Chapter two will present basic philosophical and theoretical views associated with sociology, and how these perspectives influence music education.

Introduction

1. A theory is a belief or perspective explaining how and why specific facts, actions, behaviors, and attitudes are related.
2. Theories help educators understand more than just words, but contexts as well.
3. Theories help us to think differently and are the basis for many cultural perspectives.
4. Theories are neither true nor false; they are credible based on logic and information that has some degree of validity. 
5. The value of theories is in their use toward organizing and understanding events and behaviors.

Functionalism Theory

1. Assumes society and its institutions are made up of interdependent parts, all working together enabling society to function efficiently.
2. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) – to understand an individual one must not look at the individual, but rather at the society in which that individual is a member.
3. Functionalists view schools as tools that socialize individual students into the larger economic, political, and social institutions in society.

Conflict Theory

1. Society contains competing groups, the “haves” and the “have-nots,” who were in a constant state of class struggle and tension over the distribution of wealth and power in society.
2. Based on the writings of Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Max Weber (1861–1920).
3. Schools exist to serve the dominant group by providing social reproduction of the economic and political status quo.

Interactive Theory

1. Recognizes the power of the environment to shape behavior through interactions with other individuals and their surroundings.
2. Human actions and thoughts are socially determined as individuals create their own unique relative meanings of the world around them.
3. Based on the writings of American philosopher and sociologist George Mead Charles Cooley (1902)–“Looking-Glass Self“ or the image people have of themselves based on how they believe others perceive them.
4. The interactive theory assumes all humans, especially children, have an active desire to learn based on a natural curiosity and motivation.
5. Learning is most effective when individuals learn at their own pace dependent on the interaction of a broad base of knowledge.

Objectivism

1. Originated through the personal philosophy of Russian-born author Ayn Rand and first expressed in her fictional books The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
2. Its basic premise is that reality is that which exists. Human values and knowledge are objective and determined by reality.  Emotions cannot alter the facts.
3. Objectivism has three axioms: existence, consciousness, and identity.
4. An important tenet of objectivism is that individuals have the moral responsibility to pursue individual happiness and rational self-interest.
5. The role of education is to help humans learn how to reason, how to think conceptually, and how to define, form, and apply principles.
6. Humans are responsible to themselves as individuals.  Being responsible for oneself leads to true freedom.

Sociological Theories and Music Education

1. John Mueller:  believed music was a form of human behavior influenced by social elements unique to individual cultures.
2. Aesthetic education focuses on music’s formal elements as most important rather than any referential meaning related to the musical experience; music should be valued for its own sake:  Abraham Schwadron, Charles Leonhard, and Bennett Reimer.
3. A major goal of aesthetic education was for an individual to be free and able to make unique decisions and thus think for oneself.
4. Utilitarian position that asserts music instruction should serve some function or use that frequently pertains to nonmusical aspects of a musical experience.
5. Critical theory:  no adequate single answer can exist primarily because it is not possible to construct an agreement due to the diversity of views represented by critical theory; to mindlessly accept a situation or authority is unacceptable and leads to social inequalities:  Theodor Adorno and Thomas Regeliski.
6. According to David Elliott and his praxial philosophy of music education, music participation should be active, purposeful, thoughtful, and embedded within the context in which it is occurring. To understand music requires being aware of the relationships between music and the events, people, and cultures in which the music occurs.

Chapter three looks at the role and purpose of education in the United States and music education’s relationship to those purposes.  The overall premise is that music education cannot be viewed as an isolated subject within school curricula.

Introduction

1. Schools in the United States have historically played a major role in the process of evolving a common society among our many different cultures.
2. Division within our society has led to frequent confusion, contradictory beliefs, and debates regarding the function of American schools.
3. Controversy may continue to be part of American education as the United States faces increased issues over growing diversity and its role in a global society.
4. Music education is not exempt from multiple public views regarding its purpose.
5. Music education must clearly demonstrate, musically and non-musically, how it contributes to the total education of each student.

Public Perceptions, Public Agendas

1. Public schools exist to serve public goals, thus education systems do not operate in a vacuum and cannot ignore the cultural groups within society.
2. Each societal group has a different view of what and how education should be addressed.
3. Based on an individual’s past experience in schools, it seems everyone has a concept of what schools should be.
4. Historically, when a problem has occurred in our country, at some point society has looked to the public schools to help solve the challenge.
5. Music education is not exempt from multiple public views of its purpose.
6. The status of any music education program reflects society’s views regarding music as a whole.
7. Being able to answer “why” music is important is vital to understanding music’s place in school curricula and its contributions to individual development.

