Hispanics are less likely than their minority peers to participate in music education throughout their lifetime, and yet they earn the most music degrees, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). More than 80 percent of Blacks will have taken some sort of musical education training throughout their lifetime, compared to 73 percent of Hispanics.
A new report was recently released illustrating the direct effects of musical education on personal fulfillment, career success, and higher education attainment. The survey was conducted independently by Harris Interactive®, an online polling company.
Despite the lack of musical participation, Hispanics outnumber Blacks in earned degrees in music. Based on data from the NCES in 2005, Hispanics represented 12.7 percent of all music associate degree holders, while Blacks earned 8.8 percent of the all music degrees. Similarly, Hispanics represented 6.4 percent of all music undergraduate degree holders, compared to 5.3 percent for Blacks.
MENC: the National Association for Music Education, recently released this statement in which Dr. John Mahlmann, executive director of MENC said, “Research confirms that music education at an early age greatly increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to seek higher education and ultimately earn a higher salary.”
Eight out of 10 households with incomes of $150,000 or more had participated in a musical program, compared to the three-quarters of those earning less than $34,999 who had participated in a music program
WHO PARTICIPATED IN MUSIC?
“During your years in school, when and how did you participate in music?”
