The purpose of the study was to investigate the world of the high school music classroom. The results of this study affirm my belief that parent influence impacts the individual student’s decision to join a musical ensemble. This study also explores other factors that parents consider when advising their child to enroll in band, choir, or orchestra. Sibling experience in a musical ensemble and past regrets due to not playing an instrument in their youth are both listed as possible factors (might you look at these?). My wonderment includes rapport in the community as a factor that parents consider when advising their child to enroll in band, choir, and orchestra. The study above includes discussions of how perceptions of musical groups in …show more content…
Through four focus groups with seventh and eighth grade students, participants were invited to share their reasoning with one of the researchers. The researcher played the role of active listener, a facilitator who interjects prompts into the conversation of the participants to keep the dialogue focused and moving forward. This study found that assumptions made in previous research have little in common with how seventh and eighth grade students feel. Life experiences may strongly impact their decisions, band students like music and find it ‘fun’, and peers define band students as smart, successful, and strong individuals. The impact of the band teacher is minimal. Finally, students who choose not to continue in band often made the choice to avoid music rather than a choice to take part in a different activity. Implications for Practice: High school teachers can improve retention of students by being more interested in liaising on a constant basis with elementary schools, developing massed bands of feeder schools meeting at the high school, concerts to showcase high school band opportunities, and providing information sessions where beginning students can ask experienced students candid questions about the