Defining “Education”

1. In every society children must be taught behavioral and attitudinal expectations, as well as skills to prosper within the specific social order.
2. Education may be defined as the social institution that guides a society’s transmission of knowledge to its members; a life-long process, occurring in many forms, formally and informally, and serving multiple purposes.
3. In the United States, three different institutions have traditionally been active in education: families, religious organizations, and schools.
4. Schools are frequently criticized for presenting information that is contrary to family or social perceptions of useful or correct information.
5. The questioning of education often leads to public calls for schools to teach skills and information deemed necessary to existing situations and needs, not realizing the necessity for preparing students for the future.

The Purposes of Education in the United States

1. Schools do not merely train but also sort individuals by granting access to resources and more desirable occupations to some while limiting opportunities for others. 
2. Status Attainment:  A person’s status in society is affected by the type, amount, and quality of educational experiences received; a personal view of the purpose of education.
3. Investing in human capital, businesses would seek to improve schools and provide education that would improve employee skills and thus increase profits.
4. However, the overall debate between personal and public views over the purpose of education is frequently reflected in three broad general purposes of education:  Political, Social, and Economic.
5. Political purposes: to instruct and train future citizens in political values and obedience to laws of the United States.
6. Social purposes: to teach the moral and social skills of our society.
7. Economic purposes:  to train individuals to be successful workers in business.

Music Education’s Role in the Purposes of Education

1. Music education often assumes that music study is not only valuable but also necessary to every individual.
2. Music education is frequently criticized for being out of touch with the average American by failing to present experiences reflective of the variety of musical opportunities available in our society.
3. Music education must keep music as a focus of instruction and value while embracing the three primary overall purposes of education.
4. Music educators often fail to communicate to administrators, non-music teaching colleagues, parents, and politicians the total contribution that music provides.
5. Music itself is a valuable experience that teaches a variety of skills and knowledge.  However, through music, students also learn other skills and knowledge directly related to the overall purposes of education.
6. Music education is often viewed by some music educators as being solely based on large ensemble instruction and with minimal diversity within the curriculum.

Education and Schooling Instructional Concept Models

1. To better comprehend education’s multiple roles it is helpful to understand the two contrasting, but necessary, instructional concept models of education and schooling. 
2. The instructional concept model of schooling provides specific specialized information and training that is product-centered, meaning the end result is more important than the manner or process used in achieving the goal.
3. The instructional concept model of education provides a broad base of knowledge and more generalized training that is process-centered, meaning that understanding the manner or method used to achieve the results is more important than the end product.

Music Education’s Relation to Schooling and Education

1. Music education is not immune from the schooling and education instructional approaches.
2. The utilitarian position asserts music instruction should serve some function or use, reflects a schooling approach to music education.
3. An aesthetic approach, inherent nature of music itself, is reflective of an educational instructional approach.
4. The praxial approach by Elliott essentially combines both schooling and educational aspects as both qualities are considered valid music experiences that should be represented in school music curricula.
5. The best instructional approach to music education utilizes a balance of both schooling and educational approaches.

High-Stakes Testing and the Changing Role of Education

1. The multiple uses of standardized tests, known as high-stakes testing, is changing the role of education by placing a stronger emphasis on some curricular subjects deem by various groups as more necessary and important than other subjects.
2. The test results are used to grade not only student learning, but also teacher effectiveness and overall school quality.
3. The impact of high-stakes testing and its subsequent results has results in a shift in the purposes of education.
4. The role of education appears to be causing a shift further away from a process education model, to a greater prominence of a product driven schooling model.

Chapter four explores the reciprocal relationship of music in society to music in schools. Music education is frequently criticized for not relating to music in which groups outside of schools participate.  Consequently, citizens do not always understand, or are aware of, the role or function of music in their lives.

Introduction

1. Music can be found in virtually every aspect of American society. 
2. Music is not music education.  Participating in music does not dictate that learning is occurring, therefore rehearsing is not necessarily teaching.
3. Society, including many music educators, may not fully understand music’s potential power on human behavior and thought and we do not always understand music education’s potential influence on our students.
• Music educators need to prepare students for the musical world outside of their rehearsals by enabling them to make musical decisions for themselves.
4. To fully understand music’s power, professional music educators must understand that the full extent of a music experience includes both school music and out-of–school music.

A Brief Overview of the Foundations between Music and American Society

1. Experiences present-day music educators encounter can be traced to previous events and issues that established foundations of current expectations and standards.

