Teaching Under Pressure

Abstract

The purpose of this comparative case study was to investigate, explore, and describe the methods and practices of secondary instrumental music education in a public school setting. Two sites, a Rhode Island public school and a Rhode Island community music school, were chosen for observation. Two major ensembles, a jazz band and a concert band, were observed at each site on four different occasions. Observations were organized by the National Standards of Music Education, although the study did not focus on whether or not the programs "met" the standards. Data was also placed into the category of non-musical factors. Observations and analysis found that the non-musical factors, and themes that emerged from those factors, were the largest noticeable difference between the two sites. These factors also contributed to the disparity in the two sites abilities to address the standards. Non-musical factors such as scheduling and interruptions were the major issues facing the public school site, including split rehearsal times between ensembles and missed rehearsals due to assemblies. Both sites had significant gaps in their addressing of the standards, although the community music school met more of the standards. This may just be a result of the increase in time spent in rehearsal. This research opens the questions of whether or not the constraints facing public school music educators are hindering their ability to fully educate their students.Research can also be performed to gauge the perceptions that secondary instrumental music educators have on the standards. TEACHING UNDER PRESSURE 4 CHAPTER I -INTRODUCTIONThe public school classroom is a complicated place. With pressure being applied from all sides, public school teachers today are faced with the choice between "have to understand this," versus "have to get through this." This is especially true in the music classroom. While other subjects demand more of students' time and focus, music classrooms may experience a lack of time and support within the public school day.Regardless of the complications of public school education, access to an education in music is best achieved through its scope. A projected 49.8 million students attended American public schools in the 2012-2013 school year (National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov). Music educators will have no greater access to the schoolaged population. For this reason, understanding the current public school music education classroom is crucial to discussing and reviewing current practices and roles.Over the last two decades, research attempting to define music's role on student performance in other academic areas has become increasingly popular. An overwhelming majority of those studies have shown that a student who participates in music, whether through a school program or a study provided initiative, benefits academically from that instruction. In addition, recent studies that focus on achievement in the "high-stakes" Helmrich, 2010). Many studies concluded that music was benefici...