Resources for Teaching Elementary General Music in Michigan Rural Public Schools

[摘要] The purpose of this study was to determine what resources are available to general music teachers in distant and remote rural classrooms in Michigan. The areas of resources that were surveyed in this study included Human Resources (staffing, professional development), Contextual Resources (scheduling, facilities) and Instructional Resources (materials and equipment, curriculum), based on the National Association for Music Educators’ (NAfME) Opportunity-to-Learn Standards. Other data was gathered from teachers through open-ended questions that allowed teachers to describe the benefits, challenges, and greatest professional needs they experienced while teaching in a rural community. Specific research questions included: (a) What resources are available to teach elementary general music in rural public schools in the six areas of staffing and professional development; scheduling and facilities; and curriculum and materials and equipment? (b) How do the reported resources reflect the recommendations in the Opportunity-to-Learn Standards?The participants were public school elementary general music teachers who work in distant and remote rural locations in the state of Michigan. They were selected through a random sample of the schools listed on the Michigan Department of Education website in the distant and remote rural school categories. Participants were invited to complete an online survey that asked them to self-evaluate the quantity and quality of Human, Contextual and Instructional Resources at their school.Results from the survey were analyzed by category and revealed that while the data from this survey showed that more resources existed in rural schools than might be expected based on prior research, the types of resources (staffing, professional development, scheduling, facilities, materials and equipment, and curriculum) were available to varying degrees between schools. Music teachers in rural areas in Michigan reported little to no music-specific professional development offered by their school districts. While most school districts do not offer professional development specific to music education, teachers in rural schools feel isolated from the music education community because of the lack of music professional development. They also reported lacking music technology that their students could use to reinforce music concepts or that enable students to create and perform music. Finally, music teachers reported that old materials and equipment, and outdated curriculum were losing their value as resources, and that they had no budget to replace those resources.However, music teachers in rural areas also reported having abundant resources in their communities. The ability to know the students, their families, and the community members was reported as a valuable human resource and it ties in to the values of place-based theory—the theory that teachers thrive in communities that they connect with, and that their music programs thrive as well.While music teachers in all geographical locations lack various resources, it is important that we continue to study rural music education to continue to understand the challenges that arise from the lack of resources.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] Rural

[关键词] Music Education;Rural;Michigan;Public Schools;Music;Music Education