Assessment in the Secondary School Band Programs of British Columbia PDF Download

Author: Michael Phillip Keddy
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Languages : en
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Book Description
For many years, the assessment practices of band directors in North America have come under scrutiny. As funding for public education shrinks, the call for greater accountability in schools has focused attention on the assessment procedures of all teachers. This is especially true for arts teachers, including band directors, due to the public's perception of highly subjective assessment practices in arts-based courses. This sequential, explanatory mixed method study sought to investigate the current assessment practices of high school band directors in British Columbia, including the purposes and uses of classroom assessment methods, and potential implications for teacher education with respect to the use of classroom assessment. The study also sought to discover any underlying assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes of band directors in designing and implementing those assessment procedures.Using a stratified random sample of band directors from 12 districts across four regions of British Columbia, this sequential, explanatory mixed methods study allowed a dialectical research structure that connected the empirical evidence of the quantitative survey instrument with the qualitative interview that drew upon the subjects' personal beliefs. This study found that band directors do assess their students and hold strong beliefs that assessment is fundamental to the teaching/learning process. Despite this, they often use structures in their assessment practice that account for non-achievement, behavioural factors (i.e., effort, attendance, attitude, and participation) rather than musical outcomes. It also became apparent that band directors lacked sufficient pedagogical content knowledge in the early stages of their career that supports broad-based assessment within a comprehensive musicianship context. Why? Band directors noted that their pre-service education in assessment was deficient. Therefore, in addition to other recommendations, this study suggests a tripartite model for undergraduate music education that is more inclusive of assessment instruction and procedures. In other words, music teacher education programs should balance educatorship, musicianship, and assessorship.