One government initiative in England and Wales involves moving teacher education away from higher education and into schools; establishing school consortium-administered postgraduate certification in education courses. From a study of one such program, this article reports findings related to weaknesses in program preparation and organization,…

Examines the effects of conductor verbalization, dynamic markings, conductor gesture, and choir dynamic level on individual singers' dynamic responses. Indicates that verbal instructions from the conductor elicited significantly stronger dynamic performance responses than did the other instructional conditions. Suggests that additional research…

Examines the changing-voice process by interviewing 141 males including changing-voice boys (both singers and non-singers) and men (both singers and non-singers at time of voice change). Finds that boys remember more about voice change than do men, singers noticed voice-change signs more, and mixed feelings about voice change were expressed. (DSK)

Investigates the effects of familiarity with a teacher and rehearsal context on students' interpretations of teacher verbal praise. Finds that students could distinguish between deserved and instrumental praise, could make the distinction better with familiar teachers, and were not unanimous in their interpretations of the same signal. (DSK)

Observed performance change in 10 choral music concepts after sequential, structured task presentation across a series of choral rehearsals. Finds general performance improvement, with varied performance improvement for specific concepts; feedback improved student attitudes; and feedback decreased student attention spans. Notes research problems…

Examines musical responsiveness in children in grades 2, 5, 8 and 11-12, and trainable mentally handicapped students to different performance media. Finds that lower and higher grades rated all performances more positively than did middle grades, and instrumental music was preferred across all grades; no results were obtainable for handicapped…

Presents the history of the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) band from its inception in 1923 until documentary records end in 1929. Recounts the creation of the band within the context of the ISD, the nature of the repertoire, their performances, and public praise and criticism of the band. (DSK)

Explores the consistency and accuracy of faculty evaluation, peer evaluation and self-evaluation of applied end-of-semester performances. Finds that faculty inter-judge reliability was uneven, while student peer inter-judge reliability was more uniform; faculty-peer evaluations were highly correlated, but self-evaluations were poorly correlated…

Compares three strategies (rhythm-first notation, pitch-first notation, and unguided notation) for instruction in two-part dictation. Finds support for the hypothesis that attending to one variable first would raise scores for that variable only with rhythm, but not with pitch; rhythm-first strategies also improved pitch scores, but not vice…

Attempts to see whether children of a range of ages could use a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial to express feelings inspired by music, and to compare their responses with those of more musically experienced groups. Finds that younger children were successful and displayed varying correlations more than did experienced…

Studies the relationship between high or low cultural mistrust and the vocal characteristics of African-American adolescent females. Indicates statistically significant differences between the two trust groupings on each of eight style characteristics. Suggests that choral music educators consider how cultural mistrust might influence student…

Poses questions about the relationship of access to string instruction to school district size, location, and socioeconomic level; school level; and region of the country. Finds that availability is highest in average-socioeconomic-level urban areas across most regions of the country; it is lowest in low-socioeconomic-level districts regardless of…

Observed writing strategies of two students in a primary, self-contained special education class using a whole language philosophy. Found that students showed concern for meaning and conventions and that they used metacognitive strategies, such as rereading or prior knowledge; external sources of help, including dictionaries or teacher assistance;…

Used naturalistic inquiry and context evaluation to examine work of three experienced teachers during a year's implementation of an inclusive kindergarten program involving children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Found that the two kindergarten teachers met about 50%, and that the special education teacher met about 70%, of recommended standards…

Used participant observation, child interviews, and teacher meetings to examine reading strategies that emerged in a first-grade, multiethnic, urban classroom over 20 weeks. Found that children used five reading strategies, including narrative storytelling, relying on memory, and word-for-word reading; tensions emerged between strategies that…