2. Historically, society has placed great expectations on teachers.
• Teaching was considered part of the “sacred order of society”.
• Administrators, who were mostly male, believed women were more readily available for teaching jobs and would work for lower salaries.
3. Similar to the overall development of education in society, music education has historically reflected the events and people of the times and cultural contexts in which they occurred.
4. The Bay Psalm Book, printed in 1752, is an example of early formal music instruction and was one of the earliest examples of our society turning to an educational venue to solve a problem.
5. Singing societies, where people came together to enjoy each other’s company as well as sing songs, evolved into singing schools to further improve singing.
6. Common schools were formed due to the belief that education was becoming viewed as more of a necessity for all citizens.
7. Known as the “father of the common school,” Horace Mann (1796–1859) believed education was the “great equalizer” among different cultural groups in our country; he believed that all social groups should have equal access to and be taught the same basic skills and knowledge that focused on nonsectarian moral instruction. 
8. Lowell Mason (1792–1872), known as the “father of American music education,” believed anyone could learn music. 
• He petitioned the Boston school board to have music included in the public school curriculum.  His request was initially denied until he offered to teach music for free, for one year.
9. After one year, Mason’s students performed a public concert on the footsteps of the Boston school board.  By all accounts the performance was wonderful and generated so much public enthusiasm that the school board, in 1838, implemented music instruction into the public school curriculum. Mason was then hired, with pay, to teach.
• The recommendation was based on Mason’s demonstration that music could benefit children intellectually, morally, and physically.
10. In the early 1900’s, a debate occurred regarding how to best teach music; there was a shortage of trained music teachers.
11. The beginning of the 20th century came to be known as the Progressive Era, marked by a general belief that society could be managed by scientific organizations.  
• High schools first appeared and used music offerings to attract students; music curricula expanded to include opportunities in both performance and non-performance classes including music appreciation.
• Due to the diversity of musical offerings, it was not unusual for entire school populations to be enrolled in some sort of music class.
12. Much of the popular role music played in education came to a quick halt in the late 1950’s when Russia launched a small satellite named Sputnik into space.
• Schools revised their curricula to include a stronger focus on mathematics and science considered crucial to technological advancements; classes such as music that were considered anti-intellectual, or not relevant to national security, disappeared from course offerings. 
13. The Tanglewood Symposium was held in Boston in 1967 to assess and define the role and function of music in schools and other areas of American culture.
• This provided an impetus to expand school music curricula to entice students back into the music classroom and was integral in connecting society’s music to music in schools.
14. After Tanglewood Symposium, varying degrees of success marked the expansion of school music curricula over the next thirty years.
• Social issues frequently related to school and community financial insecurities, increases in school populations, a concern for teacher and educational quality, a growing debate over the inclusion of religion and moral education throughout the school curriculum, and increasing calls for a stronger emphasis on instruction considered to be basic core classes often affected the music education profession.
15. In 1999, Visions 2020:  The Housewright Symposium on the Future of Music Education convened as a follow up to the Tanglewood Symposium. 
• Participants attempted to assess and define the role of music education in the 21st century while providing guidance regarding what actions music education needed in order to remain a viable curricular offering.
• No true consensus was achieved. Consequently, music education entered the 21st century still searching for a stronger presence within a constantly changing educational and social environment.
16. Education in the 21st century has seen further concerns for school reforms, student learning, and teacher quality.
• Calls for accountability regarding how students learn and what teachers teach have led to increased uses for standardized testing, state education standards, and national standards.
• Music education was not exempt from standardized testing.

Music’s Role in Contemporary Society

1. Music education’s role in our country’s history illustrates music’s wide appeal and use within various cultures in society. 
2. Perhaps a basic starting point for understanding music’s immense role in society is understanding the definition of music.  What is music?  Can any sound be a musical sound?
• What constitutes musical sounds varies widely in our society, and indeed globally, as there isn’t a singular answer to defining music.
• From a sociological view, what sounds constitute music is essentially defined by cultural norms, as human intent is necessary.
• Cultural norms and expectations shape what are deemed musical sounds as opposed to simply sounds or noise.
• Through enculturation we learn that sounds alone do not constitute musical sounds.
3. It may be summarized that sounds are recognized as music when they
• are created or combined by humans.
• are recognized as music by some group of people.
• serve some human function.

Why Do We Need Music?

1. Music in the United States may be so pervasive that even musicians, including music educators, are not always aware of music’s presence. 
2. People presumably create music, for some reason, to serve some function or purpose.
3. The anthropologist Alan Merriam (1964) identified ten broad ways in which music functions in every society throughout the world. 

Music Education’s Role in Society

1. Because music is such a social experience, music education is also a social phenomenon.
2. Data shows that people are participating in musical behaviors; they are just not necessarily participating in music behaviors that relate to school music experiences because it offers few musical options and choices and is different from the music personally consumed by society.
3. Throughout life, participation in music should be based on individual desire.
4. Christopher Small (1997) uses the term “musicking” to describe any musical behavior as a valid form for musical participation. 
• Musicking defines a “good” music experience as any music experience that is meaningful to an individual, including performing, listening, and composing, reading about, or talking about music. 
5. The concept of musicking enables music education to become more relevant to members of society, enabling life-long participation in music connects music education to music in people’s lives throughout their life.
6. Placing music at the center of education requires a re-evaluation of what is defined as “music education.”
7. Music education must be willing to change its role to better reflect contemporary societal values, including the changing role music plays in our society. 
• Perhaps music education’s best role is to connect music experienced in the schools to music experienced outside of schools.

