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Attitudes on Inclusion in the Secondary Choral Ensemble

Jessica Taber
ME 740
Boston University

Federal law states that all students, regardless of disability, have the right to a public
education. The Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), formerly known as PL
94-142, was put into law in 1975. Gfeller, Darrow, and Hedden (1990) state that in the true
spirit of PL 94-142, the intent of mainstreaming is the exposure of handicapped students to
normal educational opportunities (p. 91). Hammel and Hourigan (2011) state that, to the
maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities will be educated with students who are
not disabled (p. 175) and in compliance with federal law, students must have equal access to
all aspects of the curriculum, including music education programs (p. 175). Music education is
an important part of the education of all students. Furthermore, an important element of the
choral ensemble is the performance. Under IDEA, students with disabilities enrolled in choir
have the right to the performance and contest aspect of the choral curriculum, yet not much is
known concerning the attitudes of choral teachers regarding the participation of special needs
students in these activities.
Successful inclusion is linked with the attitudes toward students with special needs and
many barriers exist which negatively impact attitudes of inclusion. For a long time teachers have
reported a lack of sufficient training for inclusion (Gfeller et al., 1990; Hammel & Gerrity, 2012;
VanWeelden & Whipple, 2014). Research also indicates that other barriers to inclusion include:
poor communication, lack of appropriate curricula, lack of knowledge relating to specific needs,
lack of resources (Jellison & Taylor, 2007), lack of administrative support (Salvador, 2013),
stereotypical biases (Haywood, 2006), low expectations (Cassidy & Sims, 1991; Salvador, 2013;
Scott et al., 2007), the wide range of abilities in an inclusive classroom, fair assessment practices
(Darrow, 2003) and teachers perceptions of the attitudes of their typical students (Cassidy &

Colwell, 2012; Scott et al., 2007). Uneasiness concerning performance quality was also reported
(Cassidy & Sims, 1991; Scott et al., 2007).
While there are yet many barriers to inclusion, research has found 4 main categories of
strategies for combating them: appropriate placement, collaboration, accommodation, and
interaction. The first consideration should be in the spirit of IDEA, and gaining a better
understanding of its meaning. Gfeller et al. (1990) points out that according to the disabilities act,
students should be placed in the least restrictive environment, therefore, they should be placed in
a regular classroom only if there is adequate educational support and the progress of typically
developing students will not be hindered (p. 95). Salvador (2013) states, no assumptions can be
made about the suitability of choral singing for an individual participant based solely on the
characteristics associated with a specific disability label (p. 137). Assessment of musical ability
must be done on a case by case basis through collaboration with parents, therapists, and the
educational team. This makes it essential for music educators to attend these meetings and
advocate for the most appropriate placement of a child in a music classroom.
Collaboration is an important element of successful inclusion. In accordance with the
free and appropriate principle of IDEA, students with disabilities have an educational plan
called an IEP, which details a students type and level of disability, learning style, achievement,
behavioral issues, and services they are receiving (Hammel & Hourigan, 2011). The IEP is an
important tool for collaboration and the most successful inclusion will happen when the teacher
collaborates with the IEP team. Research indicates that many music teachers are not aware of the
IEP (Hammel & Hourigan, 2011; Scott et al., 2007). Attendance at IEP meetings will put the
music teacher in contact with therapists, classroom teachers, parents, and social workers who can

assist in smoothing the transition into a music classroom, and help with issues that may arise
once the child is integrated (Hammel & Hourigan, 2011).
Accommodation is a recurring theme throughout the literature (Burnard, 2008; Knapp,
2011; Thorgersen, 2010; VanWeelden, 2007). Salvador (2013) said, Not every student can
function well in a large group like a choir and yet, students with disabilities have the right to
participate in secondary choral ensembles with reasonable accommodations (p. 39). Teachers
must be willing to make reasonable accommodations so disabled students may participate.
Darrow (2010) states that an accommodation is made when the teacher believes the disabled
student can rise to the same level of participation as the rest of the class but needs some
additional support to do so. With appropriate accommodations, some students with disabilities
can, and should, adhere to the same audition and evaluation procedures as other students (p.
42). This last statement is in keeping with the spirit of IDEA, which is to provide as normal an
education as possible.
Research shows that increased contact with special needs students positively correlates
with improvement in attitudes toward inclusion. Jellison and Taylor (2007) found from their
review of previous literature that intergroup contact decreases prejudices and provides more
acceptance toward individuals with disabilities (p. 18). Many studies found that students and
adults who had more experiences with special needs students were more accepting than those
who had little (Gregory, 1997; Humpal, 1991; Jellison et al., 1984; Kostka, 1999; Standley, 2000;
VanWeelden & Whipple, 2005). Jellison and Taylor (2007) said, from the literature, we know
that negative beliefs can be reversed when observers view children with disabilities who are
successfully engaged in activities that observers judge to be beyond the childrens expected
capabilities (p. 19).

As can be seen, research exists on the attitudes, barriers, and strategies for inclusion in
the music classroom. However the vast majority of this research centers on the general music
classroom, preservice teachers perceptions, and elementary classrooms. There is very little
research on inclusion in the secondary choral classroom and the research that exists shows there
is room for improvement in the attitudes of inclusion. Jellison & Taylor (2007) showed that in all
the previous research from 1975 to 2005, less than 1% of the participants were secondary choral
and instrumental teachers (p. 10). Additionally, Scott et al. (2007) reported difficulty in finding
inclusive choral teachers for their study on the current attitudes of inclusion. As a result, the
responses of the few they found were excluded. Therefore, current attitudes of secondary choral
teachers on inclusion are unknown. Furthermore, in VanWeelden and Whipples (2014) study on
perceptions of inclusion, nearly 50% of the respondents, some of whom were choral teachers,
either did not respond or had negative perceptions to questions on whether special needs students
were better served in a special education classroom and whether they hindered the progress of
their typical students (p. 152).
A better understanding of the issues of inclusion and strategies that have been successful
will allow students with disabilities to more consistently participate in all the aspects of a choral
education. The purpose of this study is to get a baseline on the current attitudes of inclusion in
the secondary choral classroom and find out what barriers and strategies exist. Questions for
research are: What are the current attitudes of choral teachers regarding inclusion in secondary
choral ensembles? What barriers exist to inclusion, specifically in regards to performance and
contest participation? What strategies have been used successfully to combat barriers of
inclusion, including placement, collaboration with IEP, accommodation, and group interaction
with special needs students?

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