Reaching the Disenfranchised: At-Risk Student Participation in Music

Abstract

Nearly all music educators will undoubtedly encounter at-risk students in their classrooms and these students are often influenced by a host of factors which have influence over their participation in music. Amidst research findings and contrasting definitions in literature, at-risk students, for the purposes of this study, are identified as individuals who are disenfranchised in school due to their socio-economic environment, lack of parental support, and/or low motivation. Research indicates that socioeconomic status, in particular, is seemingly interwoven with nearly all other factors influencing at-risk students, though it is neither the sole nor dominating factor. Furthermore, the influence of parental opinion on students as well as a mismatch between teacher instructional styles and student learning styles reflects other important connected factors affecting motivation. Research findings included interviews with a middle school band teacher along with observations of a 6 th grade middle school student over the course of several months, paralleling findings found in the literature review. This research aims to identify several key factors affecting at-risk student participation in music and provide possible strategies to aid student learning, however, further research into effective methods of adapting a variety of instructional styles in music is still needed.