Elementary General Music Realities: Comparing NAfME’s Opportunity to Learn Standards with Current Schedules and Resources

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Policy Contexts for Music Education

Abstract

The National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME’s) Opportunity to Learn Standards (OTL Standards) outline “Basic” and “Quality” benchmarks to guide PK-12 music education regarding: scheduling; teacher qualifications; professional development; and access to facilities, materials, and equipment (NAfME, 2020). Recently, we struggled to find elementary general music teachers whose schedules met Basic OTL Standards. In this descriptive survey, we examined how elementary general music programs aligned with OTL Standards. We also investigated potential associations between school demographics–locale, percentage of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, racial and ethnic composition–and OTL Standards. We offer suggestions for how our findings might shape policy conversations regarding equitable access to elementary general music and help music teacher educators better prepare preservice teachers for current realities.

Authors

• Erika J. Knapp, Texas Woman's University

• Karen Salvador, Michigan State University