A Review of Literature Pertaining to Factors that Contribute to the Process of Starting a Curricular String Program

Abstract

While anecdotal information on how to improve a string program is available via the testimonials of string teachers who lead recognized programs, how those same string programs actually started has not been systematically researched. At some point in every school orchestra program's history, a local school board, for some reason, appointed the first string teacher. This review of literature explores factors that lead a school district from having no string program and no string teacher to having the first string teacher under contract through a study of advocacy, new string program development and model building. Findings reveal that the process is complex and political.