The belief among United States citizens in opportunities for all individuals to improve their social and educational mobility remains strong despite their chances being highly related to socioeconomics, ethnicity, and gender. Chapter five discusses equality of opportunity in education and music education and how ideals and realities influence educational quality. The chapter’s main idea is that a diverse society is not necessarily an equal society, as different groups have different opportunities.

Introduction

1. The United States has historically been based on the premise of equal opportunity and equal access for all citizens. 
• The United States is a nation of ideals that frequently contrast actual practices.
• Equity is a democratic ideal not confined to education, but a common value throughout our society.
• Access and treatment are keys to equality.
2. Conceptually, American schools have been designed to help students overcome inequalities in order to achieve occupational and social goals.
• John Dewey envisioned education as the opportunity for all individuals to develop their capacities to the fullest extent.
• However, much of the current American educational system frequently fails to differentiate between student abilities, backgrounds, expectations, and resources.

An Overview of Educational Models of Equality

1. Public schools in the United States are mandated to teach all students, regardless of ability or disability.
2. The No Child Left Behind Act and Race to the Top initiatives require all students to achieve the same minimum standard. 
3. To provide equal opportunity requires that all participants begin at the same starting place. But is this possible?
• Many variables including family expectations, socioeconomic status, cultural expectations, and access to resources frequently create inequalities before some individuals even begin school.
4. Two different models of education equality include the common school model and sorting machine model.
5. The common school model is based on the democratic ideal that everyone should have access to the same educational opportunities; everyone would be given the same choices.
6. The sorting machine model classifies, divides, and groups students according to individual talents and abilities based on teacher assessments, counselor recommendations, and test scores, including standardized test scores which are presumed to be impartial.
7. Recently, schools have implemented a variation of the sorting machine model, known as high-stakes testing.
8. Despite partialities in the education system, schools may be a student’s best hope for learning to overcome biases.

Groups Affected by Inequalities

1. Many educational inequalities are connected with attitudes, mostly negative, associated with discrimination and its components of prejudice and stereotypes.
2. Family influences can contribute as much to student opportunity and success as individual ability and ambition.
3. Differences in academic roles among gender are an international phenomenon, as males and females who go to the same school can come out of that situation with very different experiences, interests, achievement levels, and expectations.
4. An individual’s race and ethnicity affect educational opportunity, as schools primarily attended by African Americans and Latinos offer limited college preparatory courses such as advanced mathematics or science classes, and fewer musical options.
5. Annually, the number of students with disabilities educated in regular education classrooms, including the music classroom, increases at a steady rate.

Teacher Influence on the Equality of Opportunity

1. Teachers serve as socialization agents in society by influencing our attitudes and behaviors as strongly as academic and musical knowledge. 
2. Individuals who are our earliest and most fundamental influences are known as primary socialization agents, e.g., parents and siblings.
3. As contact with others begins to diversify, we develop secondary socialization agents.
4. Because of a rise in single-parent and two-career-couples families, teachers frequently function as parental figures primary socialization agents.

Inequality among Schools

1. Traditionally, citizens in the United States have been educated by the public school system based on the concept of neighborhood schools.
2. Since the 1960’s, the concept of school choice has granted parents the right to select the school they believe is best suited for their children’s needs and interests.
3. Are private schools better than public schools? The answer is both yes and no, as many students attending private schools would succeed at a higher level even if they were attending public school.
4. Another option of school choice is for parents to home school their children.
5. A controversial component of the No Child Left Behind Act and Race to the Top program is the use of tax-based vouchers that families may use in faith-based and for-profit schools to help cover the costs of tuition, transportation, and other education related expenses regarding school choice.

Equality of Opportunity in Music Education

1. Music education is not exempt from issues of equal opportunity as equity gaps persist throughout groups within music education.
2. Music educators are frequently criticized for focusing on students perceived to have talent while ignoring those with less ability. This affects the access students may have to quality music instruction, resources, and experiences.
• Equality of opportunity in the music class is affected by attitudes associated with discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes. 
• Variables such as race, gender, family background, and special needs can influence opportunities that students have in the music class.
3. In theory and practice, both the common school and sorting machine models exist in music education curricula.
4. Desire plays a role in one theory regarding the perception of success.  Research studies investigated the effects of the Attribution Theory, which asserts that the determination of student success or failure is based on the reasons students believe they accomplished the task. 

