Month: January 2017

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Teaching as Work: What Educational Sociologists Tell Us (Froehlich, Chapter 2)

For those of us who chose to pursue a career in teaching, we often came to the realization our undergraduate coursework focused more on teaching methods and less on the bureaucratic demands we are required to face in the workplace. Upon graduation, we entered the workforce and faced a complex system regulated by numerous policies and regulations. To be successful, it is not enough to be an effective teacher. One also needs to become savvy in the area of workplace politics. It is imperative to develop positive relationships with parents, teachers, and administrators, while concurrently developing effective classroom management strategies.

Froehlich equates the dichotomy between teaching and bureaucracy as instructional objectives vs. institutional objectives. Metaphorically speaking, teachers are often required to work their way through a political minefield on a daily basis. How many of you had to navigate through difficult conversations with parents, administrators, and teachers? For example, I once remember conducting a successful concert when I worked for the Ann Arbor Public Schools. It was Multicultural Night, and the evening was a complete success. The community arrived en masse, and the students were dressed in various outfits that represented their cultural heritage. There was plenty of food, and the music was great! I even hired a local storyteller to perform. The storyteller was wonderful, and while I do not remember the story entirely, the topic involved certain aspects of Middle Eastern culture (keep in mind this evening occurred several months after 9/11). Well, I arrived at work the next morning, and I was feeling pretty good. It was several minutes before the final morning bell and the hallway was crowded. I had a huge smile on my face; that was until one of the parents confronted me. The parent was extremely unhappy because her daughter was not in the front row, center stage, for the musical performance. I was not prepared for such a confrontation, and she immediately stormed off once she finished humiliating me in public. I sought refuge in the main office only to witness a member of our office staff take a phone call from another angry parent. This particular parent was offended the storyteller from the previous evening made several references to Middle Eastern culture (once again, it is important to note this occurred several months after 9/11). Thankfully, I had a supportive principal, and all we could do was look at each other and shrug. I proceeded to go about my day and did my best to provide a positive learning experience for the students. The point I’m trying to make is that our success in these instances depends on how well we are able to develop our occupational socialization (see Chapter 1). Those who are able to quickly adjust to their workplace are truly fortunate.

To shed further light on this discussion, Froehlich (2007) stated, “social norms are rules and principals of behavior that define a particular social group” (p. 23). These social norms help us to govern our values. These values can be voluntarily shared, or they can be enforced by the administration. As musicians and teachers, we have a great deal of autonomy over what we teach and how we teach. It is one of the many advantages we possess in a career that is rich in personal rewards and self-fulfillment. This is quite a realization in a world where meaningful work is considered a luxury. Still, the expectations required of us can often lead to us to doubt our role in the workplace. This uncertainty is referred to as role distance, which can often result in role conflict. Our degree of conflict depends on how well we are able to work and communicate with others.

For your weekly assignment, please do the following:

  • Read the second chapter of the Froehlich text, which is titled, Teaching as Work: What Educational Sociologists Tell Us.
  • Post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 3rd. Do not attempt to summarize the entire chapter.  Instead, try to expand on a particular topic within the chapter that is of interest to you.
  • By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 5th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

As you work on this chapter, please feel free to draw from following questions:

  • Discuss the significance of knowing your role in the workplace (i.e. the classroom or the studio). Give examples that describe your experiences in various workplaces, not just necessarily teaching.
  • Describe experiences you had that might serve as examples for facing hierarchical relationships in your workplace. What impact did those experiences have for the way you work?
  • Talk to a musician or teacher whose work you admire and who you consider to be a role model. How do they see themselves as professionals, and how do they handle possible disagreements among themselves, other non-music faculty members, and school administrators?
  • What is your position on alternative certification for music teachers? Do you believe alternative certification is necessary? Why? Why not?
  • What are your plans for career mobility and status? Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
  • According to Froehlich, the research presented in this chapter is dated. Much of it was conducted 40 or more years ago. Do you find the results to be reflective of a bygone era, or are some of the findings still relevant? Please discuss.

Froehlich, H. C. (2007). Sociology for music teachers: Perspectives for practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Performer and Teacher in You: A Matter of Identity (Froehlich, Chapter 1)

As we begin to study the topic of Sociological Perspectives in Music, it is important for us to gather our self-knowledge to understand how we (a) became musicians and teachers, (b) interact professionally, and (c) serve the educational needs of our students. By addressing these issues, we can hopefully understand why others (e.g., administrators, teachers of other subjects, and students) often value art and music differently than we do.

According to North, Hargreaves, and Tarrant (2002), a disconnect may exist between school music culture and everyday culture. Have you ever been at odds with your students and/or colleagues in regards to your curriculum? Consider the following questions:

  • Have your students ever asked, “Why can’t we sing/play “good music?”
  • Have you ever had a colleague imply that what you do as a music educator is of secondary importance within the education system?
  • Do you believe it is important to bridge the gap between school music culture and everyday culture in your music classroom?
  • Do you think it is important to maintain the traditional music curriculum in your classroom?

As music educators, I think is important for us to consider these questions as we continuously develop our social identities. According to Froehlich (2007), “When we articulate our socioeconomic and cultural background for the purpose of getting a sense of our own position in society, as compared to that of others around us, we describe our socialization” (p. 7). The process of socialization occurs in distinct phases:

  • Primary socialization begins in early childhood. Those who are responsible for your upbringing often guide this process.
  • Secondary socialization begins as you enter school and normally continues until you reach adulthood.
  • Occupational socialization begins when you start to make decisions about your professional role in society. For example, when did you first decide to become a musician and/or music educator?

