Contributions to Music Education Vol. 44 - John M. Denis - Novice Texas Band Directors’ Perceptions of Skills and Knowledge Necessary for Successful Teaching

Oct 15, 2026

Study describing novice Texas band directors’ perceptions of skills/knowledge competencies, focusing on (a) importance, (b) acquisition difficulty, (c) gaps between importance and acquisition ratings, (d) perceived value of university coursework, and (e) possible improvements. Survey participants (N=85) rated competency importance and acquisition difficulty and answered two open-ended questions about university coursework roles. Results show personal competencies rated most important and easiest to acquire; teaching importance exceeded perceived ease. University coursework strengths included secondary instrument instruction and teaching experiences, while improvement areas included music pedagogy and field/noninstructional aspects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study Purpose and Research Questions

Conceptual Framework: Skills/Knowledge Categories

Prior Findings on Importance and Acquisition

Rationale for Variation Across Competency Items

Focus of This Investigation: Novice Texas Band Directors

Contributions to Music Education Vol. 44, pp. 19-37. John M. Denis Texas State University Novice Texas Band Directors’ Perceptions of the Skills and Knowledge Necessary for Successful Teaching The purpose of this study was to describe novice band directors’ perceptions of (a) the importance of skills/knowledge competencies,(b) the difficulty of acquiring skills/knowledge competencies,(c) differences between teaching competency importance and acquisition ratings, (d) benefits of university coursework, and (e) potential improvements to coursework . Survey participants (N = 85) rated competency importance, competency acquisition difficulty, and answered two opened-ended questions regarding the role of university coursework in skills/knowledge acquisition . Participants rated the personal competency category as the most important, followed by the teaching and musical categories . Furthermore, participants rated the personal competency category as the easiest to acquire, followed by musical and teaching categories . There was a statistically significant difference between teaching importance and ease of acquisition, with the teaching importance category rated higher . Participants perceived secondary instrument instruction, teaching experiences, core music curriculum, and instruction regarding practical competencies as positive aspects of university coursework . Secondary instrument instruction, field experiences, noninstructional aspects of teaching, and music pedagogy were discussed as areas for improvement . Discussions about curricular content adjustment and future research are included . Keywords: skills/knowledge importance, skills/knowledge acquisition, novice music teacher, music teacher education, novice band director Introduction Researchers have argued that music teaching consists of various skills and knowledge items, which are then combined by music educators to foster teaching and learning in their classrooms (Ballantyne & Packer, 2004; Teachout, 1997) . Consensus about the skills/knowledge competencies that comprise impactful music instruction, however, has yet to be reached (Cole, 2014; Rohwer & Henry, Contributions to Music Education 2004). I sought to investigate novice Texas band directors’ perceptions of both the importance and acquisition of skills/knowledge competencies. The desire of novice music teachers to understand the competencies, both musical and practical, necessary for successful integration into the profession has been well documented (Ballantyne, 2006, 2007; Ballantyne & Packer, 2004; Conway, 2002; Conway, Eros, Hourigan, & Stanley, 2007). Participants in Conway et al. (2007) preferred content focused on the fundamentals of teaching beginning instrumentalists to content discussing advanced performance techniques. Practical skills outside of the music curricula, moreover, have been found to surprise and overwhelm participants (Ballantyne, 2006; Ballantyne & Packer, 2004). Conway (2002) suggested that reorganizing coursework to place greater time and emphasis on musical teaching skills may be a way to improve the transition from student to teacher. Teachout (1997) defined three categories of skills/knowledge components: teaching, personal, and musical skills and behaviors, each with individual competency items. For example, Teachout (1997) assigned items such as lesson planning skills and maximizing time on task to the teacher competency category, items such as professionalism and speaking to the personal competency category, and items like musical knowledge and ear training to the musical competency category. Subsequent studies on the importance of these competencies have employed similar categories (Miksza, Roeder, & Biggs, 2010) . Music educators have often rated teaching and personal competencies as more important than musical competencies (Ballantyne & Packer, 2004; Kelly, 2010; Miksza et al., 2010; Rohwer & Henry, 2004; Teachout, 1997). When asked to rank the thre

FAQs

What competencies are examined in the study of novice Texas band directors?

The study examines perceptions of skills/knowledge competencies across teaching, personal, and musical categories, including specific competency items within each category.

How do participants rate the importance and difficulty of acquiring competencies?

Participants rated personal competencies as most important and easiest to acquire, followed by musical and teaching categories; teaching importance was higher than perceived ease of acquisition.

What aspects of university coursework do participants view positively or as needing improvement?

Participants highlighted secondary instrument instruction, teaching experiences, core music curriculum, and instruction on practical competencies as positive. They discussed secondary instrument instruction, field experiences, noninstructional aspects of teaching, and music pedagogy as improvement areas.

Oct 15, 2026

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