| The purpose of this study was to determine whether a university music course for elementary education majors affects a change in attitude of preservice elementary classroom teachers toward the value of general music in the elementary curriculum. Secondary purposes examined whether background of the course instructor, length of the course, or instructional emphasis correlated to an attitude change. Student demographics of ethnicity and gender were also investigated for correlations to attitude change.; Course instructors at twenty-four universities administered the Attitude Behavior Scale-Elementary General Music as a pretest/posttest to students (N = 769) enrolled in a music course for elementary education majors. At the course conclusion, instructors supplied information concerning their rank, elementary general music teaching experience, and course emphasis. The two data sets were analyzed by t-test, multiple linear regression, and factorial ANOVA.; The paired samples test indicated a 2.33 point gain between the pretest and posttest that was statistically significant (p < .0005). Pearson product-moment correlation indicated significant relationships between the dependent variable of mean attitude change and the independent variables of instructor (r = .55, p < .01), ready-to-use materials (r = .43, p < .01), and field experiences (r = .32, p < .05). Length of course did not contribute to attitude change and there were no significant differences between groups based on ethnicity or gender.; Data analyses from this convenience sample indicated that a university music course could have a positive effect on preservice elementary teachers' attitudes toward the value of elementary general music; however, with the small effect size (d = .2), the two-point gain was not of practical importance. Data would support conclusions that the background of the course instructor is the most significant variable correlating to attitude change from pretest to posttest. Other factors that could contribute to positive attitude are field experience, ready-to-use materials, and integrated curriculum. |
