Measuring Mechanisms of Student Voice: Development and Validation of Student Leadership Capacity Building Scales

This study developed measurement scales on student leadership capacity building through a survey of 280 students from nine U.S. high schools. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a personal, interpersonal, organizational, and overall scale for building student leadership capacity. The scales included eight mechanisms that schools can use to enhance student leadership: pedagogy, relationships, radical collegiality, governance structure, research, group makeup, consistency, and recognition. The scale items also reflected three leadership competencies: critical awareness, inclusivity, and positivity. Focus groups and interviews with students and teachers in these nine schools supported survey findings and suggested implications for practice.

Investigation of the effect of a male singing model on kindergarten children’s use of singing voice achievement

Replicable singing models are important as children learn to use their singing voices. Previous research indicates that for elementary school-aged children a child model is most effective, then a female model, then a male falsetto model, then a male baritone model. In my work with preschool children in a more informal setting, I noticed that many of these children did not seem to have difficulties singing along with male undergraduate students. In a recent study I conducted, significant differences in male and female models were found, favouring the female model. However, gains in singing were not noted until the second half of the year and the male teacher was only part of instruction for the first half of the year. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a male singing model over an entire academic year of instruction on kindergarten children’s singing voice achievement. Kindergarten children (N=15, N=10) received informal music guidance once a week for 30‐40 minutes from October to May from a team of two music teachers, one female and one male. The teachers sang together during activities, but sometimes the female teacher would take the lead; other times the male teacher. The Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM) was administered four times during the instructional period. For each test time, the female teacher administered the test with her voice as the singing model; on a different day the male teacher administered the test with his baritone voice as the singing model. Two raters evaluated the randomized recordings of the children’s singing; reliabilities were acceptable. A three-way repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant interaction by time and model. The children’s scores, while quite high on the pretest, showed an increase over time for both models except for the final performances when singing with text with the female model; one of these performances appears to be an outlier.

The Relationship Between Portuguese Children's Use of Singing Voice and Singing Accuracy when Singing with Text and a Neutral Syllable

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Portuguese children's use of singing voice and their singing accuracy on the pitches belonging to the Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM) criterion patterns (Rutkowski, 2015), as well as the influence on singing with a neutral syllable or text on both variables. Children aged 4 to 9 (n = 137) were administered the SVDM individually and three raters evaluated recordings of the children's singing, both for the use of singing voice (i.e., effective use of pitch range and register) and singing accuracy. Prior to data analysis, the validity and reliability of the measure was examined and assured. A significant relationship was found between both variables. Favoring the neutral syllable, significant differences were found in response mode for singing accuracy, but not for use of singing voice, suggesting that the use of neutral syllable in classroom singing activities might be beneficial to improve accuracy. Older children and girls obtained higher scores for the use of singing voice and accuracy. Within a common pitch range, children with higher SVDM scores sang accurately a higher number of pitches, suggesting that expanding children's use of singing voice might also improve singing accuracy.

Research-to-Resource: Designing Singing Assessments for Classroom Use

Research has provided several scales for valid assessments of singing skills. Singing voice development and singing accuracy (tunefulness) are frequent objectives targeted by teachers in music classrooms. Teachers and directors may find established scoring systems useful for implementing formative or summative assessments. This research-to-resource article provides examples for teachers to use or adapt to promote and encourage singing growth.

Assessing Singing Voice Development

This chapter focuses on various tools and strategies that have been used in research studies for assessing singing voice development, particularly of children. The chapter is organized around the following: A definition of singing development, which includes use of the singing voice (vocal registers) and then pitch accuracy, is provided. An overview of approaches used in research to assess singing development is then presented. These approaches include singing tasks, such as echoing patterns and singing a song, which the children perform to have their singing assessed, human raters using rating scales/rubrics to assess children’s singing, and technology. A more thorough discussion of selected rubrics and rating scales as well as suggested protocols for using them follows. Recommendations for using these tools and strategies for applications in research and classroom settings are included.