Dr. Michael S. Zelenak is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at Alabama State University. He teaches graduate- and undergraduate-level courses while mentoring students as they complete the educator certification process. He is an experienced instructor having taught chorus, string orchestra, guitar, keyboard, and general music at the middle and high school levels earning National Board Certification in music for early adolescence through young adulthood.
Dr. Zelenak is active in the music education community. Former president of the Alabama Music Educators Association’s Higher Education Division, he currently serves on the Editorial Committee for Music Educators Journal and the Editorial Board of the Florida Music Educators Association’s Research Perspectives in Music Education. His research interests include self-efficacy in music performance and the development of communities of practice. His work has been published in Psychology of Music, Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Technology in Music Learning, and Research Perspectives in Music Education. His book chapters include Methodological Trends in Music Education Research (ed. C. Randles, 2015, Music education: Navigating the future) and Self-efficacy in Music Performance (ed. S. Lee, 2022, Scholarly Research in Musicians: Shared and Disciplinary-Specific Practices). He regularly presents research and clinics at the National Association for Music Education’s Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, the Alabama Music Educators Association’ Conference, the Suncoast Music Education Research Symposium, and the Florida Music Educators’ Association Conference.
