Empowering Every Note: A Preliminary Explorative Study on the Preparation and Instruction of Students With Disabilities in Secondary Choral Ensembles.

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research-in-Progress Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Examining the Experiences of Students With Disabilities Across Sectors: Discipline, Pedagogy, and Sense of Belonging (Table 1)

Abstract

This study examines how choral educators prepare and instruct students with disabilities in secondary choral ensembles, exploring inclusive practices rooted in influential literature by Jellison (1984), Wilson, McCrary (1996), VanWheelden, and Whipple (2014). Through private interviews and content analysis (Grimsby & Armes, 2023; Creswell & Poth, 2018), it sheds light on approaches used by educators at different career stages: pre-service, early career, and mid-career. All participants were privately interviewed for exploratory analysis in November and December 2023. Preliminary findings are expected soon, with data analysis to be completed by February 2024, offering insights into the evolving landscape of inclusive music education.

Author

• Samuel Gray, University of Maryland