National Association for Music Education Awards Two, Two-Year Research Projects

Projects Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Music Education and Standards-Based Music Achievement in Instrumental Music Education

As part of an ongoing series of research projects that the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) has funded, the leading association for music educators has awarded two new research projects to study important issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in music education and standards-based music achievement in instrumental music education. The award recipients are:

Pilot Study: Framework for Culturally Relevant and Responsive Music Teaching 

• Submitted by The Palmer Research Group for Music Education
  • Elizabeth Palmer, DMA, University of Southern California, Principal
  • Jason Vodicka, DMA, Westminster Choir College of Rider University
  • Tina Huynh, DMA, University of Puget Sound
  • Christine D’Alexander, DMA, Northern Illinois University
  • Lisa A. Crawford, DMA, Geffen Academy at UCLA

Standards-Based Music Achievement in Instrumental Music Education: Effects of Creating, Responding, and Connecting on Performance 

• Principal Investigator: Alden H. Snell, II, PhD, Associate Professor of Music Teaching and Learning, Eastman School of Music
• Co-Principal Investigators:
  • David A. Stringham, PhD, Professor of Music, James Madison University
  • Lisa R. Caravan, DMA, Assistant Professor of Music Teaching and Learning, Eastman School of Music
  • Michael Stewart, PhD, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, James Madison University
  • Jonathan Fleischman, MA, Ithaca City School District, New York

Each award carries a $10,000 stipend and spans two years of research.

Dr. Carlos Abril, Chair of the NAfME Society for Research in Music Education (SRME) which issued the call for proposals and chaired the selection committee, spoke to the importance of these projects to move forward the teaching of music for all students. “These research projects promise to deepen our understanding of two important areas of music teaching and learning,” shared Dr. Abril. “One seeks to construct a research-based model of culturally responsive teaching. The other study examines innovative applications of national standards in the context of performance-based music courses. The results from both of these carefully designed projects will inform and guide our work in curriculum design and music instruction.”

“The results from both of these carefully designed projects will inform and guide our work in curriculum design and music instruction.”

Research is one of the strategic directions of the National Association for Music Education: to promote and disseminate sound data to advance music teaching and learning and influence educational policy. These two research projects address key issues in music education as the Association seeks to reach students who have not been historically included in music programs and ensure they receive a standards-based excellent music education.

The aim of the Palmer Research Group awarded research project is to develop Pilot framework for culturally relevant and responsive music teaching. Through the synthetization of the literature on culturally relevant and responsive teaching in both music and general education into a comprehensive model for teaching, Palmer increases student achievement while developing cultural competence and fostering sociopolitical action in diverse or underrepresented communities.

Dr. Alden Snell alongside his Co-Principal Investigators are focusing their research project on Standards-Based Music Achievement in Instrumental Music Education: Effects of Creating, Responding, and Connecting on Performance. Through this grant, these researchers aim to explore P-12 student achievement related to four artistic processes outlined in National Standards for Music Education and use the results to promote change and adaptation at the local, state, and national level.

June 30, 2022. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)