Current Status of Incorporating Composition into Music Education Classrooms in Kansas

Abstract

Incorporating the National Standards for Music Education includes a component of composing, specifically Standard 4. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and/or infrequency of incorporating the composing standard into music classrooms, specifically in those classrooms that include large ensembles such as band, orchestra, and choir, as well as general music and to determine the reasons for which a music educator would or would not include composing into his or her own classroom. Subjects included music educators (N = 173) from various public school districts in Kansas representing various sub-disciplines of music education including band and orchestra. Results indicated that 80.2% of music teachers in Kansas include composition in their music classrooms at least one time per year. However, 19.8% of music educators report that they never use music composition in their music classrooms. Leading reasons for not including composition in the music classrooms included lack of time and lack of resources.