The Call is Coming from Inside the House: Sexual Misconduct in U.S. Band Programs
Faculty Advisor Name
Dr. Alice Hammel
Department
School of Music
Description
The purpose of this study was to articulate the experiences of former band students as they relate to sexual misconduct among students and staff. Researchers and investigators have claimed that band professionals have recently prioritized performance level and musical accomplishment over the safety and well-being of students (Office of University Compliance and Integrity, 2014; Nadolny, 2018; Wells, 2022). Authors of recent studies related to sexual misconduct in U.S. Bands have suggested that educators in the band profession prefer to handle sexual misconduct “in-house” (Wells, 2022) and that teachers may be the least likely group to report educator sexual misconduct (Tate, 2020) in spite of federal laws that classify teachers as mandated reporters (Grant, Wilkerson et al., 2019). The researcher conducted a nationwide survey using snowball sampling to identify former band students who were active in U.S. band programs between 2008 and 2018. Follow-up interviews were scheduled using volunteers from the survey which the researcher used to examine the human impact of sexual misconduct on former band students and their potentially altered views on band culture as a result of sexual misconduct experiences. Through this phenomenological mixed-methods study the researcher explored the impacts on band students who have witnessed the mishandling of sexual misconduct and the extent to which participants consider their experiences with sexual misconduct in U.S. band programs to be common. Recommendations for further research conclude the document.
The Call is Coming from Inside the House: Sexual Misconduct in U.S. Band Programs
The purpose of this study was to articulate the experiences of former band students as they relate to sexual misconduct among students and staff. Researchers and investigators have claimed that band professionals have recently prioritized performance level and musical accomplishment over the safety and well-being of students (Office of University Compliance and Integrity, 2014; Nadolny, 2018; Wells, 2022). Authors of recent studies related to sexual misconduct in U.S. Bands have suggested that educators in the band profession prefer to handle sexual misconduct “in-house” (Wells, 2022) and that teachers may be the least likely group to report educator sexual misconduct (Tate, 2020) in spite of federal laws that classify teachers as mandated reporters (Grant, Wilkerson et al., 2019). The researcher conducted a nationwide survey using snowball sampling to identify former band students who were active in U.S. band programs between 2008 and 2018. Follow-up interviews were scheduled using volunteers from the survey which the researcher used to examine the human impact of sexual misconduct on former band students and their potentially altered views on band culture as a result of sexual misconduct experiences. Through this phenomenological mixed-methods study the researcher explored the impacts on band students who have witnessed the mishandling of sexual misconduct and the extent to which participants consider their experiences with sexual misconduct in U.S. band programs to be common. Recommendations for further research conclude the document.