| The purpose of this study was to document the use of computers and to investigate teachers' and students' attitudes toward computer use in secondary school non-performance music classes (ear-training, music theory, composition, music history, and music appreciation) in the greater Philadelphia area. The researcher developed a pre-study survey questionnaire to gather information about what kinds of computer equipment and music software are being used and with what frequency, and how music teachers characterize their attitude toward using computers in teaching non-performance music classes. The survey questionnaire, consisting of check-list questions and an open-ended question, was sent to forty Philadelphia-area secondary school music teachers. Twenty-four teachers (60%) returned the survey questionnaire: ten of the twenty-four (25%) currently use computers in non-performance classes.;Based on survey questionnaires returned, the researcher categorized schools into five types by average age of the computer system and by the number of computer work stations, then randomly selected two schools to observe from among Type A schools and two from Type B. But based on observations at each school, the researcher discovered that one of the Type A schools was actually Type C according to the average age of the computer system. Consequently, one Type A school, two Type B schools, and one Type C school were observed. The researcher developed an observation form consisting of two sections---instructor behaviors and students behaviors---and observed each school's nonperformance music classes four times during four months.;At the end of four observations of each school, the researcher investigated students' attitudes by administering a questionnaire to all students (N = 100) involved in the study, Student questionnaires consisted of 33 multiple choice questions based on a Likert scale and one open-ended question. The questionnaire consisted of six categories: general, hardware, CAI software, notation software, sequencing software, and Internet. To find relationships in students' attitude between and among, (a) school types, (b) female and male students, (c) students at different grade levels, and (d) students at different experience levels, the researcher calculated means, standard deviations, and an ANOVA. The researcher also interviewed four music teachers, using nine questions, to gather attitudes toward using computers in teaching non-performance classes. |
