early childhood education
Play, Sing, Move, Compose, Produce Again and AGAIN and AGAIN! Alena V. Holmes, WMEA State Chair, Early Childhood Education
Why do we teach music? I have asked my students, col- leagues and myself that question many times. Of course, I’ve heard a wide ar- ray of answers rang- ing from personal passion and dedica-
tion to development of good citizenship and support of other academic subjects. Yes, there are many wonderful reasons to advocate for music education. There are numerous research studies, professional publications and advocacy statements to support the advantages of music learning and teaching. As music teachers we should all have a very clear rationale and vision for why we teach. My personal vision is very clear: I want my students to be lifelong music makers, to become adults to whom music is not a way of earning a living but a way of life. Is it a realistic goal? As a researcher I like to look at the numbers and the facts. Here is some interesting information:
• According to the nation’s leading nonprofit research organization Child Trends (2013) study statistics indicate
the proportion of eighth-grade students involved in school music or other per- forming arts generally declined from 1991 to 2010, but there have been some increases in the past few years. Participation among older students has been decreasing in the past few years. For example, in 1991 the percentage of eighth-grade students participating in school performing arts was 55 percent, but in 2013 – only 48 percent were participating. Among tenth-graders, the proportion increased slightly between 1991 and 2004, from 36 percent to 42 percent, but had declined back to 36 percent by 2013. Participation drops significantly among older students, with only 36 percent of tenth-graders and 37 percent of twelfth-graders par- ticipating in 2013. Most of the drop be- tween tenth and twelfth grade is among male students. Females are much more likely than males to participate in school performing arts activities.
• The results of the 2014 Harris Poll survey of 2,286 adults revealed that half (49 percent) of adults that par- ticipated in music programs at schools stayed with their program longer than three years: 1 in 5 (22 percent) were
“Results indicate that the more time one spends in a music program, the more they are to say it has been influential in contributing to their current level of personal fulfillment.”
involved for three to five years, 1 in 5 (20 percent) for more than five years and almost 1 in 10 (8 percent) are still involved. Individuals who took vocal lessons (18 percent) and played in an informal group (24 percent) are more likely to say they are still involved in a musical program. Results indicate that the more time one spends in a music program, the more they are to say it has been influential in contributing to their current level of personal fulfillment. Among adults who spent 3–5 years in a music program, one-third say it was ex- tremely or very influential; that number increases to 3 in 5 (59 percent) among those involved five or more years, and skyrockets to 4 in 5 (81 percent) of those still involved in music.
• The results of the Harris Poll survey conducted in 2015 among 2,223 adults indicates that 6 in 10 Americans say being a musician is a prestigious oc- cupation and would encourage a child to pursue a musical career. In addition, “millenials” are more likely than adults over 50 years old to both classify being
Continued on page 54 52 April 2017
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