Integrating Music Education, Music Therapy and Special Education in a Music Classroom

This dissertation investigates, describes, and analyses how the integration of best practices from music education, music therapy, and special education benefits students in areas of cognitive, social, gross or sensory-motor, and emotional skills. This study focuses on four students with disabilities and 44 students without disabilities in a junior high school classroom and analyzes various data from the Iowa Music Literacy Tests (IMLT) Level I. Other data were obtained from questionnaires, parents, students, and teachers. The research project employs the participant/observation case study methodology in which 4 students with disabilities and their teacher are engaged. The teacher in the study is also the participant/observer who catalogued strategies, interventions, journals, and probes for the study, as well as recording observations of significant events. Interviews with parents, teachers, and students to meet at regular time lines are assets for the study. Data analyzed using a 2 x 2 x 2 mixed design ANOVA and calculated to examine the effect of students (with /without) and grade level (7th/8th grade) and Time (Pre/Post tests) on the IMLT. Results indicate that a significant effect of the time is found. Neither the main effect of disabilities nor grade level nor the interactions have been significant. However, significant improvement in IMLT scores for the children with disabilities and without disabilities occurred. There is not a significant effect of grade on test scores. The seventh graders did not differ significantly in their performance on the IMLT from the eighth graders. The children with disabilities did not differ significantly from the children without disabilities. Even though it appears that the children without disabilities show greater improvement than the children with disabilities, the ANOVA did not reveal a significant interaction between disability and time