The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning : a project of the Music Educators National Conference

1249 Pages·2012·126.37 MB·English

by  Richard Colwell

The New Handbook of Research
on Music Teaching and Learning
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THE NEW HANDBOOK OF RESEARCH
ON MUSIC TEACHING AND LEARNING
A Project of the
Music Educators National Conference
Editors
Richard Colwell
Carol Richardson
OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
2002
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York
Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai
Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata
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Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto
and an associated company in Berlin
Copyright © 2002 by MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning: A Project of the Music Educators
National Conference / [edited by] Richard Colwell, Carol Richardson,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-513884-9
1. Music—Instruction and study. I. Colwell, Richard. II. Richardson, Carol P. III.
Music Educators National Conference (U.S.)
MT1 .S44 2002
780'.71— dc21 2001036516
13 12 11
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Preface
In the preface to the first Handbook of Research on Music The first Handbook met with wide acceptance and un-
Teaching and Learning, Richard Colwell suggested that anticipated sales to a broad audience; it became virtually
music education was one of the broadest subjects in the a required text for doctoral students and those profession-
school curriculum. In 2002, the profession has extended als interested in teaching and research. One early review
its programs and services even further. This Handbook re- of the first Handbook criticized its unevenness, saying that
flects this increased diversity, introducing topics that have the promises made in the preface were not fulfilled by all
often been marginalized in music education research. This of the chapters. An accurate criticism. A project of this
volume is not an update of the first handbook; rather, it magnitude engenders frustrations and disappointments,
complements and extends that publication. Change in mu- and those occurred with this Handbook as well. Important
sic education has been brought about not only by the vol- chapters failed to materialize, word limits prevented au-
untary national standards but by monumental shifts in the thors from discussing everything projected in their outlines,
field of education and in American society. Education and and the quality of available research in some areas was
its priorities are no longer neutral topics, of interest only disappointing. Still, the new Handbook is longer and more
in the local faculty lounge; they are part of the national complete than the first Handbook. When planning was be-
political process and political agenda. John Mahlmann, the gun in 1995, there was a "wide awakeness" that the pro-
executive director of MENC—the National Association fession was evolving. There were new national issues: arts
for Music Education, has skillfully positioned not only mu- education as opposed to music education and accompa-
sic education but the arts education profession to take ad- nying it the major fields of arts advocacy, arts administra-
vantage of these changes. He has not been timid in seizing tion, and arts-based research; qualitative research tech-
opportunities to promote and support the profession, to niques; and a renewed emphasis on the functional aspects
provide space for innovation and advocacy, and to voice of music, promoting the value of the many "spin-offs" that
the profession's concerns in educational and political cir- derive from music participation. Confirming recognition of
cles. The authors of Handbook chapters have attempted this interest in the broadest of outcomes, the meta-analysis
to emulate his leadership by addressing many of the topics of Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, two individuals outside
on Mahlmann's agenda, often going beyond the profes- the field of music education, published in volume 34
sion's present agenda. Thus, the Handbook breaks new (2000) of the Journal of Aesthetic Education, was a study
ground in discussing topics that range from policy to part- most often cited.
nerships, and in securing the contribution of outstanding Any history of such a large project is always incom-
scholars in many fields, scholars who are in a position to plete. Following acceptance of a tentative outline by
influence and enrich music pedagogy, its research, and its MENC and Oxford University Press, a meeting of section
place in the larger cultural/educational scene. editors and interested scholars was held in Baltimore in
The profession is challenged in that change has not re- 1997 to refine chapter descriptions, set priorities, and
placed most of the cherished objectives that have long identify potential authors. Prior to this meeting, com-
guided instructional practices. Stability is provided by per- ments were solicited from authors of the first handbook,
formance practices, excellent private and group instruc- a poll taken of the research priorities of leaders in the
tion, and rich performing ensembles that sustain the im- profession, and research issues coordinated with AERA,
portance of excellence as a significant instructional ASCD, and ERS, professional organizations involved with
outcome. The Handbook contains a chapter on studio in- research issues in the arts. Two open planning meetings
struction. were held at the MENC in-service conference in Phoenix,
VI PREFACE
attended by individuals interested in shaping the Hand- dividuals and institutions presently in power, and to deter-
book. Two years later at the Washington, DC, in-service mine what counts as worthwhile knowledge and worth-
meeting, two additional meetings—a regular open con- while research. When interests are socially constructed, the
vention session and an assessment session by section lead- role of research is to clarify the meaning of all communi-
ers—helped solidify the final form of the Handbook. A cation, verbal and nonverbal. These ideas have seeped into
clear message from these preliminary meetings was that several Handbook chapters and are becoming part of the
the behavioral research training received by doctoral stu- milieu of music education.
