Relationships among high school choir teachers' self described teaching practices and sight-singing scores from a district/all-state audition event

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess possible relationships among (a) sight-singing scores of secondary choral music students (N=396) from the Northeast region of a Midwestern state at a district/all-state audition event and (b) self-reported sight-singing instructional methods employed by their teachers (N=44), both across the school year and in period of time prior to the district/all-state audition. Teacher participants completed a survey regarding the following: (a) teacher demographic data, (b) school demographic data, and (c) teaching practice. Survey data were compared to sight-singing scores using a Pearson Correlation. Weak positive relationships were discovered between student scores and (a) teacher understanding of the audition process (r= .33) and (b) daily sight-singing instruction (r= .29). No significant relationships were found among student sight-singing scores and reported sight-singing instructional methods. Results were discussed in terms of positive and negative correlations, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research.