Abstract
We’re approaching the end…. No, this is not a doomsday pronouncement, but rather three of my wonderful editorial board members for Update and I are approaching the end of our terms. It is time to begin thinking of who might be a good fit for Update’s board! I am coming to the end of a 12-year turn as editor and will share a few comments about that position. As you will see from the call for board members, we will need a new Instrumental Researcher, General Music Researcher, and Special Topics Practitioner for 2014–2020. The application process moves forward over the next few months, discussions on the candidates will occur at the national meeting in the spring, with final decisions made by the appropriate NAfME leaders mid-summer. New members will begin their work when notified in July; however, those going off the board will continue to review papers for which they were initial reviewers until those have moved through the review process.
The position of editor gives one a terrific chance to see what is currently being done in our field, on a wide range of topics, and also gives one the chance to mentor and support researchers. The support comes primarily in the form of giving advice to authors and to members of the editorial board in their roles as reviewers. What are the most three important attributes of the editor, in my opinion? Organizational skills, diplomacy, and the ability to make transfers are three that come to mind right away. The first is obvious, and the second involves the ability to communicate clearly and kindly in writing, on the phone, and in person. The third attribute, which might be described further as flexibility and the desire to make connections, is especially important for this particular journal. Update’s mission is to connect research and practice, and to help readers see how findings in one area of music education apply to other areas, be they different age levels, types of instructional settings, or modes of research.
During my time, we moved to online submission and publication, and the process is now straightforward for authors and board members; I get few questions about submitting papers and reviews now. This is wonderful, and leaves more time to provide thoughtful responses to authors, especially as they move through the process of making revisions. Sometimes it does feel a little like taking the role of Solomon, working with authors and reviewers as they negotiate until all parties feel comfortable with the final product. There also are times that the editor needs to prod the review panel along; everyone gets busy. Fortunately, the online tracking system makes this much easier now than in the “old days”. It is important for applicants to think about the institutional support that will be required; the editorship is for an extended term and the candidate’s dean or department chair will need to clarify the willingness to provide appropriate support (most likely release time, supplies, and staff support through a graduate student or other personnel) for the duration of the term. So please, if you are interested, or know of someone who might be, pay close attention to the qualifications and materials required and the deadline!
This issue is ripe with a cornucopia of subjects (I just cannot resist making these harvest references in the fall issue!). In the instrumental area, they range from the neuro-motor research of Sarah Allen, who investigates the role of sleep on memory consolidation for practicing, to Martina Vasil’s study on six young instrumentalists’ reactions to external motivators.
Our choral piece in this issue concerns boys’ feelings about singing. Is singing only for girls? Do boys move through phases with their feelings? What are some practical applications for educators? Megan Warzecha takes us through the literature on this topic. For our general music offering, Linda Luebke uses a qualitative approach to look at the leadership of music education specialists at the elementary level, particularly in how they provide leadership to the other teachers in their school community in a collaborative way. And for the elementary area, Alison Soccio explores the literature regarding culture and musical play. She investigates where bridges may be built between children’s family experiences and the music education class, through play.
The wealth of information continues as we move into our special topics papers. From comparisons of state assessment scores between music and non-music students (over 7,000 of them!), Linda Thornton documents the fallacy of the notion that music students will not have enough time to do well on their standardized tests. This is material that may prove helpful in advocating for music education with colleagues, parents, and community members.
Roy Legette continues his line of research into the career development of new teachers, plumbing their perceptions of challenges and thrills and their sense of their own strengths and areas for development. Sondra Howard also investigates music educators’ self-perceptions of their abilities, targeting interpersonal skills. Using a small group of educators, this study explores the effect of certain reading assignments and reflective projects over a month’s time.
Another special topics paper examines perceptions of pre-service teachers, specifically regarding their ideas on using popular music in music education settings. Gregory Springer and Lori Gooding explore not only beliefs about the suitability of using popular music for different ages and classrooms, but also preservice teachers’ thoughts on their own preparation for including popular music.
This brings us to Nicholas Enz’s literature review on music courses for nonmusic majors. From his review we find certain commonalities and other areas of diverse approaches. Many universities engage in self-review of their curricula, whether for accreditation or fiscal planning, and thus colleagues may find some interesting ideas on serving college students from across the entire institution, be that a physical or a virtual campus.
So please enjoy these terrific papers, in their depth and range of topic. And be getting those vitaes together for the board openings - for all our NAfME journals!