The Performing Arts: An Equalizer In Education For All Students, A Teaching Artist’s Perspective

This thesis explores the topic of performing arts integration in public education from the perspective of a teaching artist. The writing is comprised of a series of personal narratives woven together with scholarly references addressing education policy, applied behavior analysis, inequities in exclusionary practices and Autism Spectrum Disorder research. The intention is to draw awareness to the accessible role of teaching artists in public schools, the benefits of performing arts integration in education, and potential education policy shifts that could allow for students to learn empathy, vulnerability and sense of belonging. These narratives are used to support my position that if students learn these transferable skills, regardless of their socio-economic status, physical or mental abilities, they will be able to gain access to a more equal educational experience

An examination of relationships between social media follower interactions and novice piano students’ music performance anxiety and self-esteem

Online communication is a common component of contemporary life. However, research into its impact on well-being has found conflicting results. Although social media may have a detrimental impact on well-being, particularly in young adults (O’Reilly et al., 2018), some studies have found social media networking to have a beneficial influence on well-being (Ellison et al., 2007; Kim, 2017), which may contribute to improved academic performance among students (Al-Rahmi & Othman, 2013). The potential for such effects to extend to musicians in their experience of music performance anxiety (MPA) was the impetus for the current qualitative study, whose purpose was to explore friend and follower engagement on social media and its connection to self-esteem and MPA, using the PERMA Model (Seligman, 2011) to guide the inquiry. Six novice college-aged piano students completed State-Trait Anxiety (STAI-S) and Coopersmith Self-Esteem (CSEI) inventories, a demographic and social media use questionnaire, and two individual semi-structured interviews. Data were collected (1) at the outset of the study; (2) (a) after posting a short video excerpt of the piano performance on social media platforms and interacting with friends and followers, and (b) 30 minutes before the official performance at a live event; and (3) after the completion of the live performance. The findings suggest potential benefits of social media networking on novice music students’ well-being, Self-Esteem, and MPA. Social media interaction with friends and followers and novice piano students was frequently noted as a positive and significant contributing element to and preparation for participants’ successful performances. The awareness of the PERMA model assisted some participants in experiencing positive emotions, improving their well-being, elevating their self-esteem, and lowering their MPA. The feelings of happiness and well-being included in PERMA were linked to improved relationships between participants and their social media friends and were reported to improve their motivation, mastery, and achievement of goals, as well as feelings of support and encouragement. Negative comments did not affect participants with high self-esteem; however, it was not possible to observe the effects of negative comments on participants with low self-esteem since the one student with low self-esteem did not receive negative feedback. Despite findings from previous studies on the challenges and negative impacts of social media networking on students’ well-being, results of the current study indicate that it has the potential to be used positively. Mindful use of social media platforms may be an effective tool to help music students showcase their interests, talents, and achievements. As such, teachers may consider building strategies into their lessons to help students use social media as a learning tool for performance preparation. More research is needed on larger and more diverse groups of musicians to better understand the role of social media networking in music performance and its impact on musicians’ experience of MPA. Strategies for improving the practice and effectiveness of sharing music performances on social media platforms are discussed as pedagogical and performance-readiness tools. This study provides a starting point for music educators, administrators, and students in developing a more comprehensive understanding of the potentials and/or drawbacks of social media networking with regard to self-esteem and MPA.  

2018-2019 Course Catalog

2018-2019 Course Catalo