Mixed Review for Music in Charter Schools

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Are charter schools embracing or excluding the arts? The first investigation of the status of music education in charter schools suggests the answer is neither.

Joshua A. Russell of the University of Arkansas music department and James R. Austin of the University of Colorado, Boulder examined 122 surveys from charter schools in 15 states, a representative sample of charter schools nationally. In addition to investigating music education within charter schools for the 2005-06 school year, the researchers compared music education in charter schools and other public schools.

The researchers found that 70 percent of the surveyed charter schools offered music classes, with music available in 84 percent of the schools that had a combination of elementary and secondary students. The percentage dropped for schools without the combination: only 64 percent of individual elementary schools and 53 percent of secondary schools. The larger the school, the more likely music would be offered.

While the majority of charter schools offered music, the researchers found that the music instruction provided in charter schools “does not appear to be at a level completely commensurate with that of traditional public schools.” 

Charter schools employed fewer highly qualified music teachers than other public schools and tended not to use written curricula. While they might hire proficient musicians to teach music classes, these teachers might also lack pedagogical knowledge. In addition, charter schools tended to use fewer but longer class periods than did public schools, leading to elementary students in some cases attending music class once a week for 60 to 90 minutes, a developmentally inappropriate practice for that age group.

“Given the findings related to the availability of written curricula and teacher qualifications, it seems plausible that charter school music instruction may function more as a supplemental activity, as a means of integrating instruction, or as a tool for reinforcing learning in so-called core subjects, rather than as a distinct/important curricular area,” the researchers concluded.

The researchers suggested that future studies using large-scale surveys assess the impact of charter schools on music instruction. Additionally, they suggested that case studies would allow researchers to explore the quality of music education in charter schools. They also cited the need for policy analyses to better understand “the political dynamics that unfold during charter school creation and how such dynamics impact decisions about music instruction.”

Russell, who has taught music in both a charter school and a traditional public school, suggested several steps to improve music education in charter schools and other public schools.

“I don’t know what the ideal curriculum would be,” Russell said, “but I do know that music education needs to involve more students, offer more ways for students to participate in music and focus on the aesthetic development of the individual.”

In addition to every student having an opportunity for some type of performance experience, Russell said, students also need to learn how to listen, analyze and describe music. The goal, he suggested, should be to create life-long participation in music and to find ways to help students “reach a real world of music,” whether that means playing in a community orchestra or taping technology to create “garage band” music on their computer.

Russell is an assistant professor of music in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. Austin is associate dean in the College of Music at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The results of their study are published in a peer-reviewed chapter titled “Charter Schools: Embracing or Excluding the Arts?” in Diverse Methodologies in the Study of Music Teaching and Learning, edited by Linda K. Thompson and Mark Robin Campbell and published by Information Age Publishing in 2008.