Date of Award
2-18-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Victor Mercurio, Ed.D.
Committee Members
Stacey L. Kite, D.B.A; Jeanne Goffi-Fynn, Ed.D.
Abstract
The type and availability of music programs is often related to school size and a community’s socioeconomic status (Elpus, 2022). The success of music programs may be dependent on the resources allocated to arts education (Crooke & McFerran, 2015). These factors are examples of internal and external variables that may influence music programs. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to investigate and explore the perceptions that educational leaders have about their schools’ music programs and to understand how different factors may influence music programming in public schools across the East Coast. A questionnaire (Phase I) derived from existing literature and qualitative interviews (Phase II) served as the primary sources for data collection that sought to answer five research questions:
1. How do educational leaders rate their schools’ music programs in terms of supporting music learning outcomes?
2. How do educational leaders rate their schools’ music programs in terms of developing SEL competencies?
3. How do educational leaders rate the variables that influence the delivery of school music programs?
4. Is there a significant difference among the variables that may influence the delivery of school music programs by socioeconomic status of the school community?
5. How do educational leaders describe the purpose of their schools’ music programs? The results of this study provide educational leaders with strategies to enhance the delivery of school music programs while also contributing to the body of research for state education agencies to reference when developing policy that supports arts education.
Recommended Citation
Montalvo, Bryant, "School Music Programs and the Issue of Equity: The Perceptions Educational Leaders Hold Around the Benefits and Challenges of K-12 Music Programs" (2025). JWU Dissertations & Theses. 18.
https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/jwu_etd/18
