Perceptions Towards Music Education

As an educator, I have always had a deep passion for the inclusion of music in the public schools. As a professional researcher, it has been a long-term goal of mine to conduct a nationwide research study that examines professional perceptions towards music education.  Given the introduction of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), now seems like a perfect time to gauge these perceptions. Over the past year and a half, a group of dedicated graduate students and I compiled a list of publically available email addresses from a random sample of approximately 470 school districts across the nation.

The primary purpose of this study is to examine perceptions toward the impor­tance of music education as reflected by administrators, music teachers, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff (e.g., paraprofessionals, counselors, media special­ists) using the Music Education Perception Measure. A second­ary purpose is to ask members of the K–12 educational community how they would improve music in the schools.

Data collection has begun, and over the course of this semester, I will be contacting thousands of professionals by email to ask for their participation in this study. It is hoped the findings from this research may provide a better understanding of how the importance of music education is perceived in the United States, and that the implications derived from this study can further enhance the discussion regarding the importance of music education.