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editorial2016
UPDXXX10.1177/8755123316652863Update: Applications of Research in Music EducationRohwer
Editorial
Comments From the Editor
Debbie Rohwer1
Welcome back! In this issue of Update we have eight out-
standing articles, with five of those articles being reviews
of literature. Reviews of literature are so very important
to our field, and I am thrilled that this form of scholarly
writing has a home in Update. I vividly remember being
a master’s student in my first music education research
class and finding a review of literature on a topic area I
wanted to investigate. It felt like I had struck gold! I had
found an overview and discussion of my topic that gave
me a place to start with resources, terms, findings, and a
model for how to synthesize results that was encapsulated
into one meaningful resource. It was so empowering to
know that others had been interested in my topic and that
I had some historical precedent to help me learn and
grow as a teacher and proceed further with my own
investigation.
While no review of literature can cover everything on
a topic, it can be such a relief for young scholars to have
a start, a first step, a positive first push on a topic that
encourages further investigation. Reviews of literature
can also be a place for practitioners to find answers to
important questions, again, all in one place instead of
needing to find and read separate articles and synthesize
those articles’ results. Many thanks to the authors of our
reviews of literature who give this assistance to scholars
and practitioners worldwide.
The topics of the reviews of literature in the current issue
of Update address cultural biases in testing (Kruse), self-
efficacy (Hendricks), test construction related to singing
accuracy (Nichols), adolescent preference (Thomas), and
choral performance excellence (Rolsten). The three research
studies in the current issue of Update also address impor-
tant topics for teaching and learning. The first is a survey of
state conference preparation for teaching children with dis-
abilities (VanWheelden and Mehan), the second is a case
study of professional musicians with dyslexia (Nelson and
Hourigan), and the third is a survey of music integration
practices by elementary teachers in North Dakota (O’Keefe,
Dearden, and West). You can also find a podcast discussing
the results and implications of VanWheelden and Mehan’s
article, “Teaching Children With Disabilities: Preparation
Through State Music Education Association Conferences,”
at upd.sagepub.com.
In this issue I am going to discuss a positive change
that Update is making to the format of its articles. The
Update
2016, Vol. 35(1) 3­–4
© 2016 National Association for
Music Education
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/8755123316652863
update.sagepub.com
goal of this change is to help readers get at the heart of
what the article may mean for them. There will be a new
bulleted section of implications at the beginning of each
article. Traditionally, the final section of a research article
in Update (sometimes called the Discussion, or
Implications, or Conclusions) is where the reader can
learn how the results of a study intersect with what has
been previously found on a topic area, what music educa-
tion still needs to know about a topic area, and how these
results may have possible ramifications for research and
for classroom practice.
Specifically, this final section usually covers the fol-
lowing components: (a) an overview of the results in lay-
man’s terms, (b) how the results tend to align with the
past research reviewed at the beginning of the study, (c)
future research that can be done to move the topic for-
ward, (d) a discussion of the research-based implications,
and (e) the added component of implications for class-
room practice, which is imperative especially for peda-
gogical research journals. The Update board perceives
the pragmatic aspect of any research study to be a top
priority, and in fact, the mission of the journal specifically
prioritizes the interpretation and application of research
findings for music teachers as a primary goal.
Because of the importance of research implications for
practitioners, Update is modifying its article publication
format in upcoming issues to have the implications be an
up-front, highlighted section for readers. While the tradi-
tional final Conclusions section will still exist in the arti-
cle, a new short-form section will also exist that will
highlight the most important implications. This newly
added section that presents a bulleted set of implications
for practitioners will be found after the abstract but before
the main article. The bulleted implications will be a 50- to
100-word freestanding section that will provide a suc-
cinct and clear link between the results of the study and
the usefulness of those results for the classroom. Each
implication should state a complete idea including the
result followed by its specific classroom implication, and
1
University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
Corresponding Author:
Debbie Rohwer, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle,
#311367, Denton, TX 76203-5017, USA.
Email: debbie.rohwer@unt.edu
4 Update 35(1)
each complete idea should be bulleted; the bulleted state-
ments should be consistently presented in the form of
either full sentences or incomplete sentences, as deter-
mined by the stylistic preference of the author. The fol-
lowing are example bulleted implication statements in
full sentence form:
•• Because the audiovisual treatment group achieved
the highest scores in the current study, teachers
may want to consider how combined presentation
modes could be utilized in their own instructional
settings.
Or
•• Both groups improved over the course of the study,
but there was no difference between groups. Due
to the lack of statistical or pragmatic difference
between the two treatment groups at the end of the
study, teachers in elementary classrooms may find
that either of these two instructional protocols may
benefit their students.
Or
•• In the current study the survey respondents were
positive about community-based music experiences,
with the most positive responses addressing music
listening and active music-making experiences.
Teachers who can disseminate information about
these types of learning opportunities in their com-
munities may be able to provide a valuable added
music engagement activity for their students.
Or
•• Because the participant with dyslexia in the cur-
rent case study noted that she felt socially isolated
from other students in class, teachers who have
students with special needs may want to gauge lev-
els of social acceptance in their settings to encour-
age mutual respect.
It is the Update board’s hope that the addition of this
new implications section at the beginning of an article
will put pragmatic issues at the forefront of the minds of
authors and readers, alike. I look forward to seeing your
succinct and interesting implication ideas in your next
submission.