dents had peaked in the 1970s and subsequently had been A major outcome of research in music education should
dropped by many institutions, leaving many young Ph.Ds be to interpret any data in terms of how they support the-
and Ed.Ds with scant research competency. Although the ory or apply to the task of building a better educational
Handbook could not remedy that situation, it could por- system that upholds American or Western democracy. Data
tray a research agenda that matched to some extent the interpretation is understood in terms of one's philosophy.
interests of the profession. With new and expanded philosophies of education, data
It seems unusual to present a handbook with no part interpretation is more complex, not restricted only to pos-
on "methods," a topic that often defines an undergraduate itivism. The revolt against positivism had begun as early
music education department. (Serious attention was given as the second half of the 19th century, with William Blake
to philosophical considerations of the pedagogy of Zoltan arguing that the universe was an organism, not a mecha-
Kodaly, particularly because the projected author argued nism. Many of the goals of music education, including
that it was being misrepresented: The Kodaly method was quality of life, cannot be weighed. The anti-positivist
designed for a Marxist educational system, and U.S. prac- movement stemming from sociology includes the research
titioners were not always aware of the changes necessary techniques of phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and
to make it compatible with democratic educational sys- symbolic interactionism. We mention these philosophical
tems.) The alternative option was taken, however, to de- influences not only because of their role in qualitative re-
vote space to issues in curriculum, where researchers min- search but because they support research in feminist schol-
imize the connection between curriculum and courses of arship, one of the new chapters in this Handbook. Power
instruction and focus on a broad definition of education, and values, two important ideas stemming from the femi-
one that could engender and motivate considerable re- nist movement, are cause for reflection on the educational
search in music education. enterprise. Positivist knowledge is often primarily technical
The involvement of educators and education supporters knowledge, leading to a trivialization of the curriculum.
in political issues has been a major recent development, Some argue that the emphasis on educational technology
and the extent to which such issues will become research is an example of reinforcing the status quo by making ed-
topics in music education is unknown. Certainly the pri- ucation more efficient rather than transformative. Philos-
ority of music in the curriculum will be affected by these ophy and theory become essential to the research enter-
political issues. The strength and importance of music to prise: The positivists begin with a theory and seek to
most students and teachers makes it as appropriate as a disprove it but they often suggest problems that are only
subject in after-school programs as it is as a curricular sub- tangentially related to philosophy or theory, whereas the
ject. Concerns for social justice underlie many of the cur- purpose of qualitative research is to arrive at theory from
ricular issues concerning the priorities of education. Edu- the data, and the power of qualitative research is depend-
cation has always taken its cue from forces outside the ent upon the integrity, completeness, and coherence of the
discipline, most often from the church. Principles from the derived theory.
Judaic-Christian philosophies dominated education into The research agenda has been and will continue to be
the 20th century. With the secularization of society and strongly influenced by the type of educational system that
education, there are conservative and liberal views and is adopted to support an evolving definition of democracy,
premises stemming from business, globalization, diversity, equity, excellence, and fairness. When Nel Noddings sug-
and individual and community rights/obligations. The crit- gests that instilling a sense of caring, civility, and cooper-
ical theorists argue that research as well as curriculum has ation is more important than teaching and classrooms, re-
been based on illegitimate, dominatory, and repressive fac- searchers must take note of what meanings they derive
tors that reinforce the status quo. The issue is power. Re- from their efforts, as meaning is accepted by all parties as
searchers cannot be neutral when a primary purpose of being socially constructed. A preface is no place for an
education is to transform individuals to conform to the extended philosophical discussion; suffice it to say that one
obligations of social democracy. For Jurgen Habermas, our must be free of all preconceptions before one can appro-
interests are socially constructed. His argument is that the priately reflect on research outcomes in terms of the pur-
educational system has been constructed to favor those in- pose or goal sought.
