Music therapy has been shown to address academic, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral goals in students with disabilities in special education settings. Special education administrators are in a unique position to support the provision of music therapy services for their students. Understanding these administrators' perceptions of music therapy is critical to the development and ongoing support of music therapy in the public schools.

In this national study, an online survey was used to assess the self-reported perceptions, awareness, and experiences of special education administrators regarding music therapy in special education programs. Of the 606 surveys completed, 529 were used for final data analyses, representing respondents from 23 U.S. states. Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine the self-reported awareness and experience of respondents related to music therapy. Further descriptive analyses were conducted to study the perceptions of these administrators related to the efficacy of music therapy for special education students. A total of 16 analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to examine relationships between self-reported perceptions and practices of administrators of special education and specific demographic variables.

Results of this study support the limited related literature, indicating that personal and/or professional experience with music therapy significantly influences administrators' perceptions of the profession and its place in special education. Implications of the study and recommendations for future research are presented.