Music Education among Different Types of Schools

1. The issue of school choice has helped create differences in music education experiences available to all students. 
• While musical opportunities can be found in most school situations the extent of those experiences varies depending on the type of school a student attends.
2. The variety of music experiences in all school settings is subject to teacher attitudes and qualifications, overall school costs or tuition and related expenses, parental attitudes, classroom space, and the school’s perception of need or interest.
• Music education has also not been exempt from school reform issues, including high-stakes testing and resulting consequences.

Recent Issues Concerning Educational Equality

1. The “achievement gap” in education refers to the disparity in academic performance between groups of students, primarily based on race and socioeconomic variables. 
• A more recent, broad focus of the achievement gap now pertains to differences in gender, English-language proficiency, and groups with disabilities.
• Evidence suggests the achievement gap exists among many groups pertaining to music education and appears to have negatively affected enrollment in music education classes.
2. The concept of social justice formulated in the 2000s. 
• Social justice views everyone as having equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities while promoting tolerance, freedom, and equity.
• Issues related to social justice often include bullying, prejudice, and unequal access.
• Schools of all levels are frequently at the epicenter for bullying.
• Music is viewed as being an effective venue for promoting social justice.

As teachers, how do we know students have learned material or acquired skills?  In music we frequently assume if students can demonstrate skills through performance then knowledge is learned. Yet, we know that not all demonstrated skills are retained and transferred to different situations.  This chapter presents information on theories and variables influencing how humans learn, and what influences learning music. The chapter’s premise is that students learn in diverse ways. Subsequently, effective music teachers must be aware of multiple methods regarding how learning occurs.

Introduction

1. Effective teaching begins with an understanding of how children think and react to new information.
• Teachers are viewed as the individuals most responsible for organizing and presenting materials in ways that students can acquire knowledge and skills.
2. Learning is an intentional act that results in change in an individual’s knowledge or behavior. 
• Learning often occurs relative to contextual parameters that are frequently affected by cultural settings and resources.
3. What is the best way to learn?
• From a developmental perspective, music involvement can occur at any stage and age of human growth.
• Many factors influence musical learning including auditory acuity, genetics, home environment, individual physical features, creativity, maturation, fatigue, intelligence, gender, race, and ethnicity.
4. Learning occurs informally and formally, deliberately or unintentionally, for better or for worse, and at varying times and stages of life, often including the interaction of variables.
• Humans tend to learn best by actively doing rather than passively listening.

Principle Learning Theories

1. Two basic groups of learning theories are behavioral learning theorists and social learning theorists.
2. Behavioral learning theorists believe that external events cause changes in observable behaviors; the outcome of learning is a change in behavior.
• Edward Thorndike and B. F. Skinner are the principle pioneers.
3. Social learning theory emphasizes learning through observing others; environmental events, personal factors, and behaviors interact in the learning process.
• Albert Bandura–there is a distinction between the acquisition of knowledge and observable actions based on that knowledge. 
4. Though the process of learning varies among the primary learning theories, each still contains the same following elements:
• People develop at different rates.
• Development is relatively orderly.
• Development takes place gradually.
• Each theory contains some element of social/cultural experience.

Jean Piaget:  Theory of Cognitive Development

1. Jean Piaget–children think differently from adults.
2. Cognitive change is based on four factors:  biological maturation, activity, social experiences, and the interaction between cognitive perception and environmental interactions.
• We adapt (assimilate) and accommodate to new information and new perception of the world.
3. A stage theory: all people pass through the same four stages in exactly the same order.
4. For educators the implication is that if we understand how children think, we will be better able to match teaching methods and activities to children’s abilities at an age-appropriate time.

Lev Vygotsky:  Sociocultural Theory of Learning.

1. Vygotsky believed social interactions are critical for intellectual development.
• Learning is embedded within social events and occurs as children interact with people, objects, and events in the environment.
2. The basis is the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) or the gap between a learner’s current level of development and their potential level of development.
3. The ZPD requires teachers and students to plan and collaborate together to create meaning in ways unique to the student.
• Through discovery, students should be put in situations where they will be challenged to understand, but where support from more experienced students and teachers is available.

Jerome Bruner:  Spiral Curriculum

1. Jerome Bruner’s approach is known as the spiral curriculum. 
• The spiral curriculum is a degree of understanding that applies what is learned in a progressively more complex manner. 
• The essential information of a subject can be taught at the earliest of abilities and ages, then revisited at a more complex level as the student grows and develops.
• The spiral approach begins by breaking down advance skills or complex knowledge to its most fundamental concept or skill.
• Transfer of information and skills from one situation to another is essential.
2. This approach suggests that while music teachers should have larger objectives for students to learn, they should also carefully plan on how they will present the material in an elementary manner so that simple foundations can be laid for latter advanced learning, e.g., rote-to-note.

