Effect of Music Therapy Coursework on Taiwanese College Students' Music Therapy Knowledge

The purpose of the study was to explore the music therapy knowledge among college music students in Taiwan. This study chose three groups of students. Group A (n = 50) included Junior and Senior music students who had taken or were currently taking music therapy courses. Group B (n = 57) consisted of music students selected from the ranks of Sophomore or Junior at each of the colleges offering music therapy courses, who had not taken any music therapy course. Group C (n = 83) was constituted of students selected from among the Junior and Senior attending colleges that did not offer music therapy courses. The results of the study showed that students in group A were significantly more knowledgeable about music therapy than students in groups B and C. The music therapy courses did help to increase understanding of the diverse uses of music and its applications to specific populations in a variety of settings and using different techniques. A second analysis indicated that there were no significant difference among those three groups on evaluation of music therapy interests and curriculum. The researcher suggested that music educators in Taiwan should take the benefits of course offerings in music therapy into consideration when contemplating the development of the curricula of their schools.