Jmte article, final

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Journal of Music Teacher Education OnlineFirst, published on February 24, 2010 as doi:10.1177/1057083710362462

Who Isn’t a Special Learner? A Survey of How Music Teacher Education Programs Prepare Future Educators to Work With Exceptional Populations

Journal of Music Teacher Education XX(X) 1­–12 © MENC: The National Association for Music Education 2010 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1057083710362462 http://jmte.sagepub.com

Karen Salvador1

Abstract As music educators are faced with an increasing number of students with various exceptionalities, their ability to differentiate instruction for those with special needs becomes paramount. The purpose of this survey was to investigate how music teacher preparation programs addressed the topic of differentiation for exceptional populations at the undergraduate level. Specifically, the survey asked if NASMaccredited universities that granted doctoral or master’s degrees in music education (a) required a course, (b) offered a course, or (c) in some other significant way systematically addressed the topic of teaching music to special populations. A link to a brief online survey was e-mailed to representatives of 212 institutions. Of 109 respondents, 29.6% required a course in teaching music to special populations, 38.9% indicated that this type of course was available, and 59.8% reported purposefully integrating the teaching of exceptional populations throughout their coursework. Respondent comments led to further literature review and discussion of the lack of consistent instruction with regard to this topic in undergraduate music education programs. Keywords music teacher preparation, special learners, undergraduate music education curriculum Public school systems in the United States serve more students with identified exceptionalities every year. Multiple factors have contributed to this increase, including changes in special education law, such as the 1975 introduction of Public Law 94-142 1

Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

Corresponding Author: Karen Salvador, 221 Music Practice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 Email: huberkar@msu.edu


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