Benjamin Bloom:  Taxonomy of Learning

1. Learning should focus on the mastery of subjects and promote higher levels of thinking.
2. He developed a taxonomy that explains higher order thinking processes. 
3. Three different domains of learning:
• Cognitive: mental skills, how to think, intellectual ability
• Affective: growth in feelings or emotions, attitude
• Psychomotor: manual or physical skills
4. Within each domain are categories or levels of acquiring and demonstrating learned knowledge or skills. 
• The categories are in sequential order from most basic or lowest complexity to most complex. Each category must be mastered before progressing to the next level.

Erik Erikson:  Psychosocial Theory of Development

1. Within every society each person must accomplish specific tasks at different stages of life.
• Resolving these tasks determines an individual’s emotional relationship with his or her environment.
2. Theory is based on a series of stages, each with a specific goal, concern, accomplishment, and danger. 
• All eight stages are interdependent; accomplishments at later stages depend on how conflicts are resolved in earlier stages.
3. Each individual faces a developmental crisis at each stage.
• How an individual resolves each crisis will have a lasting effect on that person’s self image and view of society.

Howard Gardner:  Theory of Multiple Intelligences

1. Intelligence is not a single variable, rather multiple variables in many forms.
2. Intelligence is defined as innate potential activated by environmental cultural values, opportunities, experiences, and personal decisions. 
• Originally there were seven intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.
3. An important implication for music educators is that music is an intelligence possessed by every person, in every society and culture. 

Intelligence and Musical Ability, Preference, and Taste

1. Intelligence and ability are frequently linked together.
2. Intelligence can be defined as capacity to acquire and use knowledge for solving problems and adapting to the world
• Humans vary in demonstrating their intelligence and how it is acquired.
3. Ability refers the facility to do something regardless of how an individual acquired the skill, knowledge, or experience.  However, developing musical ability involves some degree of training or instruction.
4. Music aptitude is more of a capacity or potential in an individual to develop musical ability.
5. Music talent is a more imprecise term used to describe a demonstration of ability.  It is a cumulative term demonstrating what has been accomplished, often due to instruction.
6. How an individual acquires intelligence and ability appears to be a great debate.
• The center of this debate focuses on genetic endowment or environmental influences; nature versus nurture.
7. The perception of musical ability is frequently affected by social beliefs, stereotypes, and cultural expectations. 
8. It is important that music educators have an understanding of music ability and to remember that ability, however defined or acquired, can always improve. 
9. A relationship exists between music ability and the development of music preference.
• In general, the better students are able to perform a piece of music (ability), the more they enjoy the music (preference).
10. Humans vary in their musical preferences due to cultural standards, training, and expectations. 
• Preference is an immediate, short-term choice of specific objects or events that can change at anytime
• Taste is a more long-term or permanent commitment to a broader group of objects or events
• Developing musical taste may be the ultimate goal of music education.

What is effective teaching? Are teachers “born” or “made?” Chapter seven presents knowledge and characteristics of effective music teachers. The chapter’s premise is that not everyone can be an effective teacher.  Still, while individuals can learn effective teacher behaviors, effective teaching requires much more than pedagogical skills.

Introduction

1. Teaching is a challenging professional vocation requiring a broad knowledge with very few absolute answers.
2. Most people would probably agree that effective teachers are both technically competent and personally creative.
3. Effective teachers combine good planning, organization, and decision making with technique and knowing how to personally react to students.
4. Good teachers tend to be good teachers no matter what subject they teach.

Student Characteristics

1. Students come in all shapes and sizes, and reflect a wide diversity of characteristics making it impossible to approach any music class with a single instructional perspective.
2. Students learn many roles in school that can be influential throughout their lives.
• Frequently, roles are learned through cultural expectations based on variables such as gender, race, parental influences, and teacher expectations.
• Music teachers play a major role in attracting and shaping students experiences and role development in school.
3. Students participated in school music ensembles for a wide variety of reasons including family influence, enjoyment of music, performing, and social benefits.
4. Frequently, a student’s decision to join music is based on music’s perceived value.
• It is clear that students participate in music for numerous reasons including many nonmusical factors often associated with social influences.
5. Unfortunately, not all students succeed in school; the U. S. Census Bureau estimates that thirty percent of all high school students drop out of school at some point.
• Students frequently cited a dislike for school, feeling isolated and neglected, low expectations, and an inability to get along with teachers as reasons for dropping out of school.

Motivating Students to Learn

1. Research has shown that students who like school tend to achieve higher academic goals and have a lower incidence of discipline problems.
2. Motivation is usually defined as an internal state that arouses, directs, and maintains behavior.
3. Intrinsic motivation is derived from within the learner.
4. Extrinsic motivation and is motivation due to factors outside the learner.
5. One important factor in developing motivation is teacher praise.
6. Understanding the attributes of success or failure is the basis for the attribution theory.
7. Abraham Maslow suggested that when attempting to reach goals, humans have a hierarchy of needs ranging from lower-level needs for survival and safety to higher-level needs for intellectual achievement and self-actualization.
• Self-actualization is Maslow’s term for self-fulfillment, or the realization of personal potential.
• The implications of Maslow’s hierarchy are important in understanding students and creating an effective motivational strategy.

