Growing Music Teacher Identity and Agency: Influencers and Inhibitors (original) (raw)

A Lifelong Perspective for Growing Music Teacher Identity

Research Studies in Music Education, 2020

The article discusses a lifelong perspective for growing music teacher identity, particularly related to the in-service development of music teachers. It presents a theoretical framework which is developed from literature reviews on teacher identity development and construction and from case studies of the transformative learning journeys of serving music teachers in Singapore. Seven themes – personal self, activist identity, music, teaching, students, social relations, and the ecology of the social world – are found to interact and contribute to the transformative learning of music teachers.

Developing music teacher identities: An international multi-site study

International Journal of Music Education, 2012

This study investigates pre-service music teacher’s (PSMT) perceptions of their professional identities. University-level education students in the United States America (USA), Spain and Australia were all asked interview questions based on general themes relevant to teacher identity development, and their responses were subjected to content analysis. Similarities were found in their perceptions of the role of ‘music teacher’ and their pre-university experiences/influences. Across the sites it seems that there was a dynamic and shifting relationship between PSMTs’ understandings of themselves as ‘musicians’ or as ‘teachers’ during their university years. This study confirms previous research in the area and contributes to the field in its discovery that these themes are found across three international sites. Implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations made for future research and practice.

Identities of music teachers: Implications for teacher education

Teachers' professional identity influences their decisions and behaviour (Beijaard, Verloop, & Vermunt, 2000). Teacher education has the potential to either challenge or maintain preservice teachers' preconceptions of their professional identity, and teacher education should arguably develop in future teachers a professional identity which enables them to be effective throughout their career. This paper reports findings from interviews with 15 early-career music teachers regarding their perceptions of their professional identity. Analysis indicates that early-career music teachers feel a 'passion' for music and teaching music, and view themselves as musicians, music teachers or teachers. This study suggests that discipline specialisation has a unique impact on teachers' identity. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Socio-cultural Contexts of the Musician-Teacher’s Professional Identity Development

Proceedings of the 20th International Seminar of the ISME Music in School and Teacher Education Commission (MISTEC), 2014

The interrelation between professional identity, instructional conceptions and socio-cultural contexts in teachers’ lives is explored. Harmonic correspondence between teachers’ professional identity and her working and professional activity in music education is necessary in order to develop good educational practices. This relation is affected by different kinds of socio-cultural contexts, as family, school, initial professional education, and the entrance into the professional and working field. Construction of conceptions on their own teaching action develops in relation to those contexts, and they configure at the same time the way how the teacher tells her narrative on herself as a professional in music education, that is, her professional identity. This research bases on the complexity paradigm, and assumes a qualitative methodology involving 16 biographical in-depth interviews. The selected sample is intentionally heterogeneous in terms of contexts, identities and conceptions. Results show that contexts introduce differences in teachers’ instructional conceptions corresponding to nuances in the types of identity; but they are not relevant and do not transform professional identity, which appears to be the own re-elaboration of each teacher, some times going with and some others against the context teachers are experiencing.

A quantitative study of experiences impacting music teacher development

Psychology of Music, 2019

Scholars have asserted for the need for music teachers to be engaged in music-making and have drawn links between performing and music teaching identities. Drawing on a questionnaire study (n = 72), this article reports (a) the impact of music and non-music experiences on specialist music teachers and (b) the associations between experiences, perceived music (teaching) abilities, and their pride as music teachers. Through using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, the study found that besides performing abilities positively impacting on music teachers’ perceived teaching abilities and their pride as music teachers, music compositional experiences also significantly impact on music teachers’ perceived teaching abilities. In addition, teachers’ other experiences in the context of their work environment are also significantly associated with their perceived teaching abilities. The implications are that more attention needs to be given to positive music composition experiences and its relationship to music teaching. Moreover, the professional and personal growth of music teachers is constituted by both musical and non-musical development aspects and is impacted by their relationship with their students and their colleagues. Therefore, professional development of music teachers should look beyond their competency development to facilitating and supporting the growth of their music teacher identities.

The roller coaster ride: Our music teacher educator identity development

Research Studies in Music Education, 2018

In transitioning from the K–12 classroom to higher education, teacher educators often experience tensions and challenges, which may be due to a misalignment between their situational and substantial selves. While many researchers have explored identity transitions of teacher educators, more research is needed to understand this experience with music teacher educators. Using self-study, we explored our identities as four music teacher educators, plus one additional participant, in transitioning from being music teachers to early-career music teacher educators. Data included interviews and personal journals, and we developed restoried narratives, non-linear representations, and cartoons during data analysis. These revealed three themes: misalignment, adaptation and acceptance, and roller coaster of growth. Misalignment describes the disconnect we experienced between our substantial and situational selves as a result of three factors: balance, autonomy, and identity. Adaptation and acc...

The identities of music teachers

This paper describes some preliminary findings from the Teacher Identities in Music Education (TIME) project, which is investigating how the attitudes and identities of intending secondary school music teachers develop during the transition from music student or musician through postgraduate teacher education and into their first teaching post. It is also exploring how students on undergraduate teacher education courses might differ from those in university music departments and specialist music colleges in their attitudes toward, and preparedness for, teaching secondary school music as a career. Some preliminary findings are that students from all of these different kinds of institution rate their teaching self-efficacy as higher than their musical self-efficacy: and that although secondary postgraduate certificate in secondary education students in music have traditional 'classical' qualifications, they regard 'teaching skills' such as communication and time management as being just as important as specific musical skills. They also value music education for its social and extra-musical/personal benefits more than as a foundation for a professional musical career.