| To better understand the views of elementary classroom teachers about music in their classroom, a survey was created, piloted, and distributed to a large sample of elementary classroom teachers. The survey was e-mailed by administrators who were willing to have their school participate in the study. Questions included identification of previous training, musical behaviors used in the classroom, and their comfort level teaching music. In addition, open-ended questions gave respondents freedom to indicate areas of musical interest. Six schools (N= 114) participated in the study. Two one-way ANOVAs found that lower grade level teachers included more music per week than their upper grade level counterparts. Musical behaviors identified as prevalent in the elementary classroom included: listening, singing, music as support for other curricular subjects, and music for relaxation. Results demonstrated that 60 percent of classroom teachers surveyed would participate in a professional development opportunity about music. Those teachers felt that a one or two-day workshop would be beneficial. Participants noted that they would enjoy bringing instruments into their classroom, have music integrated with common core and other subjects, and benefit from knowledge of free resources for music available on the internet. A suggested structure for a two-day workshop based on the data provided by the elementary classroom teachers and previous research is included in the findings. A final finding of the project was that elementary classroom teachers collaborated with their grade level teachers and other elementary teachers more frequently than they collaborate with elementary music specialists. |