PREFACE vii
Credit for this New Handbook of Research on Music had no problem statement and there was no interpretation
Teaching and Learning deservedly rests on the shoulders at the conclusion as to the effect.
of the part editors, who have wrestled for the past four
years with the multitude of issues required in producing There continues to be a lack of appreciation for rigorous
scholarly chapters that will serve the profession for at least research in music education despite a century of sporadic
the next ten years. These editors, who have earned the efforts. Any historical review indicates not only peaks and
respect of the profession, are Janet Barrett, Nicholas valleys in quality but the remarkable influence of non-
DeCarbo, John Flohr, Hildegard Froehlich, Jack Heller, music educators with an interest in topics musical. The
Andreas Lehmann, Marie McCarthy, Michael Mark, Da- research work of music educators is uneven; further, those
vid Myers, John Richmond, Peter Webster, Nancy Whi- who evaluate our work either have little confidence in our
taker, and Lizabeth Wing. In addition, we had access to products or are unable to critique them. A poster session
prepublication chapters of the fourth AERA Handbook of at the MENC convention may be as valuable on one's vita
Research on Teaching through the generosity of editor Vir- as a substantive essay formally presented at a conference
ginia Richardson; these chapters were especially helpful in on music cognition. We, of course, have done little to po-
the teacher education part of this Handbook. lice our own efforts or to discuss and establish research
The most vexing problem faced was the relationship of priorities. The source of a research agenda for the profes-
the Handbook to the first Handbook, in that, though much sion has been top-down, driven by two gatekeepers: doc-
of the content of the first Handbook was still appropriate, toral advisors and the MENC leadership. A wide diversity
the book was out of print. Despite the temptation to up- exists in the ability of doctoral programs to produce skilled
date the material in the first Handbook, the decision was and insightful researchers who ask the important questions
made to produce an essentially new Handbook and ad- that lead to a career-length program of research. There is
dress primarily those topics that had not been covered in also a lack of consensus among doctoral advisors about
the first Handbook and that were identified by a survey of what constitutes "quality" in dissertation-level research
music education researchers as important issues in music products. A source of confusion is the numerous calls for
teaching and learning in the 21st century. The assumption more "kinds" of research and the suggestions that our
is that the first Handbook is available in most libraries, journals should publish more historical, more qualitative,
where individuals interested in research can access the ma- more quantitative, or whatever, research. The kind of re-
terial without undue difficulty. Consideration was given to search should be dictated by the problem or question
reprinting those chapters most salient in the 21st century whose solution will make a difference. Most substantive
but we found that most of the chapters remained pertinent. research topics require competence in more than "kind"
Only the areas of technology and early childhood educa- of research; when a research report begins with a statement
tion are updated, and these because of the progress and categorizing it as a specific "kind," the knowledgeable
change of emphasis during the past decade. reader reacts with "caveat emptor." Contemporary re-
Particular recognition must be accorded to the many search texts minimize the distinction between kinds of re-
reviewers of the chapters in this volume. We doubt that search. There is always tension in research, but the exis-
any music publication has been so extensively reviewed tence of identifiable centers of kinds of research could be
prior to publication. Each author outline was reviewed by unfortunate. We would not expect numerical equality in
five to ten professionals, as were the draft chapters. What the kinds of research in music teaching and learning be-
has to be satisfying is the professionalism of the authors cause the research issues are defined by the nature of the
in reflecting upon these reviews; not only did they accom- profession and its particular needs at a particular time. We
modate the suggestions but several authors began afresh. have found that there is no agreement on what qualifies as
Such accommodation must be unusual when writing a sub- research. Some of this confusion may be due to long lists
stantive chapter gratis, where the only reward is the sat- of references, exclusively in APA style, which does not dis-
isfaction of assisting teachers, students, and researchers tinguish between op-ed pieces and substantive research.