Characteristics of Effective Music Teachers

1. Effective teaching is a multidimensional art requiring individuals to know a broad array of knowledge in many different forms. This is also known as teacher magnitude.
2. Good music teachers recognize that learning is a constructive, not a receptive process.
3. Successful teachers have and know
• the academic subject they teach.
• general classroom strategies and curriculum materials appropriate for their subject and grade level.
• the characteristics and cultural backgrounds of their learners.
• the settings in which students learn.
• the goals and purposes of teaching.
4. Much of the contemporary experimental research related to social aspects of teaching demonstrates the importance of personal characteristics to effectively teach music. This is social intelligence.
• The development of a teacher personality is considered one of the most important skills influencing the success of a music teacher.

Developing Effective Teacher Characteristics

1. Can anyone be a teacher?  Perhaps, but it does appear that not anyone can be an effective teacher unless certain traits and behaviors are learned and exhibited.
2. Perhaps the only way to understand being labeled a “teacher” is to engage in behaviors and experiences that teachers are required to do.
• Unlike many professions, teachers do not have the luxury of easing into teaching positions through apprenticeships.
3. Often teachers express concerns regarding adapting to their classroom responsibilities.
• Many new teachers become associated with more experienced mentor teachers.
• Other research has shown that music teachers who are active in professional organizations adapt easier and remain stimulated in their careers longer.
• Teachers must be proactive in finding help and creating solutions.

Classroom Characteristics

1. All classrooms, including music classrooms, are a particular kind of environment and are multidimensional, simultaneous, involve immediacy, are public, and have histories.
• Music classrooms are vibrant diverse cultures representing the overall school society.
• Each music class is a different experience, requiring a different teaching approach and instructional skills, and different ways to communicate information.
• Music teachers need to be flexible when creating the most effective classroom environment.
2. Because of the public nature of music performances, music teachers constantly have their lesson plans on public display and open for public scrutiny.
3. Music teachers may have as many as 15 to 100 students in a room at a single time.
• Creating a well-managed classroom culture also means teaching students the classroom expectations.
4. Recognizing the cultural dimension of a music class helps the teacher become more effective by realizing the broader influence music brings to students.

From its beginnings in one-room schoolhouses, public education has emerged as a core institution in American society with teachers at the center. This chapter will present educational components and issues within society and schools that affect what and how teachers perform their duties. The premise is that to be a professional teacher, an individual knows not only how to teach well, but is also knowledgeable of issues, people, and events that influence education.

Introduction

1. Few professions in the United States have such a profound effect as teaching.
2. Perhaps no other society in the world demands more of education and its teachers than the American society.
• The teaching profession is an ever-changing concept, largely due to societal expectations.
• Music educators are not exempt from challenges and demands of the teaching profession. Perhaps our biggest challenge is being accepted by other education groups as contributing to the overall education of all students.
3. From a sociological perspective, as society’s expectations for education change, so do perceptions of how teachers function, how well their duties are achieved, and the role they perform both in and outside of schools. 
4. Every societal group in the United States appears to view teachers as links between the past, the present, and the future.
• Similar to all teachers, contemporary music educators’ roles have evolved to reflect public perceptions, yet they still approach teaching in much the same manner as they have historically done so.

The Teaching Profession

1. Many people believe that teaching is more than a vocation; rather it is a lifestyle of enduring dedication.
• Music teachers are shaped by a variety of factors including our families, peers, and music experiences.
2. Many students report they hope to become music teachers because they love music, want to share this love with others, and they enjoy school.
3. To fully understand the scope of the teaching profession requires an acknowledgement that teaching is more than a classroom experience.
4. The reality of teaching music is that while one may expect teachers work with students, a tremendous amount of planning and organization must occur outside of the instructional phase of the classroom to enable teachers to actually teach.
5. It is estimated over 90% of America’s teachers belong to a professional association or union.
• The National Education Association (NEA) was founded in 1857, and is the oldest and largest of the two major teacher unions.
• The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) began in 1897, with an emphasis on improving teacher pensions and salaries.

Challenges to the Teaching Profession

1. Professionalism has long been a source of hope and frustration for educators.
2. Certain vocations (e.g., doctors, lawyers) are considered professional vocations due to established requirements necessary to obtain the label “professional.”
• Though teachers must meet very similar standards, society often debates their status as “professional.”
• Many individuals act as if anyone can be a teacher.
• To obtain the label of “professional,” teachers must meet the same standards required by other professional vocations including specialized degrees, and obtaining current and continuous certification.