Taking this process into consideration, Froehlich devotes the remainder of the chapter to the topic of occupational identity. For your first weekly assignment, please do the following:

  1. Read the first chapter of the Froehlich text (The Performer and Teacher in You: A Matter of Identity).
  2. Post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 27th. Do not attempt to summarize the entire chapter.  Instead, try to expand on a particular topic within the chapter that is of interest to you.
  3. By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 29th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

As you reflect on the reading, please consider the following points outlined in the text:

  • Discuss your memories of classmates who participated in the same high school ensemble(s) you took part in but who made it very clear that going into music professionally was “not for them.” Try to recall their reasons and how you reacted to them at the time.
  • Do the research findings on the worlds of music teachers and professional performers resonate with your own experiences? If so, to what extent? If not, how do your own experiences differ?
  • Outline some questions you would ask your colleagues and classmates about their own (music) socialization processes.

Froehlich, H. C. (2007). Sociology for music teachers: Perspectives for practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

North, A., Hargreaves, D., & Tarrant, M. (2002). Social psychology and music education. In R. Colwell and C. Richardson (Eds.), The new handbook for research on music teaching and learning (pp. 604-625). New York: Oxford University Press.

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Simple Bivariate Regression

Multiple regression is a statistical procedure that allows you determine if a group of variables have an impact on another variable. For example, I have always been fascinated with jazz improvisation. Specifically, how does a musician learn to improvise? Over the past several years, I have isolated several variables that have been shown to be statistically significant predictors of jazz improvisation achievement, and I would like to use a pre-existing data set to provide a basic introduction to various regression analyses.

My first example involves a procedure known as simple bivariate regression, which utilizes only one independent variable. I want to know if self-assessment (independent variable) is a statistically significant predictor of jazz improvisation achievement (dependent variable). Participants (N = 102) were student musicians enrolled in their high school jazz ensemble. To measure the independent variable of self-assessment, participants recorded the melody and two impro­vised choruses for B-flat Blues and one improvised chorus for Satin Doll. Immediately following the recording process, participants listened to the recordings and assessed their performances using the Jazz Improvisation Self-Assessment (JISA) measure. To mea­sure the dependent variable of jazz improvisation achievement, a panel of three judges evaluated the recordings for each participant using the Jazz Improvisation Performance Assessment (JIPA) measure.

Frequencies and Descriptive Statistics

Prior to conducting the regression analysis, I examined the frequencies and descriptive statistics for both variables. There were no missing data, and the range of values seemed to be in order.

Correlation Analysis

correlations

  • The correlation between self-assessment and jazz improvisation achievement (r = .487) is considered moderate, as it lies in the middle of the positive continuum.
  • In addition, the correlation is statistically significant (p < .001).

The Regression Analysis: Using SPSS, I regressed the dependent variable (jazz improvisation achievement) on the independent variable (self-assessment).

PART 1: Model Summary

model-summary

  • What is R? In the case of a simple bivariate regression, R is known as the zero order correlation (i.e., the Pearson correlation coefficient between two variables). R (.487) is the same as the correlation coefficient (see above).
  • What is R2? R2 (.238) is an index, which provides the variance explained in the dependent variable by the independent variable. Self-assessment accounts for 23.8% of the variance in jazz improvisation achievement.

PART 2: ANOVA

anova

  • An ANOVA (i.e., F test) is used to test the overall significance of the regression.
  • Sum of squares regression (SSregression) measures the variation in the dependent variable that is explained by the independent variable.
  • Sum of squares residual (SSresidual) measures the variance unexplained by the regression.
  • Degrees of freedom for the regression are equal to the number of the independent variables.
  • Degrees of freedom for the residual (i.e., error) are equal to the sample size minus the number of the independent variables in the equation minus 1.
  • According to the output, the F value (31.167) is statistically significant (p < .001).

PART 3: Regression Equation

coefficients

  • b (1.187) is the unstandardized regression coefficient (SPSS uses an upper case B).
  • B (.487) is the standardized regression coefficient (Beta).
    • The regression coefficient describes the change in the dependent variable for each unit change in the independent variable. So, which regression coefficient (standardized or unstandardized) do we interpret for our current example? It all depends on what is being measured.
    • If the variables were measured using a metric that is easy to interpret, then it would be appropriate to use the unstandardized regression coefficient. For example, let’s say the independent variable was hours spent practicing per week. Since hours spent practicing per week is a meaningful metric that can easily be interpreted by the general public, you could interpret the unstandardized regression coefficient as follows: For each extra hour spent practicing per week, a student’s jazz improvisation achievement score will increase by X units.
    • For the current analysis, both the independent variable and the dependent variable were measured using points derived from a rating scale. These scales do not utilize a meaningful metric that is easy to interpret by the general public. As such, it would be appropriate to interpret the standardized regression coefficient. Why? Because the standardized regression coefficient measures change using standard deviation (SD) units. As a result, the current example can be interpreted as follows: For each standard deviation (SD) increase in self-assessment, jazz improvisation achievement will increase by .487 of a standard deviation (about one half of a SD).
  • The constant (47.465), otherwise known as the intercept, is the predicted score on the dependent variable for someone who scored a zero on the independent variable.
  • According to the SPSS output, the t-statistic (5.583) is significant (p < .001). This tells us that self-assessment is a statistically significant predictor of jazz improvisation achievement.
  • Confidence Interval: As is the case with regression, b is an estimate. We really want to know the actual value of the regression coefficient in the population, so we will refer to the confidence interval. According to the SPSS output, the 95% confidence interval ranges from .765 to 1.609. Interpretation: (a) there is a 95% chance the true regression coefficient falls within this range or (b) if we were to conduct this study 100 times, the b would fall within this range 95 times. Since the range does not include zero, we know that b is statistically significant.