A descriptive analysis of high school choral teachers’ inclusion of popular music in current teaching practices

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Elaine K. Smith (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Brett Nolker

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of high school choral teachers’ inclusion of popular music in current teaching practices by (a) determining the frequency of inclusion, (b) developing a profile of teachers, schools, and choral programs that include popular music in the curriculum, (c) determining which demographic characteristics affected the amount of popular music included, and (d) developing a profile of popular music implementation details. The Popular Music Survey, a researcher designed online survey, was developed to collect demographic data and information concerning the participants’ inclusion of popular music in their high school choral classrooms. Participants were high school choral teachers in the Commonwealth of Virginia (n = 104). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Macintosh, Version 22.0.Results of the study revealed that 100% of participants include popular music in the choral curriculum as performance literature and/or instructional materials. Descriptive statistics of demographic data of the teacher, school, choral program, and ensemble were used to develop a profile to describe the typical high school choral teacher who includes popular music. Descriptive statistics were also used to develop a profile to describe how high school choral teachers included popular music in the choral classroom. The majority of participants (n = 91, 87.4%) responded that the percentage of popular music performed was 30% or less of their total performance literature. Pearson Chi-square and one-way analysis of variance were used to determine the extent to which popular music was included in the high school choral curriculum. The achievement of a master’s degree was the only teacher characteristic that significantly affected the amount of popular music included in the high school choral curriculum (p = .028). Participants with a master’s degree included more popular music than participants who did not have a master’s degree. Implications for music education were discussed in relation to the findings of the current study. Recommendations were made for future research regarding the inclusion of popular music in choral classrooms, as well as in other areas of music education.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
Choral, Music, Performance, Popular, Teaching
Subjects
Choral music $x Instruction and study
School music $x Instruction and study
Popular music $x Instruction and study

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