Kenneth Mackie
Description
This is a Masters Thesis investigating the effects of excusing bilingual Hispanic students from academic class time to study instrumental music. The s
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tudy found that bilingual Hispanic students in the instrumental music program attained significantly higher gains in reading comprehension over their non-band classmates.The study used a three-way factorial analysis of covariance and included the independent variables of gender and parent's level of education.The basic assumption that removing students from academic class time for the study of instrumental music negatively affects their academic achievement has been refuted by research. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that instrumental music students have received higher scores on standardized tests. Often in the area of reading, and occasionally in mathematics, instrumental music students had significantly higher gains compared to their counterparts who remained in the classroom.The demand for higher academic achievement has been even more acute in the bilingual Hispanic student population. In addition to learning, and being tested, in a non-native tongue, these students frequently come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and have parents whose level of education usually does not extend beyond high school. These factors have all been associated with lowered academic achievement and may also have played a role in preventing many such students from participating in instrumental music.This study was the first to address the question: How did removing bilingual Hispanic students from academic class time affect their academic achievement as measured by the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills when compared to bilingual Hispanic non-instrumental music students? The answer is: removing bilingual Hispanic students from academic class time increases their academic achievement.In answering that question, this study extended the body of existing research into the bilingual Hispanic student population, a group that is both growing and underserved by instrumental music programs.The author hopes that by publishing this Thesis, this research will be available to others to be used to bolster support for music education.
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