Research Martin

Norgaard

It was so great to see everyone in Athens in January. This was the first GMEA conference for which both spoken and poster research presentation proposals were submitted in the fall. My hope was that this later application deadline allowed for further refinement of proposals and potentially could include newer research that simply had not be conceived for submission in May. Indeed, we had the most research track submissions ever in my time as GMEA research chair with a total of 33 proposals. An anonymous peer-review process was used to select the best proposals for both type of sessions. We had six peer-reviewed spoken sessions, two invited spoken sessions, and sixteen research posters. I’m super excited to report that I recorded the largest number of attendees for the spoken research sessions ever during my tenure as GMEA Research Chair: exactly 200! And that is not counting the many attendees who viewed the research posters and interacted with poster presenters. One of the invited presentations was an update on teacher pipeline research that GMEA president, Matt Koperniak, asked me to facilitate. The main researcher on the project is University of Georgia PhD student, Kimberly S Maugans, working under the supervision of Rebecca Atkins. Kim sent me this short summary of the research:

“Struggles to recruit music educators is a concern for National Music Education organizations. 444 GMEA high school all-state members shared future plans for music education careers, experiences contributing to decision to teach, and factors keeping them from becoming a music educator. As predicted, the results suggest that the art of music itself and the act of teaching or leading are the main contributors to the decision to become a music educator. Those who responded "yes" to the choice of music education often did not identify any deterrents from their decision, while the others (“maybe” and “no”) considered the career itself and interests in other career paths as reasons to avoid music education. A large percentage of students identified performing arts educators as highly influential in the decision.”

The analysis of the data is still ongoing so look for more updates in the near future. I hope you will consider submitting a research proposal for the 2024 GMEA conference. The deadline for both spoken and poster presentations will again be September 15. More information at https://www.gmea.org/ conference-applications.

Respectfully submitted,

-Martin Norgaard

Happy spring! As we anticipate summer’s arrival, I want to highlight a number of recent NAfME initiatives that you may wish to explore during your break (when you finally, hopefully, have a few moments to spare!). First, in January 2023 NAfME launched its Music Education Advocate podcast. The most recent podcast, episode seven, features Georgia’s 2023 Teacher of the Year and Woodland High School band director, Michael Kobito! How has his role as teacher of the year impacted his perspective on advocacy? For an insightful look at developing confidence as a music education advocate, listen HERE

Next, the latest issue of Music Educators Journal is a special focus issue entitled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Intersectionality and Music Education. This issue contains a number of articles that explore DEI from a variety of perspectives and provide a lot of food for thought and healthy discussion. For a limited time, the feature articles in this issue are open to all, no NAfME membership required, so feel free to share them! Access MEJ and all five other NAfME journals and magazines HERE

As the school year concludes, the NAfME national executive board will begin to develop the budget for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2023. The board seeks member input to ensure funds are allocated to the programs and resources that members value. They ask members to complete THIS SURVEY to share their views.

Last, now is the time of year when house and senate appropriations committees begin meeting to allocate federal funds. You can urge your elected officials to prioritize programs that support music education using a NAfME developed, easy-to-complete form letter HERE.

Whether you will be vacationing, attending summer classes and workshops, decluttering your home, prepping for band camp, or all of the above, I hope you have a restful, relaxing, and enriching summer!

-Victoria Enloe

Our campus is filled with endless opportunities to be bold. We welcome young artists and encourage them to explore the arts, inspire others, and perform to their fullest potential.

Musically inclined students can choose from programs of study in Music, Music Education, and Musical Theatre.