Ken's Boston University Study

Participant Info

Hi Folks!

January 9, 2026

I have had the opportunity to speak to students at several schools. I can alterate the study to fit your schedule - you can contact me at kdfoote@outlook.com or contact me at (902) 527-8202.

Below is the information I previously posted about the study.I need your help and I want to hear what you have to say.

Thanks!

I truly appreciate how busy everyone is, and I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for taking the time to consider taking part in my Doctor of Musical Arts study at Boston University.

This study has been approved by Boston University’s Institutional Review Board, the South Shore Regional Centre for Education, and the Principal at Park View Education Centre (PVEC). Requests for permission have been submitted to the Principal at Liverpool Regional High School (LRHS) and other Principals will be consulted if students from their schools participate.

The study will take place at the two high schools and will include students from these schools as well as from other SSRCE schools. I am hoping to include Grade 10 students from PVEC and Grade 9 students from LRHS, as well as Grade 9 students from Bayview Community School (BCS), Bluenose Academy (BA), Hebbville Academy (HA), and grade 8 students from South Queens Middle School (SQMS). The study will take place outside of regular school hours.

The study will begin with an initial meeting at each high school for all participants and their parent(s)/guardian(s), with teachers also welcome to attend. Following this, each participant will take part in a one-on-one interview, after which there will be four individually scheduled mentoring sessions for each student pair at the high schools.

After the mentoring sessions, a second round of one-on-one interviews will be conducted, and the study will conclude with a final group meeting at each high school, which parent(s)/guardian(s) and teachers are again welcome to attend. The group meetings will last no more than one hour, interviews approximately 30 minutes, and mentoring sessions no longer than 45 minutes.

Key Points

I am asking for a time commitment from students who choose to take part in this study; however, participation is completely voluntary, and students are free to withdraw at any time. Students will also have the opportunity to choose a pseudonym (“their name”) for use in the study!
I’m hoping to include up to four Grade 10 students from PVEC and a total of four Grade 9 students from PVEC’s feeder schools, along with up to two Grade 9 students from LRHS and two Grade 8 students from SQMS.
Parent(s)/guardian(s) will receive detailed information about the study at the first meeting and will be asked to sign a consent form for their child to participate. Students will also be asked to sign a letter of assent. Here are PDF copies of the parent(s)/guardian(s) Consent Form and the student Assent Form.
No data or study materials will be stored in the cloud at any time. Strict procedures for confidentiality and data security have been approved and are being followed to ensure full protection of participants’ information.

The Ask

I’m hoping to get started as soon as possible. I’ll share more details once I know which students will be participating.

Students are asked to bring any band music you may be playing to the first mentoring session. I will provide all other materials, including selected pages from The Standard of Excellence and some duet repertoire.

Ideally, student pairs will play the same instrument or instruments from the same family—for example, clarinet with clarinet, or if necessary, flute with tenor sax (though perhaps not quite tuba with piccolo—ha!).

Participation will require parent/guardian support, as students will need to travel to the high schools. Interviews and mentoring sessions will take place with only me and the student(s). Experience suggests that students may speak more freely when their teacher or parent/guardian is not in the room.

Background Information

Introduction

Based on my experiences as a music educator and athletic coach, I wonder if mentoring among musicians can not only help them grow as learners and players, but also create a sense of belonging that may enhance their overall well-being. I wonder, could that sense of belonging and well-being smooth the transition from middle school music to high school music, which seems to me a crucial time where students make big decisions about whether to continue in music? How might mentoring impact the performance and motivation to continue among youth musicians?

Here are the two programs I have completed to prepare for this research.


See CITI PDF for more details	See TCPS 2 PDF for clearer details

I was the recipient of a Honourary Lifetime Membership from the Nova Scotia Band Association in October. Here is PDF with some information on that award: Ken Foote.

Sample Questions

To help you get a feel for the questions I will ask, here are some sample questions that were dropped from this research.

Tell me about a piece or two that you really liked playing in band. What made them stand out to you?
Have you noticed improvements in your musical skills since joining the band? How?
What is helpful/beneficial/good about working together in a group? What does not work as well or is difficult?
Do you feel that being in the band has helped you grow as a person? If so, in what ways?
Tell me about a time when your band teacher/director taught you something difficult. Walk me through it.

Here is some additional information on my research taken from my dissertation.

Problem

The transition from middle school to high school can sometimes be one of the most stressful events in a young person’s life, potentially negatively impacting both their academic achievement and well-being. The difficulties associated with this transition may lead some students to feel disconnected to fellow students and perhaps discontinue their involvement in school music; this is a problem.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential results of mentoring and students' expressed perceptions of belonging in their music program.

Research Questions

These questions will serve to guide this research study:

How do participants describe their experiences in a student-to-student mentoring program while they also transition into a high school music program?
How do participants describe the impact of a student-to-student mentoring program on their well-being and sense of belonging as they transition into a high school music program?
How do participants describe the influence of a student-to-student mentoring program on their musicianship as they transition into a high school music program?