Teacher Certification Issues

1. The American society has long been concerned with the qualification of its teachers.
2. Due to changing societal perceptions of what constitutes a certified teacher and calls for higher standards for teachers (e.g., No Child Left Behind), the traditional processes of certifying teachers are changing.
• Teacher certification requirements are unique among states with each determining its own knowledge and skill requirements for certifying individuals to become teachers.
3. There are now multiple methods for achieving the label of certified teacher.
• Traditional statewide teacher certification.
• National board certification.
• Alternative state certification.
4. Despite certification process, teachers have long been criticized for being ill prepared for the classroom.
5. Individuals who take these alternative routes (e.g., Teach for America and El Sistema) into teaching frequently begin teaching immediately upon being hired.
• Do alternative routes to entering the teaching profession actually hurt society’s perception of a “professional” educator?

Teacher Accountability

1. “Accountability” denotes being responsible for actions and outcomes.
2. Education accountability has increased in great part because of American taxpayers demanding more responsibility from politicians and school administrators for taxes they pay.
3. Most states have some form of statewide standardized testing intended to measure how much students have learned, and how well teachers have taught.
4. Some states are attempting to increase accountability and teacher assessment by proposing a “pay-for-performance” approach that connects the amount of teachers’ pay to how well their students score on standardized testing.
• Known as value-added modeling.

Teacher Salaries

1. Individuals who teach music do not necessarily teach due to financial rewards.
2. Historically, teachers have been paid at or near the average wage for skilled workers, but below levels customarily received by most other professional occupations requiring equivalent levels of education, training, or expertise.
• There is a wide disparity in teacher salaries across the country, within states, and within schools.
3. Under the traditional schedules, often known as a stepladder system, all beginning certified teachers are paid the same amount of starting base salary. 
• For each year of teaching experience salaries increase at a fixed amount.
4. A salary method used to address differences in teacher ability and accomplishments is the merit pay system. 
• The intent is to reward teachers based on their annual accomplishments and teaching.
5. Tenure is a controversial issue among many communities and schools and has been eliminated in some states.
• Tenure is a contract between the teacher and the local school board making it difficult for administrators to dismiss teachers after they have successfully completed their initial probationary period.
• Many school districts have begun to offer extended contracts, or performance contracts, thus replacing tenure contracts.

Working Conditions

1. Teachers average a 45-hour work week that includes nights and weekends grading papers, preparing lessons, meeting parents, performing concerts, teaching individuals lessons, and conducting after school rehearsals. 
2. It is reported that teachers encounter a 16.1 to 1 student-to-teacher ratio in the average public school classroom.
3. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, teachers (music teachers included) are required to supervise bus duty, monitor lunch rooms, hallways, and bathrooms, chaperon dances and other after school activities, meet parents, and attend other various functions that require school personnel to be present.
4. Demands on teachers can also lead to considerable stress and possible burnout.
• A survey by The Music Educators National Conference found a high level of stress was common among music teachers.
• Interestingly, research shows music teachers themselves frequently cause stress.  Since music teachers are often the sole determiners of their own curriculum and expectations, stress often stems from personal pressure of success or trying to match their musical beliefs/values system to the school’s and community’s music beliefs/values system.
5. Teachers have managed to retain substantial control over their own classroom activities.

Common Legal Issues

1. Legal issues and many subsequent court decisions affect every aspect of the teaching profession.
• Issues involve activities from student publications to searching students, copyright issues, and the performance of religious music by public school ensembles.
2. Many legal issues affecting teachers involve the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
3. Recognizing every situation is different; courts frequently have not made absolute binding decisions regarding most school legal issues.
• Actions by both students and teachers cannot cause a disruption in the educational process.
4. A growing legal concern for all teachers is the use of various social media.
• While many of these cyberspace venues have excellent instructional and research applications, they are also a legal concern as many teachers share personal views and images of themselves which are in conflict with community or school standards for teachers.
5. Legally, teachers are responsible for protecting the rights of their students.
6. It is not unusual for teachers to be held to a higher standard than publicly elected officials, including senators, governors, and even the President of the United States!
• While the personal lives of teachers may still be private, it is important teachers meet the community expectations and views of professional conduct.

The Rewards of Teaching

1. Teachers find their greatest reward in the interactions with students.
• Research has shown teachers gain a greater sense of satisfaction due to intrinsic rewards (helping students) than extrinsic rewards (e.g., salary level)!
2. Many teachers describe teaching as a tradition of honor or service to society.
3. Another reward enjoyed by teachers is the relative autonomy of their classrooms.
4. Other attractors include extended vacations, job security, and regular holidays.
5. A unique aspect for music teachers is that they can continue to actively participate in something they love–making music.