who will come in contact with this publication. There is Volume 30, number 2 (March 2001), of Educational Re-
no single view in the Handbook, although all research top- searcher contains an article by Mike Rose and Karen
ics are not treated equally. More leeway, and also guidance, McClafferty, "A Call for the Teaching of Writing in Grad-
was given to the authors of those chapters where there was uate Education," where the writers assert, "It's my belief
a lack of substantive research in the field. Authors were that you can have too many citations. Too often, we see
asked to include only the better research and to critique an over reliance on citation to establish authority in aca-
studies when the critique would be helpful. They were demic writing, a shopping bag of sources rather than build-
asked to hypothesize and to suggest problems and trends. ing an argument. It's true that citation is the coin of the
The task became complex when the research in question realm, but ask yourself what you're trying to achieve with
viii PREFACE
your citations, what's your purpose?" (p. 27). The over- for thinking about the relationship between contemporary
use of citations reminds one that, for most of our intellec- democracy and education by such persons as John Good-
tual history, empirical evidence of proof was superseded by lad, Roger Soder, and Timothy McMannon. Goodlad
authority, and the more authorities one could quote, the (Soder, Goodlad, and McMannon, 2001, p. 1) cites George
stronger one's position. In the 16th century, Francis Bacon Will's statement that the first half of the 20th century be-
restored faith in reasoning, hypothesizing that if enough longed to physicists and the second half to biologists, but
data were collected, the meaning of the data could be without good philosophy this would bring calamity in the
grasped by the alert observer. The nod to "kinds" of re- 21st century. These issues are affecting the priority of mu-
search in this Handbook occurs in the part edited by Jack sic education in schooling and in education. Researchers
Heller and Nicholas DeCarbo, where the approach is not in visual arts are much more sophisticated in addressing
one of advocacy or methodology but one that is descrip- policy issues than are we in music education; however, not
tive, historical, inspirational, and perhaps provocative. only making policy but implementing it is critical to the
One solution to the dismal trend of less-than-stellar re- long-term health of the profession. To heighten its impor-
search would be to have MENC sponsor research training tance, the Handbook begins with the part on policy and
in-service sessions for doctoral advisors at national meet- philosophy.
ings of MENC. This model has served the AERA well by To undergird the part on curriculum, we turned to Ian
providing extended training seminars on specific aspects of Westbury, a leading scholar in the field and editor of the
selected research methodologies, offered on the days pre- premier journal in the field. The curriculum is critical to
ceding or following their annual meeting. MENC did ini- reconstructionist education; the way in which a society se-
tiate at the 1966 Seattle meeting a rigorous in-service ed- lects, classifies, distributes, transmits, and evaluates public
ucation program for selected doctoral advisors that was educational knowledge reflects both the distribution of
continued at the Chicago meeting, taught by "experts" in power and the principles of social control. Goodlad sug-
research procedures and research design. It could be ar- gests that crippling school budgets to ensure computer lit-
gued that this was a high point in MENC's involvement eracy makes no sense and is equivalent to a school's em-
with research and that the impact on the quality of re- phasizing the ability to ride a bicycle in the 1940s and 50s.
search was substantive and lasted for nearly two decades. For Goodlad, education is about the building of our hu-
manity. He recognizes the importance of enculturating the
young in a social and political democracy but notes that
Organization of the Volume what is missing from discussions about teacher education
is its mission (Soder, Goodlad, and McMannon, 2001,
Many editors convinced us that numerous topics could not p. xvii). Ethics would loom large in any such curriculum,
be adequately covered within our original estimate of but the internet has no ethic, and the guiding ethic of the
length for this volume. One part thus sacrificed is policy workplace is profit. Westbury, beginning with Dewey, care-
and philosophical research, where substantive issues fully outlines the dilemma faced by those interested in cur-
should be raised as U.S. education becomes more political riculum research. Chapters in this part address issues in
than it has ever been. We have excellent chapters in this music education not covered in the first handbook: impro-
part but should have had many more as the political spec- visation, critical thinking, distance learning, studio instruc-
trum influencing education has become enormous. tion, and the theoretical bases.
Whereas John Dewey emphasized the connection between Musical learning continues to be a major field and it
education and American democracy, today's educators was necessary to select pressing issues in the field for this
such as William Pinar describe curriculum exclusively in part. Education specialists Laurie Taetle, Barak Rosen-
political terms stemming from not only Paulo Freire but shine, and Barry Zimmerman were co-authors with music
the entire body of critical theory. Individual rights, so educators on three of the chapters. We also turned to ex-
strongly advocated by Emerson and Thoreau, often take ternal writers who are well known in the field of motiva-
precedent over the welfare of the community. Countering tion, Marty Maehr, Paul Pintrich, and Elizabeth Linnen-
this view, the importance of the community is promoted brink, as this was an area with scant substantive research
by Amitai Etzioni, Richard Rorty, and sociologists like in music education. We searched for theory, as there is a
Pierre Bourdieu. Bourdieu's habitas that arises during ad- tendency for some researchers to hide behind the method
olescence, when individuals can draw upon their acquired and ignore the crucial area of theoretical development
knowledge and skills to derive meaning for their world, (Brown and Dowling, 1998, p. 83). Theory, for the posi-
contributes to today's emphasis on deriving meaning from tivist, is the ultimate aim of science.
