Contributions to Music Education Vol. 45 - Instrumentalists’ Comfort and Self-Perceived Competence in Teaching Choral Music - Research Study

Oct 15, 2026

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This study investigates differences in instrumental music teachers’ comfort and self-perceived competence in teaching choral music. It examines how undergraduate choral methods curricular background and in-service choral teaching experiences relate to ratings of 15 choral teaching skills measured with a 7-point Likert scale. Using descriptive and non-parametric statistics on 106 participants, results show positive effects from undergraduate choral methods coursework on comfort and perceived competence, and increasing teaching experience aligns with higher self-reported ability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Undergraduate specialization vs teaching outside the focus

Competence development in teacher preparation

Choral/instrumental method requirements and endorsements

Role of prior and in-service choral teaching experience

Methods

Data collection and measurement approach

Contributions to Music Education Vol. 45 (2020), pp. 147-165. JI-EUN KIM University of Arizona Instrumentalists’ Comfort and Self-Perceived Competence in Teaching Choral Music This study was designed to explore differences between instrumental music teachers’comfort and self-perceived competence ratings based on their undergraduate choral methods curricular background and in-service choral teaching experiences, using a 7-point Likert scale, on 15 speciﬁc choral teaching skills presented through a researcher-developed survey. In this study, data computation included descriptive and non-parametric statistics to analyze the participants’(N = 106) responses. According to this study, the participants’undergraduate choral methods curricular experience had a positive inﬂuence on comfort and self-perceived competence when instrumental music teachers taught choirs in secondary school classrooms. Instrumental music teachers self-reported being more comfortable and competent in teaching choral music as teaching experience increased. Based on this study’s ﬁndings, it is important to facilitate opportunities for both pre-and in-service instrumental music teachers to explore voice as an instrument and various levels of secondary school choral repertoire. Keywords: music teacher education, undergraduate music education curriculum, choral methods, pre-service instrumental music teacher training, in-service instrumental music teacher professional development Introduction Music education students in the United States generally choose to enter their university programs to learn skills in a speciﬁc area of specialization such as band, choir, orchestra, or general music. However, the job market often not only demands that music teachers instruct in more than one musical area but does not guarantee the opportunity to ﬁnd a position that matches one’s specialty (Groulx Contributions to Music Education 2016; Hamann & Ebie, 2009; Parker & Powell, 2014). A music teacher’s position can include teaching band and choir or orchestra and choir, which can encompass skills and competencies in all music areas and at all grade levels. Hence, music education students who focus on one teaching area may not feel they possess or have developed adequate skills to teach outside their chosen area of specialization without additional course preparation or experience. Groulx (2016) found that 83% of music teachers indicated that they taught outside their specialization at some point during their career, and that 63% of nonchoir teachers reported that the second most common assignment outside of their specialization area was teaching choirs. However, even given this need, Hamann and Ebie (2009) found that music education students had a strong commitment to a chosen area in music education but little desire to teach outside of that ﬁeld. Parker and Powell (2014) claimed one possible reason for this lack of desire was that instrumental music education students were overwhelmed by the choral method curricular requirements and were unfamiliar with voice as an instrument and choral music practices. Musical competencies or developing particular skills has been an integral part of undergraduate music education curricula (Hamann & Ebie, 2009; Schmidt, 1989; Triplett, 1981) . One’s competency is often impacted by motivation, which can initiate successful outcomes in professional pursuits (McAllister, 1995; Ryan, 1982) . For example, teaching micro-lessons and leading vocal warm-ups were challenging for instrumental music education students (Parker & Powell, 2014) and brought up a question of competency to teach outside their chosen area of specialization. Competence in teaching situations can reﬂect comfort levels of subject matter knowledge (Wingenbach, White, Degenhart, Pannkuk, & Kujawski, 2007) . In a study by Hamann and Ebie (2009), pre-service music teachers felt conﬁdent that method courses would alleviate their concerns regarding unfamiliarity by provi

FAQs

What does the study measure about music teachers?

It measures instrumental music teachers’ comfort and self-perceived competence when teaching choral music, using ratings across 15 specific choral teaching skills.

Which factors are examined in relation to comfort and competence?

Undergraduate choral methods curricular background and in-service choral teaching experiences are examined to see how they influence comfort and self-perceived competence.

What do the results indicate about curricular background and teaching experience?

Undergraduate choral methods curricular experience positively influences comfort and self-perceived competence, and teachers report greater comfort and competence as choral teaching experience increases.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