Promotion and Tenure Materials

Publications

O’Leary, E. J. & Farmer, D. M. (Accepted). An analysis of high school concert band adjudication policies in the United States. Research and Issues in Music Education. 

Abstract

This study is an examination of policies governing adjudicated high school concert band events in the United States. These policies inform what music students perform and how they are evaluated. Adjudicated events are a national phenomenon but are facilitated by assorted state and local organizations whose policies vary. Using document analysis, we examined policy materials for fifty events (N = 50) throughout the United States. Our analysis included six specific areas: 1) the group or organization administering the event; 2) how bands are classified; 3) repertoire requirements; 4) adjudicator qualifications and training; 5) the rating system used; 6) and what elements were evaluated. Findings suggest that while the core experience of participating in the events was consistent, meaningful differences existed in each policy. These differences shape how bands are evaluated, and results from adjudicated events should be interpreted considering the different rules and requirements associated with a particular event. 

  • PDF (draft of manuscript, publication is in press)
  • Online Link (forthcoming)

O’Leary, E. J. & Bannerman, J. K. (2023). Technology integration in music education and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (237), 23–40. http://doi.org/10.5406/21627223.238.02

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to implement a variety of teaching modalities, with technology playing a central role in teachers’ work. Music education was no exception. Music teachers were required to use educational technology in new ways throughout pandemic teaching, but it was unknown if the pandemic would foment meaningful changes to ongoing educational praxis or represent a temporary adaptation in teaching. This descriptive qualitative study explored music educators’ experiences teaching with technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and their expectations for using technology in their classrooms moving forward. Fourteen music educators from throughout the United States participated in two semistructured interviews describing their work during and through the pandemic. Findings indicated that pandemic music teaching environments and the complexities of teaching in new modalities intensified known barriers to technology integration, such as access, training, and alignment with teachers’ pedagogical values (Ertmer et al., 2012; Francom, 2020). Participants actively evaluated and curated technology for use in their classrooms, with varying levels of access and support. Music teachers engaged in self-directed professional development, relying on colleagues and online professional communities on social media. Although music teachers reported greater comfort with technology for music teaching, many welcomed a return to normal learning environments as pandemic constraints eased. Findings suggest that pandemic-related adjustments to teaching practices will not foment sustainable technology integration in participants’ music classrooms.

O’Leary, E. J. (2023). Music education on YouTube and the challenges of platformization. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 22(4), 14-43. https://doi.org/10.22176/act22.4.14

Abstract

In this paper, I critically examine platformized music education on YouTube. I suggest YouTube’s platform mechanisms influence music teaching and learning on the platform. The influence is present throughout the production, distribution, and monetization structures that YouTube-based music educators experience. I discuss how creators make videos with broad autonomy over what they produce but with a need to conform to platform affordances and to foment interaction with their content due to platform mechanisms such as datafication and commodification. Distribution is crucial to their work, yet YouTube’s algorithm and governance structures operate in powerful and opaque ways forcing music educators to navigate platform influences on their livelihoods and teaching. Finally, as creators earn money through their work, they encounter monetization structures and programs heavily entrenched in YouTube’s business model and have little agency or voice in shaping these structures and programs.

O’Leary, E. J. (2022). Popular music, responding, and the potential of podcasting. Music Educators Journal, 109(2), 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/00274321221138227

Abstract

Students in the United States discuss popular music all the time, but often outside the music classroom. How can music educators bring those conversations into the classroom in ways that students find engaging and meaningful? Podcasts offer a potential solution. By taking on the role of the popular music podcaster, students enrich their conversations by developing analytical skills that theorists, musicologists, and critics use in the process of making a tangible product. This article invites educators to consider the potential of popular music podcasts using pedagogical strategies that include listening, responding, and project-based learning.

Bannerman, J. K. & O’Leary, E. J. (2021). Digital natives unplugged: Challenging assumptions of preservice music educators’ technological skills. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 30(2), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083720951462

Abstract

Generational labels such as digital native and the “net” generation may obscure the gap that exists between preservice music teachers’ personal uses of technology and how they will use technology professionally. The study’s purpose was to examine preservice music teachers’ personal use of technology, views toward technology in music teaching and learning, and experience with music technology. We distributed an online survey to collegiate members of the National Association for Music Education, with 360 undergraduate students providing responses. Participants reported using technology for a variety of purposes on a daily basis, but mostly in passive ways. Preservice music teachers were most comfortable using music technology common to undergraduate music curricula and less familiar with technology used in K–12 music classrooms. Skilled use of music technology in music teaching and learning situations requires meaningful and intentional facilitation in music teacher education curricula.

