This report presents findings about the MacPhail Afterschool Intensive Strings Program in 2016-17. It shows that students who participated in the program are regularly attending school, maintaining or improving their math and reading proficiency scores, and reporting that they enjoy school. [For the 2015-16 report, see ED619373.]

We investigated the effects of expressive and unexpressive conducting on secondary school band members' and experts' audio evaluations of band performance expressivity. A conductor, who demonstrated either expressive or unexpressive conducting techniques, led both an eighth-grade and a high school band in four separate "run-throughs" of…

This report presents findings about the Afterschool Intensive Strings Program in 2015-16, which provides instruction to students with limited access to music education. The evaluation examines how participation in the program affects students' academic achievement, non-academic skills, and musical skills and knowledge.

The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate musicians' self-regulated practice behaviors. Thirty sixth- through eighth-grade students were observed practicing band repertoire individually for 20 min. Practice sessions were coded according to practice frame frequency and duration, length of musical passage selected, most prominent…

The purpose of this study is to describe the decision-making processes of novice band students while engaged in individual practice. Five seventh- through ninth-grade students were videotaped while practicing and subsequently interviewed using retrospective verbal protocol. Students were asked to discuss the goals they had while practicing, their…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the confidence, anxiety, and attitude of novice string student improvisers. A form of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales, as modified for improvisation by Wehr-Flowers, was given to middle school and high school string students (N = 121) after their participation in a 4-month improvisation…

In the present study, relationships between two components of self-regulation (self-efficacy and self-evaluation) and gender, school level, instrument family, and music performance were examined. Participants were 340 middle and high school band students who participated in one of two summer music camps or who were members of a private middle…

A comparative analysis was used to study the results from a descriptive survey of selected middle school students in Grades 6, 7, and 8. Student responses to the survey tool was used to compare multiple variables of music participation and duration of various musical activities, such as singing and performing on instruments, to the mathematics…

This study examined the effect of pullout instrumental lessons on the academic achievement of eighth-grade band students. Participants (N = 353) included 292 nonband students and 61 band students pulled once per week for music lessons in a single suburban K-8 school district in Midwestern United States. Data indicated that eighth-grade band…

Although cultural diversity is important to the social context of classrooms, few researchers have explored school music experiences from the perspective of students of colour. Possibly of greater concern is the absence of research examining African-American students' educational experiences in early secondary education, during which time the…

This article considers the concepts of "learning style" and "learning strategy". The former connotes an inbuilt trait which tends to remain fundamental to the way an individual approaches learning. The latter refers to a set of consciously-acquired and applied approaches or tactics designed to achieve a learning task. The article relates these…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the construct validity and reliability of a self-report measure of self-regulated practice behaviors for beginning and intermediate instrumentalists. A questionnaire was designed to assess the motive, method, behavior, time management, and social influences dimensions of the theoretical model of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence adolescent males to enroll in school choir as an elective class and to assess their attitudes about singing in general, self-concept of their own voices, and perception of others' view of adolescent males' participation in choir. Data were obtained from 101 adolescent males…

Many young West Australians learn musical instruments through school based elective programs. However, many students drop out from these programs, particularly in lower secondary school. This paper reports on a study I conducted into the motives of 48 lower secondary school students for playing a musical instrument, and the role of the instrument…

This study, a replication and extension of work by Norris (2004), examined sight-reading requirements at middle and high school large-group band festivals across the United States. As in the earlier investigation, answers to the following questions were solicited from all 50 states: (1) Are there ratings-based large-group band festivals? (2) Is…