| The Special Music Program (SMP) was designed to train talented and gifted young musicians in Taiwan, and it was established in public schools from elementary to high school level more than 30 years. The main purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the SMP. The three sub-purposes of this study focus on (a) how well SMPs prepare young musicians to enter higher education, (b) what professors and former SMP students think about SMP preparation for music studies in higher education, and (c) how the length of training in the SMP influences students' achievement in higher education.; Dependent variables were college grades, student and professor questionnaires, and interviews. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this study. Quantitative measures included statistical analysis of music majors' grades for music courses and survey questionnaires. Qualitative inquiry was through open-ended questions on students' and professors' questionnaires and phone interviews with professors. In grade comparisons, the researcher compared music majors' grades of various subjects by their pre-college music training, the length of SNP experiences, and region of their high schools. College level music majors and their professors were sampled to answer questionnaires regarding students' pre-college music training and opinions about the SNP.; Through statistical procedures, grade comparisons showed SMP graduates performed significantly better than non-SNP graduates in Major, Minor instrument, Orchestra, and Music fundamentals for only the first three semesters. Results of grade comparisons demonstrated a similar contour to findings from questionnaires. According to the questionnaires, both SMP and non-SNP graduates agreed that students with SMP background had better performance on Major instrument, Minor instrument, Sight Singing, Ear training, and Harmony. So did music professors. Most respondents agreed that SMP graduates were (a) well prepared of performance, (b) well prepared of Sight singing and Ear training, and (c) well prepared of academic studies. The major issue with SNPs concerned heavy course loads in both music and academic studies. In perspective, music majors and their professors suggested that Taiwan should have specialized music schools to train talented and gifted young musicians. |
