A case study of teacher’s perception of experiences in a teacher-training program at LA Opera

Unrestricted A trend appears to exist in California where elementary classroom teachers are frequently being called upon to include music instruction in the curriculum, while music specialist positions are simultaneously being eliminated from many public schools. These educators enroll in a variety of in-service professional development programs to prepare for this task. The purpose of this case study was to explore teacher perception of experiences in an in-service teacher-training program provided by the LA Opera. The participants consisted of teachers (n = 17) from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), educators who attended two consecutive sessions of the LA Opera’s Opera 101 program. Data were collected in the form of interviews and results were analyzed to answer research questions regarding the experiences of the teachers, why they had participated in this program and how they had incorporated techniques and materials into the classroom. Results revealed that participants gained a sense of enrichment, enjoyment, and confidence through their participation in the workshops. One third of the participants integrated approaches and materials covered in the training into their curriculum, whereas other participants indicated that time constraints and planning were prohibitive to such efforts. Though their main motivation for returning to future training sessions appeared to be fiscal, participants reported being pleased with the outcomes of participating in Opera 101. The skills gained through participation in this program enabled a few educators to include music in their classrooms, thus reaching thousands of students who may not have a certified music educator at their schools.