Music Mainstreaming: Practices in Arizona

Abstract

This study examined mainstreaming in music via a survey of a sample of Arizona music educators. Among the respondents (n = 107), the vast majority are or have been responsible for teaching students with disabilities, although most have received little or no training in special education. Emotionally/behaviorally disordered students are perceived as the most difficult to mainstream, and physically handicapped and speech-impaired students the least difficult. Among disabled students, "learning disabled" was the category most frequently encountered. In most schools, mainstreaming is the only music placement option, and regular music faculty members are the sole providers of music instruction for special learners. Musical ability is rarely the primary reason for mainstreaming students, few respondents have access to special education consultants or adequate time to individualize programs, and most respondents rarely or never participate in placement decisions. The respondents' goals for special learners in music center on student participation and classroom management, with little demarcation between musical and nonmusical goals or objectives. We concluded that effective mainstreaming in music, The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142) mandates the least restrictive educational environments for all students. For many students with disabilities, this law implies mainstreaming, "a term used to describe the process of integrating exceptional children into the regular classroom" (Darrow, 1990). P.L. 94-142 is almost two decades old, yet there is a paucity of research literature on music education for students with disabilities. Research does suggest that many music educators are involved in mainstreaming. Just over 10 years ago, some 63% of music educators responding to a nationwide survey reported involvement with disabled students (Gilbert & Asmus, 1981). Elementary teachers were more involved than secondary teachers. A survey of Iowa and Kansas

The Effect of Instruction on Music Educators' Attitudes toward Students with Disabilities

“…They may feel inadequate because of very limited experience with students with disabling conditions, lack of administrative support, limited involvement in decisions regarding the placement of special education children in music classes, and little knowledge of appropriate methods for teaching educationally integrated classrooms (Atterbury, 1986(Atterbury, , 1990Darrow, 1990;Frisque, Niebur, & Humphreys, 1994;Gavin, 1984;Gfeller, Darrow, & Hedden, 1990;Gilbert & Asmus, 1981). They may feel inadequate because of very limited experience with students with disabling conditions, lack of administrative support, limited involvement in decisions regarding the placement of special education children in music classes, and little knowledge of appropriate methods for teaching educationally integrated classrooms (Atterbury, 1986(Atterbury, , 1990Darrow, 1990;Frisque, Niebur, & Humphreys, 1994;Gavin, 1984;Gfeller, Darrow, & Hedden, 1990;Gilbert & Asmus, 1981).…”

A Graduate Course on Inclusion

“…According to Gerrity, Hourigan, and Horton (2013), when children with disabilities are first integrated into a general classroom are often integrated into music classrooms with their peers. With these changing classroom dynamics, many music educators have expressed their concern that they are unprepared to teach children with disabilities (Culton, 1999;Gfeller, Darrow, & Hedden, 1990;Hahn, 2010;McCord & Watts 2010), especially when children with Emotional/Behavior Disorders (EBD) are included in their classrooms (Darrow, 1999;Gfeller et al, 1990;Frisque, Niebur, & Humphreys, 1994, Shirk, 2008.…”

“…Music educators expressed negative attitudes toward inclusion (Atterbury, 1986;Gavin, 1983;Gfeller et al, 1990;Sideridis & Chandler, 1995) and indicated children with disabilities are sometimes difficult to work with . In addition, music educators have indicated their inadequacies in making accommodations and modifications in the inclusive music setting (Darrow, 1999;Frisque et al, 1994;Gfeller et al, 1990; because they lack time and resources to adapt instruction adequately for children with special needs (Darrow, 1999;Frisque et. al., 1994;Gfeller et al, 1990;VanWeelden & Whipple, 2013).…”

“…Since the implementation of PL 94-142, researchers have examined music educators' perceived attitudes on inclusion in Arizona (Frisque, Niebur, & Humphreys, 1994), Illinois and Texas (Scott, Jellison, Chappell, & Standridge, 2007), Iowa and…”

“…In a similar study, Frisque, Niebur, and Humphreys (1994) examined Arizona music educators' attitudes on mainstreaming (N = 107). Most of the music educators 22!…”