Perception of Marching Band Skill Acquisition among Pre-Service and in-Service Music Educators

The purpose of this study was to investigate where pre-service and in-service music educators perceive they will learn/did learn marching, music acquisition, design, logistical, and teaching skills for marching band. This study also examined if there were differences between perceptions of where pre-service and in-service music educators perceive they will learn these skills for marching band. The participants for this study (N = 63) were pre-service (n = 25) and in-service (n = 38) music teachers from one large, southeastern public university. All pre-service teachers were undergraduate instrumental music education majors, who had not yet completed the marching band techniques course, and had participated in high school and/or college marching band. All in-service teachers had graduated with an instrumental music education degree, were currently teaching secondary band, and participated in high school and/or college marching band. The researcher-designed surveys asked participants about 19 marching band skills divided among five categories: marching, music acquisition, design, logistical, and teaching skills. For each of the skills, participants indicated where they think they will learn/did learn the named skill, selecting from university course, marching band participation, or on your own. Results indicate pre-service teachers perceive they will acquire marching band skills primarily through university coursework while in-service teachers indicated they acquired those skills primarily on their own. The influence of marching band participation on marching band skill acquisition was relatively similar between pre-service and in-service teachers. A two independent sample 2 test was calculated to determine if there was a significant difference between pre-service and in-service responses for all 19 marching band skills. Results suggest pre-service and in-service music teachers have similar perceptions of where musical skills are learned, but differing opinions of where the non-musical skills are learned.