Date

11-11-2026

Department

School of Music

Degree

Doctor of Music Education (DME)

Chair

Michelle Swanson

Keywords

vocal instruction in higher education, vocal pedagogy curriculum, instructional practices of singing, mentoring preservice voice teachers

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Music

Abstract

Despite the vast wealth of knowledge available in the field of voice, there appeared to be a deficiency on the topic of mentoring preservice voice teachers at the collegiate undergraduate and graduate levels. Considering the ways in which collegiate voice faculty members prepare preservice voice teachers is vital. Their instructional style, communication skills, and relationship to students are among the many factors that may influence the personal and professional outcomes of future voice teachers and their students. In search to better understand the preparational experiences of preservice voice teachers, a phenomenological study was conducted in the United States. The results were closely examined and synthesized to explore (a) what, if any, mentoring initiatives exist in collegiate voice programs in the United States, and (b) how current collegiate private voice instructional practices are impacted by instructors’ previous undergraduate or graduate vocal pedagogy curriculum experiences. This study evaluated the influence of voice faculty members’ teaching practices and working relationships with preservice voice teachers by means of interviews with collegiate instructors of voice and vocal pedagogy. The study also sought to potentially provide a comparison of curricular standards of undergraduate and graduate vocal pedagogy syllabi and vocal assessment tools from across the United States. The implication of this research lends itself to further conversations to be had among researchers in the vocal music community, and invites those tasked with developing the vocal instruction curriculum within higher education to reconsider how best to serve future voice teachers.

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