O’Leary, E. J. (2020). The ukulele and YouTube: A content analysis of seven prominent YouTube ukulele channels. Journal of Popular Music Education. 4(2), 175-191. https://doi.org/10.31386/jpme_0024_1

Abstract

This study is a content analysis of seven prominent ukulele instruction YouTube channels examining the following elements: (1) types of videos on channels, (2) musical content included, (3) teaching strategies used in videos and (4) audience engagement. Tutorial videos were the most common type of video produced and viewed across the channels. Musical content was diverse, including 988 unique songs by 545 unique artists, with 79 per cent of songs and 74 per cent of artists appearing on only one channel. The most viewed tutorials often included songs with connections to the ukulele in popular culture. Video characteristics and teaching methods were similar across all channels, and each taught using a direct instruction method. Channels had engaged audiences who actively commented and voted on videos through the YouTube platform. Findings are discussed in connection to prior research on the ukulele, learning on and through YouTube, and media studies.

O’Leary, E. J. (2019) A phenomenological study of competition in high school bands. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (220), 43-61. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcoursesmusedu.220.0043 

Abstract

This study is an examination of the lived experience of competition in high school band. A hermeneutic phenomenological method based on the works of van Manen (1990) and Vagle (2014) was used to investigate what it was like for participants to be in competition. Twelve individuals participated in the study sharing experiences they had both as students and as music educators. Participants lived and taught in communities throughout the United States and brought differing levels of teaching and competitive experience. Data were generated through in-depth interviews and collaborative phenomenological texts. Findings indicate that competition was a meaningful and influential part of participants’ work as band directors and educational experiences as students. Competition was approached with tension as participants acknowledged concerns over the influence of competitions on their students, yet they still chose to engage in the practice. Marching band contests offered a creative outlet where directors could develop custom arrangements and write formations for their ensembles. It was a creative outlet with a competitive motivation as their work was designed to yield more positive contest outcomes. Finally, competition was perceived as an influence on band directors’ professional reputations, feelings of competence, and how band programs were viewed in the community. Findings are discussed in relation to the historical debate on competition in music education, teacher evaluation, teacher concerns, and advocacy.

O’Leary, E. J. (2017). The virtual tuba quartet: Facilitating asynchronous musical collaboration in a chamber ensemble setting. The College Music Symposium, 57. 

O’Leary, E. J. (2016). Economic and demographic characteristics of schools and communities with Bands of America Grand National Championship finalists: 2001-2013. Journal of Band Research, 51(2), 56-66.

Abstract

This study examines geographic, demographic, and economic characteristics of bands competing in the Bands of America Grand National Championships Finals from 2002 through 2011. The Grand National Championships are the final round of competition in a four-day event that is considered one of the premier high school marching band competitions in the nation. A frequency analysis of bands participating was performed to determine the number of unique schools represented in the event (N = 31). To determine differences from state norms in
economic and demographic areas, individual school and school district data were compared to state averages. Competing schools had enrollments that were an average of 346% larger than their respective state means. The average percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch at these schools was 27.59 points below state means. Median household income for the school district’s of these bands was 42% higher than state means. The study highlights
continuing inequities in marching band competition with bands from rural areas and lower socioeconomic statuses being at a distinct disadvantage in this event. This study builds on the existing literature on competition in music with the focus on the marching band area. Future research is needed to examine similar possible inequities in state and local competitions and analyze educational outcomes achieved through participation in marching band contests.

Book Chapters

O’Leary, E. J. & Stringham, D. S. (Accepted). Exploring the shared language of large ensemble adjudicated events. Proceedings from the Ninth International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education. 

O’Leary, E. J. (2022). The quarantine ukulele live streams: The creativities of an online music community during a global health crisis. In C. Randles & P. Burnard (Eds.) The Routledge companion to creativities in music education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003248194-34

O’Leary, E. J. (2022). Reflecting on pandemic teaching and technology. In J. Lewis & A. Maas (Eds.), Music education on the verge: Stories of pandemic teaching and transformative change.  Lexington Books.

O’Leary, E.J. (2020). More than words: Analyzing a song through lyric annotation. In Bell, A. P. (Ed.), The Music Production Cookbook. New York: Oxford University Press.