The purpose of this study was to profile secondary school music programs in the United States and investigate principals' perceptions of those curricula. A survey form was sent to 1,000 secondary school principals, yielding a 54% response rate. That form was designed to answer the following questions: What is the profile of secondary music…

In this study, the author investigated factors underlying vocal improvisation achievement and relationships with the singers' musical background. Participants were 102 college students in Australia and the United States who performed 3 jazz improvisations and 1 free improvisation. Jazz improvisations were rated on rhythmic, tonal, and creative…

The authors replicate and extend findings from previous studies of music enculturation by comparing music memory performance of children to that of adults when listening to culturally familiar and unfamiliar music. Forty-three children and 50 adults, all born and raised in the United States, completed a music memory test comprising unfamiliar…

The home musical environments of a class of 28 first-grade children in Singapore were examined in this ethnographic study. Technology was an integral part of the soundscape in the home. The musical repertoire gathered was closely associated with electronic and pop-influenced music, approaching the styles favored by teens and adults. Particular…

This study examined the effects of teacher characteristics, school conditions, teacher efficacy, external support, and remuneration on music educators' risk for attrition and migration. Data from the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey--a comprehensive, nationally representative survey of teachers, principals, and schools conducted by the…

This study was designed to investigate the socialization and occupational identity of undergraduate music education majors enrolled in traditional preservice teacher education programs. Preservice music teachers (N = 578) from 30 randomly sampled institutions completed a 128-item questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed for all…

Nontransient 6th- and 8th-grade urban middle school students' achievement test scores were examined before (4th grade) and during (6th or 8th grade) enrollment in a performing ensemble. Ensemble participation (band, choir, none) and subject variables of socioeconomic status (SES) and home environment were considered. Fourth- and 6th-grade…

This study examines rural differences in one important indicator of quality for licensed child care settings--the number of children per adult. It also investigates the relationships between cost of child care, child care subsidy receipt, and child care quality for both rural and non-rural areas. We used representative child care survey data…

This article explores the responses of school principals of small rural schools in Victoria, Australia to leadership challenges they identify as characteristic of these contexts. The research is an exercise in grounded theory building, with the focus on the principalship as it is enacted in small rural settings. The article also seeks to trace the…

Children from linguistically and culturally diverse homes are faced with the ongoing challenge of performing well academically. Research suggests that children perform better when academic tasks are meaningful and culturally relevant. This study examines the ways in which English language learners claim their home and peer cultures in the…

Children's perceptions of the developmental opportunities afforded by school and afterschool were studied. The data support prior research showing that inequitable patterns exist, across gender, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status, in children's perceptions of the opportunities provided by school. Afterschool programs, conversely, are faring…

This study investigated preservice teachers' perspectives of integrating music in their third year of a childhood teacher education program. Preservice teachers were enrolled in a multidisciplinary course in which they learned about integrating music and had opportunities to implement such knowledge into practical teaching. One hundred sixty…

Participants included 106 infants and toddlers living in rural Paraguay and their primary caregiver. Children ranged in age from birth to 24 months and belonged to two distinct groups, including 46 children who had never participated in Pastoral del Nino, an early child development program, and 60 children who had participated in Pastoral for at…

Shy children are wary in the face of new social situations and perceived social evaluation. In this regard, the transition to kindergarten may represent a particularly challenging task for shy children. In this review, we explore the kindergarten classroom as a particularly stressful context for shy children. We examine the adjustment difficulties…

Reading problems are among the most prevalent concerns in schools; poor readers in elementary school who do not receive special assistance are particularly at risk for dismal academic careers. In a large-scale project, children with serious reading problems received targeted intervention to address critical early literacy skills. The assistance…