Abstract:
This study examined the effect of instruction on upper elementary music students' degree of liking for opera. Twelve intact music classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. All students were administered a pretest, utilizing a five-point Likert-type scale, to determine initial degree of liking for each musical excerpt. Following the pretest, experimental subjects (n=134) received twelve
periods of opera instruction. Control subjects (n=130) received regular music instruction. Following the treatment period, all subjects were
administered a posttest.
Statistical t-tests were utilized to investigate significant gain differences (p=.05) between experimental and control groups. Overall,
results indicate a significant increase in degree of liking for the Italian and English operas. Analysis by student gender shows no significant
gain differences between male and femaie students. Analysis by grade levels shows no significant gain differences for fourth-grade students,
significant gain differences for the Italian opera with fifth-grade students, and significant gain differences for the English opera with sixth-grade
students. Additional research possibilities and educational implications have been included.
