The state of music in the elementary school: The principal's perspective

This study is an examination of school principals' perceptions of the elementary school music curriculum. A survey, mailed to 350 elementary school principals (61 % response rate), was designed to answer the following questions: What are principals' perceptions of music learning outcomes and broad educational goals that result from school music instruction at their respective schools? How do they believe these should exist in ideal conditions? Is there a difference between principals' ratings for current and ideal conditions? To what degree do certain variables affect the music program? Results revealed that principals were generally satisfied with their music programs' ability to meet music education standards and broad educational goals. However, significant differences between the current and ideal conditions imply that they believe improvement is possible. Principals reported that the No Child Left Behind Act, budgets, standardized tests, and scheduling had the most negative effects on their music programs.