Despite long-standing antidiscrimination laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which are meant to guarantee equal access, many school and community choirs appear to be populated primarily by students with typical physical, cognitive, and behavioral abilities. The purpose of this article…

This article is a review of relevant literature on the use of phenomenology as a research methodology in education research, with a focus on music education research. The review is organized as follows: (a) general education, (b) music research, (c) music education research, (d) dissertations, (e) important figures, (f) themes, and (g) the future.…

The purpose of this article was to review published research on sight-singing from the past 10 years, 1998-2008. Several authors published research in various areas in sight-singing. These included festival availability and participation, time use in sight-singing adjudication, method and materials, strategies of successful students, assessing…

This article begins with the author's personal experience within The National Association for Music Education (MENC) and stresses the importance of professional organizations by addressing issues that have a consequential benefit to both students and teachers. Additionally, issues are addressed that seem problematic for some individuals within…

Provides background information on using action research in music education. Offers guidelines for teachers to help them do action research. Includes an example of how a music teacher conducted action research in which the teacher asked, "Why did [the students] continue vocal music from middle school to high school?" (CMK)

Discusses the issue of early musical experience to provide the necessary background for musical achievement in the future. Presents a review of research on musical practice, motivation, and cognitive skills of music performance. Addresses the implications of the research on music education overall. Includes references. (CMK)

Presents the results of a study in which prospective music and elementary school teachers were observed to examine their ability in following visual representations used to enhance music listening experiences. Explains that the focus is on the use of listening maps (iconic representations of musical samples). (CMK)

States that collaborative learning has been absent from the field of music education. Presents a literature review on collaborative learning, focusing on issues such as the issue of student achievement and the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning. Explores research on collaborative learning in music education. Includes…

Focuses on a project, Teacher Education in Art and Music Mizzou (TEAMM), that included music and art education majors as a way of encouraging collaboration among arts teachers. Explains that students were assigned to one of 17 groups that included at least one freshman and one upper-level student. Presents questionnaire results. (CMK)

States that fairness has been a major concern in the field of music adjudication. Reviews the research literature to reveal information about three external characteristics (race, gender, and physical attractiveness) that may affect judges' performance evaluations and influence fairness of music adjudication. Includes references. (CMK)

Examines various scripted rehearsals to determine if preprofessional teachers could differentiate between process and product educational philosophies by presenting them with process-oriented (conceptual) and product-oriented (nonconceptual) strategies in ensemble settings. Provides results and considers implications for teaching. Includes…

Reports on five observations of children and adults involved in music activities and discusses three issues related to experimental research. Argues against the Mozart Effect, stating that the effects of music instruction seen within the classroom everyday are more significant. Discusses the results of Mozart Effect studies and educational…

Explores research relating to the use of conducting gestures as instructional tools to teach musical concepts, focusing on the effects of conducting on musical understanding and conducting as an organizational and management tool. Discusses why teachers fail to focus on conducting activities. (CMK)

Explores children's music, addressing such issues as studying children's music, the research of John Blackling on children's songs, comments by ethnomusicologists (from the book "Music in Cultural Context") on child involvement with music, observations of children in playful interactions, children's comments on music's value, and research…

Provides information on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1990 (IDEA), the inclusion of autism in the law, and autism in general. Summarizes research on music and children with autism, addressing music as a means to improving communication skills and as a motivator. Considers the implications for music educators. (CMK)