Date

10-16-2025

Department

School of Music

Degree

Master of Arts in Music Education (MA)

Chair

Monica Taylor

Keywords

Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, music, curriculum, preservice music teachers, confidence

Disciplines

Education | Music

Abstract

The purpose of this applied research curriculum project is to prepare preservice music teachers to teach music to students with autism. It is vital to provide preservice music teachers with experience and knowledge about teaching music to students on the autism spectrum to better serve this population in schools. The setting of this study was college undergraduate music programs. The sample included 30 in-service K-12 music teachers. Qualitative questionnaires and quantitative surveys were collected via Google Forms. Quantitative data was analyzed for means of central tendency including mean, median, and mode. Quantitative data was displayed using Pearson product-moment correlation graph to demonstrate strength and weakness of relationship between variables. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis procedures. The researcher developed codes based on themes in the literature and eliminated codes if data did not support them. The study results include most participants confirming they received little to no training and that their confidence grew over time. Conclusions include that participants learned methods for teaching music to students with autism through outside resources or through trial and error. Recommendations include a pilot of the proposed curriculum for preservice music educators and the implementation of professional development for in-service music educators.

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