The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new music education program in Cyprus. The program which was created by the author of this study, combined early childhood music education and children's literature. Nine lessons were created which included three original children stories and six songs. Five primary music teachers implemented the whole…

This report presents the results of the 2008 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the arts, which was given to a nationally representative sample of 7,900 eighth-grade public and private school students. Approximately one-half of these students were assessed in music, and the other half were assessed in visual arts. The Music…

This study investigates age-related changes in musical preference in elementary school children. The tolerance towards unconventional musical styles has been called "open-earedness" (Hargreaves, 1982a), and it is assumed to decline with increasing age. Musical preferences of 186 students from grade 1 to 4 (age range: 6-10 years) were…

In this ethnographic study, we examined the musicking behaviors of schoolchildren at one American elementary school. The aim was to gain an understanding of the nature and context of rhythmic and melodic expressions made and heard by children, emanating from other children, as well as adults within the school environment. Time, place, and function…

Whilst a rationale for the content and organisation of knowledge in a standardised curriculum may be clearly articulated at official policy level, factors may come to bear on a teacher operating at a local level which may work against the successful implementation of the curriculum on the ground. Drawing on a Bourdieuan notion of cultural field,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the design and implementation of music courseware that features a music search system that uses impression keywords. The paper applies the courseware to "Kansei" (sensibility) development for elementary and junior high school students. The objectives of this courseware are to cultivate…

This article is taken from doctoral research which sought to discover the nature of teachers' pedagogy in the primary school classroom by looking at their understanding of the teaching of composing, their approach to lesson design and organisation, and the way these are reflected in their practice. Specific examples of six case studies involving…

The author discusses techniques on how to establish rapport between the choir and young audiences. According to him, one of the choir's most important assets just might be something he calls access-ability. One of Webster's definitions of "access "is" permission, liberty, or ability to enter, approach, or communicate with." When it comes to…

This study explored alternative approaches to young people's concerts aimed at extending musical appreciations and cultural understandings while promoting interest in concert attendance among upper elementary students. The project, an artistic and cross-cultural collaboration grounded in a spirit of mutual respect, consisted of three components:…

The present chapter offers a general survey of music education in the United States during the past decade and aims to give a bird's-eye view of the whole range of music education in this country during the past decade by discussing briefly a number of the more important fields of this work and some of the more prominent agencies engaged in them.…