Investigation of Non-Traditional Secondary Music Courses in Select States

Despite repeated calls for diversification throughout history, American music education has largely remained unchanged since the early 1800s. Previous research has supported the inclusion of non-traditional music courses in the secondary school music curriculum, however, few researchers have systematically investigated the current state of non-traditional music course offerings in the country. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the non-traditional music courses currently offered in secondary schools. A secondary purpose was to investigate how the teachers of non-traditional music courses acquired the knowledge and skills to teach these courses. Participants (N = 99) were secondary music teachers from Alabama, Florida, and Georgia who taught at least one non-traditional music course during the 2016-2017 school year. All participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire. The dependent measure consisted of eight questions regarding participants’ experiences with non-traditional music courses and allowed participants to indicate whether or not they would be willing to be contacted for follow up questions. The results of the study revealed that although several non-traditional music courses are currently being offered in secondary school music programs, more are needed. Participants also reported that the majority of their non-traditional music courses had been offered for 10 years or fewer, and that they had either inherited the course from a previous teacher or that the courses were initiated to augment the existing music curriculum. Additionally, participants reported that the majority of students enrolled in their non-traditional music courses were not concurrently enrolled in a traditional music course and that they were trained to teach these courses by researching on subject themselves, or by collegiate music education courses. Finally, qualitative analysis found that participants saw both benefits and challenges within non-traditional music courses. Common benefits reported by participants included the ability to reach non-traditional music students, the ability to further engage traditional music students, and to provide an alternative and creative venue for students to experience music. The most frequently reported challenges by participants included a lack of training for non-traditional music courses as well as a lack of funding.