Online Professional Development in Preschool Settings: Music Education Training for Early Childhood Generalists
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL SETTINGS: MUSIC EDUCATION TRAINING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD GENERALISTS A dissertation submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Terri Brown Lenzo December 2014 Dissertation written by Terri Brown Lenzo B.M., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 1983 M.F.A., University of Iowa, 1987 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2014 Approved by ________________________ Craig M. Resta, Ph.D., Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________________________ Patricia Grutzmacher, Ph.D., Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________________________ Christopher Venesile, Ph.D., Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee ________________________ Martha Lash, Ph.D., Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Accepted by ________________________ Ralph Lorenz, Ph.D., Acting Director, Hugh A. Glauser School of Music ________________________ John R. Crawford, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts © Copyright 2014 by Terri Brown Lenzo All Rights Reserved TERRI BROWN LENZO, PH.D., DECEMBER, 2014 MUSIC ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL SETTINGS: MUSIC EDUCATION TRAINING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD GENERALISTS Dissertation Adviser: Dr. Craig Resta Preschool generalists are often responsible for leading musical activities despite the fact that they may not have received training. The online format showed promise for ameliorating training barriers such as time commitment, cultural misconceptions regarding music education, and self-efficacy for leading musical activities. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effectiveness of an online training program for increasing preschool generalist self-efficacy for leading musical activities. This was research of the quasi-experimental genre in which a one-group pretest-posttest design was utilized. The researcher conducted four preschool music classes which were videotaped by an assistant. Selected recordings were combined with narrated PowerPoint presentations to create three separate video-training modules focused on teaching techniques for leading singing, instrumental, and movement activities. The modules were posted online and designed to allow unlimited asynchronous access for a two-week period. Using purposeful sampling methods, participants were recruited by contacting affiliates of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Snowball sampling was also employed. The sample (n = 26) included classroom educators working in child care centers and independent settings from all six regions of the United States. Data were collected via Qualtrics online survey service and analyzed with IBM SPSS. At an alpha level of .05, overall teacher self-efficacy for leading musical activities increased significantly (p = .005). Self-efficacy for leading specific singing, instrumental, and movement activities increased in 21 of 22 categories, and 14 of those findings were statistically significant. The significant findings for teaching musical concepts and facilitating the development of creativity were particularly meaningful as previous researchers have found these activities lacking in preschool curricula. Significant results were also obtained for beliefs about inherited musical talent. Given an appropriate training design, study data support the use of an online delivery method for the music education professional development of in-service preschool generalists. Implications exist for the training of other generalist populations and music specialists. Considering the critical nature of early childhood musical development, additional training programs should be implemented with classroom teachers and music educators. Keywords: online training, self-efficacy, early childhood, musical development, music education, musical activities, child care centers, preschool students, classroom teachers TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………….vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………..vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................. 1 Need and Purpose of the Study ................................................................................... 7 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 10 Definitions and Terminology .................................................................................... 11 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................... 14 Limitations of the Study............................................................................................ 18 Summary ................................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 22 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 22 Classroom Teachers as Music Educators .................................................................. 25 Early Childhood Music Education Philosophies of Specialists and Generalists ...... 29 Current State of Affairs in Preschool Music Education............................................ 32 Professional Guidelines for Teaching Music in Early Childhood ............................ 35 Developmentally Appropriate Practice ................................................................. 36 Prekindergarten Music Education Standards ........................................................ 38 Academic Preparation of Preschool Teachers in Child Care Settings ...................... 39 Guidelines for Professional Practice and Preparation ........................................... 39 Music Education Professional Development ........................................................ 42 Training Access and Format ..................................................................................... 45 Training Content ....................................................................................................... 48 Culture and Philosophy ......................................................................................... 50 Characteristics of an Effective Early Childhood Music Educator ........................ 54 Musical Self-Efficacy ........................................................................................... 58 Summary ................................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 64 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 64 Procedures ................................................................................................................. 67 Survey Instrument ................................................................................................. 68 Training Design and Content ................................................................................ 72 Pilot Study ............................................................................................................. 81 iii Participants and Sampling Methods...................................................................... 83 Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................... 88 Summary ................................................................................................................... 89 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS...................................................................................................................... 92 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 92 Participant Characteristics ......................................................................................... 94 Participant Engagement with the Study Components ........................................... 97 Teaching Context .................................................................................................. 99 Teaching Experience ........................................................................................... 101 Education ............................................................................................................. 102 Reponses Related to Training Format .................................................................. 103 Teacher Beliefs about Musical Development and Music Teaching ....................... 105 Musical Experiences ............................................................................................... 109 Self-Efficacy for Leading Musical Activities ......................................................... 112 Rationale for Using Music in the Classroom ...................................................... 118 Comparing Teacher Beliefs, Musical Experiences, and Self-Efficacy ................... 121 Experiences, Training, and Self-Efficacy for Leading Singing Activities ......... 122 Choral Participation and Overall Self-Efficacy .................................................