research knowledge. The ideas of democracy held by Likewise for musical cognition and development, we se-
Dewey and George Herbert Mead are now foundational cured the cooperation of topical experts, mostly outside
PREFACE IX
the United States, with strong research interests in music. day), including Seashore's studies on vibrato, Moorehouse
Special thanks go to Andreas Lehmann, whose intimate and Pond's on children's creativity, Revesz's study of mu-
knowledge of the field assisted in identifying topics and sical genius, Rubin-Rabson on musical memory, and Ser-
identifying appropriate research-oriented authors in psy- afine's research in musical cognition.
chology and related fields. Despite a large number of stimulus-response research
The sociology of music is an emerging field with an en- studies under controlled situations, there has long been
cyclopedic number of possible topics. Sociology of music consensus that the ultimate outcome of teaching and learn-
has for too long been associated with the relatively unim- ing is for students to achieve competence in deriving mu-
portant topic of preferences. Marie McCarthy involved so- sical meaning. There is agreement that enhancing musical
ciologists and music educators from the United States, meaning is an objective of instruction and that here the
Canada, and Europe in assembling the most comprehen- interactionists of the research community have taken the
sive body of research literature available to the profession. lead. With symbolic interaction, an individual has to con-
To address teacher education, we determined that it struct, assemble, select, evaluate, and interpret perceived
would be necessary to pair professional educators and mu- musical stimuli, stimuli that occur within a social context.
sic educators in order to fairly represent the research prob- The Frankfurt school is critical of our present interpreta-
lems in contemporary education. This was not an easy task tion of what these stimuli mean; the members contend that
but was handled adroitly by Lizabeth Wing and Janet Bar- too much is presupposed—the situation, the relationships,
rett. The lack of research in music teacher education is sur- and the structure—with little consideration of the ideolog-
prising; few of the curricular beliefs have been challenged in ical context, especially when these stimuli are placed in an
eight decades, and there is little agreement on a successful artificial research configuration.
teacher. The collaborative efforts in each part were a learn- These suppositions affect the feasibility of new types of
ing experience for everyone; we found differences in mean- research. Among the new types are several that deserve
ing in many of the most common concepts, an important mention here. Professor Raths entitles his introduction to
finding for researchers in music teaching and learning. the part on teacher education fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is a
Teacher education, like curriculum, was represented by sin- research technique that attempts to ascertain the extent to
gle chapters in the first Handbook whereas complete parts which a particular measure conforms to a semantic ideal
on these topics are present in this Handbook. (Fourali, 1997). Fuzzy logic recognizes that musical terms
Three parts are completely new and represent some of such as loud-soft, high-low, and good-bad vary depending
the areas that John Mahlmann has explored on behalf of upon the situation and suggests that measurement be more
the profession. The idea of partnerships and connections precise. The fuzzy logic technique relies on feedback to
to the other arts was developed by David Myers, who continually modify the meaning, to be sensitive to appro-
reached out beyond the music education profession (true priateness and effectiveness in relationship to shifting stan-
connections) to identify scholars in the field. John Flohr dards.
broached the field of music and medicine, which required Chaos theory has forced a more careful and thoughtful
physicians and researchers in the health fields to review the interpretation of results, recognizing that similar condi-
research and identify topics in music education. Michael tions can produce different outcomes, that repetition of a
Mark undertook the formidable task of reporting on treatment may not work the same way a second time, that
research-based competencies that are spin-offs from an ex- long-term prediction is difficult, and that much of what
acting teaching of music objectives such as those repre- occurs in the classroom is largely unpredictable.
sented in the national standards. Again, Mark was able to
identify individuals from outside music education to team
with music education scholars, assuring a more objective Acknowledgments
approach to the topics.
The Handbook concludes with the expected part on re- Any project of this scope requires the support of numerous
search techniques although, again, bypassing the tradi- behind-the-scene individuals. Maribeth Payne, general mu-
tional approach to such topics. Refuting the idea that there sic editor for Oxford University Press, supported the pub-
is a substantive difference between qualitative and quan- lication of the first Handbook and willingly undertook this
titative research, the chapters on data acquisition and as- second project, providing excellent guidance. John Mahl-
sessment inspect potentials in these two areas while the mann, executive director of the Music Educators National
chapter on contemporary issues in qualitative research is Conference, and Peggy Senko Wang, executive editor, were
written knowing that the most substantive research in the enthusiastic about the project from the outset and were
profession during the past century has been of individuals there when needed during the long gestation process. Paul
or small populations (often called qualitative research to- Boylan, dean emeritus of the School of Music at the Uni-