves as an example.

Education: Mentoring and Community through Research

“…The benefits of teacher-research models of inquiry for music educators have been expounded as early as 1972 by Colwell (Rideout & Feldman, 2002, p. 882), as well as more recently (Bresler, 1995;Conway & Borst, 2001;Cutietta, 1993;Erikson, 1994;Regelski, 1994), yet there are limited examples in music education that demonstrate how K-12 teachers might take up this challenge. Topics of interest in music education pursued via teacher-research methods are varied, and include children's learning processes (Wiggins, 1994;Wiggins & Bodoin, 1998), music and reading literacy (Miller, 1996), classroom teacher-music specialist collaboration (Hookey, 1994), and music listening (Bresler, 1993).…”

The oral tradition in the Sankofa Drum and Dance Ensemble: student perceptions

“…In addition to these three studies, a number of other researchers (Adderley, Kennedy, and Berz 2003;Conway and Borst 2001;Kennedy 2002;King 2006;Willingham 2001) also engaged in interview research as a means of gaining insights into an ensemble from its members. Adderley, Kennedy, and Berz (2003) studied the sub-culture 10 of the high-school ensemble for its range of effects on the participants, while Kennedy (2002) sought to discover junior high boys' motivations for choir participation.…”

“…Adderley, Kennedy, and Berz (2003) studied the sub-culture 10 of the high-school ensemble for its range of effects on the participants, while Kennedy (2002) sought to discover junior high boys' motivations for choir participation. Conway and Borst (2001) also investigated why students choose to participate in a choral programme, while King (2006) sought to gain insight into the roles adopted by the students in chamber ensemble settings. Willingham (2001) examined the motivations behind the membership of the adults in his community choir.…”

Action Research as a Professional Development Activity

“…Previous literature within the field of music education encourages the use of teacher research in addressing contemporary and relevant issues within the profession (Conway and Borst 2001;Conway and Jeffers 2004;Leglar and Collay 2002;Regelski 1994;Robbins, Burbank, and Dunkle 2007). In addition to helping address issues that are important to practicing music teachers, teacher research can become a meaningful form of professional development.…”