Abstract
The VOCES8 Foundation Sing Together program is a US elementary-school music education project, enabling children to explore their voices through body and vocal percussion; warm-ups involving expressive sounds, stories, actions, and singing; and learning a variety of songs. The program is delivered through regular visits by semi-professional music teaching artists and reinforced by the school music teachers and classroom teachers. In the pilot phase of the program, elementary-school music teachers (n = 4) at four Title I schools (i.e., those with a high percentage of low-income families), each partnered with a classroom teacher (n = 4) at their school to provide the program to their Grade 3 students (N = 90; ages 8-9; class sizes 20-25 students). The purpose of the Sing Together research project was to evaluate the teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the program and perceived changes in children’s behavior and characteristics. We interviewed all participating teachers (N = 8) at the end of the school year using both rating scales and open-ended questions and employing both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. The teachers had positive attitudes about the program; about
perceptions of students’ engagement and enjoyment; and about perceptions of impact on children’s singing, behavior, learning, and well-being. The study yielded information about directions for future development of the Sing Together program, as well as results relating to the literature on the impact of vocal music on children’s development.
Keywords: classroom singing, child development, teacher attitudes, music education, elementary school music
