Music education student, professor present international research at Atlanta conference
James Nugent and Dr. Jennifer McDonel at conference poster session
Dr. Jennifer McDonel, Assistant Professor of Music Education, and James Nugent, a senior music education student, presented a research poster session at the National Association for Music Education’s Music Research and Teacher Education Conference on Saturday, March 24, in Atlanta, Georgia. The study was titled, “The Impact of Professional Development Initiatives on Music Teachers Self-efficacy and Perceptions of Students’ Music Learning in Nepal.”
McDonel stated, “This presentation represents nearly two years of collaboration with Mr. Nugent and another student, Ms. Charlotte Hargest, in which we co-designed the research study, traveled to Nepal together, collected and analyzed data and now have presented the results to the national music education research community. We plan to continue the process by writing a research article to be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.”
The research project was supported through grants from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Scholar-Citizen Experience, and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship. According to McDonel, “these students received high-impact experiences that broadened their perspectives on music education to the world level and were guided through the process of research at the undergraduate level – a rare occurrence in our profession.”
McDonel also added that she was pleased with the support that was received to conduct the research and believes that it helped portray Radford University in a positive light among the national music education community.