Music Education Opportunities in a Heterogeneous State's K–12 Public and Charter Schools

• In Event: 31.092 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Three - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 31.092-5 - Music Education Beyond Traditional Public School Settings

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting equality of access to arts education opportunities in one state’s public and charter schools. The availability and breadth of music and fine arts courses, and the rates at which students were enrolled in them, were examined using a researcher-created dataset synthesizing public and restricted-use data from the state department of education for the 2015-16 school year. Analytical approaches included cluster-robust regression, multilevel modeling, and path analysis. The analyses showed that public schools were much more likely to offer music courses than comparable charter schools. Students’ race, community socioeconomic status, locale, per-pupil spending, and school size all emerged as significant predictors of increased opportunity for school-based arts engagement.

Author

• Brian P. Shaw, The Ohio State University - Columbus