Standing in the Shadows of Mozart

Author(s):  
Deborah Bradley

This chapter addresses the need for curricular change in higher education from a social justice perspective grounded in an antiracism discursive framework and focuses on music teacher education in large public and private university settings. After a brief discussion of the antiracism framework, I look at some of the historical and current impediments to change unique to music teacher education through a discussion of how those impediments may be reflective of a culture of whiteness in post-secondary institutions. Racial assumptions underlie classical music studies in higher education; those assumptions manifest themselves in our behaviors, educational processes, and educational products. The chapter concludes with several examples of program revisions in music education that have begun to address the types of changes necessary for developing pedagogies of social justice for music teacher education—to move music studies in higher education out of “the shadows of Mozart” and into the twenty-first century.

Author(s):  
Gabriel Rusinek ◽  
José Luis Aróstegui

This chapter discusses the politics of music teacher education in relation to the major policies that transnational institutions are promoting virtually all over the world, in relation to national curricula reforms and in relation to the programs developed by higher education institutions. The first section copes with the impact of international organizations on the reforms of national curricula based on an economic rationale and on the shaping of a new role for music and arts education in schools. The second section discusses to what extent higher education institutions in charge of teacher education are assuming these curricular changes. The final section contends that music teacher education programs should consider three major issues to foster social justice: (1) the quality of programs from an educational perspective; (2) the demise of music education as part of compulsory education; and (3) the acknowledgment of politics in music education and music teacher education.


Author(s):  
Phillip M. Hash

This chapter examines the history of music teacher education in the United States from its humble beginnings in the 19th century through the varied preservice and advanced programs offered today. The chapter describes the evolution of the field over the past 200 years and speculates on the future of the profession through a historical lens. Most music teachers of the 18th and early 19th centuries received little formal preparation in either music or pedagogy and earned most of their living in a trade. Around 1830, music teacher education began on an institutional basis in singing conventions, teacher institutes, and private academies. State normal schools and some conservatories extended this work in the mid-19th century by offering instruction in pedagogy and “public school music.” Colleges and universities followed suit around 1900 and, two decades later, began awarding undergraduate and graduate degrees in music education. These programs expanded a great deal through World War II and continued to develop in response to changing needs, values, and priorities of society. Today, initial preparation is highly accessible through public and private colleges and universities throughout the country. The same is true of graduate-level instruction, which will likely become more prevalent as institutions continue to develop fully online master’s and doctoral programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Salvador ◽  
Jacqueline Kelly-McHale

Given the shifting demographics in American education, the rising likelihood of students with special needs being taught in inclusive classrooms, and the increasing openness with which students are challenging gender and sex norms, social justice has become a prevalent research topic in music education. This survey sought to investigate the perspectives of music teacher educators with regard to social justice, music education, and music teacher education. Many of the 361 respondents indicated engagement with social justice and shared methods for addressing social justice topics in music teacher education as well as describing limitations that prevented them from doing more. However, about 50% of respondents defined social justice in “difference-blind” terms. A further 10% to 15% of respondents rejected the need to address social justice topics in music teacher education, stated it was not their job, and/or described social justice as a waste of instructional time that should be spent on content. In contrast, 10% to 15% of respondents expressed a desire for assistance understanding more about social justice in school music settings and/or suggestions how to teach about social justice topics in undergraduate music teacher education. This article concludes with a discussion of these findings and suggestions for future research.


1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kent Gregory

This study's purpose was to investigate the extent and nature of collaboration for music teacher education between K—12 schools and higher education institutions across the United States. A survey was used to gather data from a stratified random sample (n = 204) of the 813 higher education institutions offering music education degrees. The findings indicated that 96.77% of colleges/universities collaborate with K—12 schools in some form, but the degree of collaboration varies widely. Higher education music faculty respondents reported a broad range of benefits to students, faculty, the higher education institution, and the K—12 schools. Communication, shared decision-making, funding sources, faculty rewards, trends, and reasons for collaboration were examined. An analysis of variance revealed significant relationships between the degree of collaboration and (a) the number of music education majors, (b) the institution's size, and (c) graduate study in music education.


Author(s):  
Colleen Conway ◽  
Shannan Hibbard

This chapter situates the study of music teacher education within the larger body of music education and teacher education research. It problematizes the terms teacher training, teacher education, and best practice and introduces the concept of teaching as an “impossible profession.” Goals of teacher education, including reflective practice and adaptive expertise, are discussed. The chapter outlines the challenges that music teacher educators face as they try to prepare preservice teachers for the realities of P-12 school-based music education while instilling in these new colleagues a disposition toward change. It concludes with narratives that examine teachers’ descriptions of classroom relationships throughout the lens of presence in teaching as a way to remind teacher educators of the importance of their work to push the boundaries of music teacher education in order to serve the profession at large.


The Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States aims to work from within the profession of music teacher education to push the boundaries of P-12 music education. In this book, we will provide all of those working in music teacher education—music education faculty and administrators, music researchers, graduate students, department of education faculty and administrators, and state-level certification agencies—with research and promising practices for all areas of traditional preservice music teacher preparation. We define the areas of music teacher education as encompassing the more traditional structures, such as band, jazz band, marching band, orchestra, choir, musical theater, and elementary and secondary general music, as well as less common or newer areas: alternative string ensembles, guitar and song-writing, vernacular and popular music, early childhood music, and adult learners


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Mara E. Culp ◽  
Karen Salvador

Music educators must meet the needs of students with diverse characteristics, including but not limited to cultural backgrounds, musical abilities and interests, and physical, behavioral, social, and cognitive functioning. Music education programs may not systematically prepare preservice teachers or potential music teacher educators for this reality. The purpose of this study was to examine how music teacher education programs prepare undergraduate and graduate students to structure inclusive and responsive experiences for diverse learners. We replicated and expanded Salvador’s study by including graduate student preparation, incorporating additional facets of human diversity, and contacting all institutions accredited by National Association of Schools of Music to prepare music educators. According to our respondents, integrated instruction focused on diverse learners was more commonly part of undergraduate coursework than graduate coursework. We used quantitative and qualitative analysis to describe course offerings and content integration.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Miettinen ◽  
Claudia Gluschankof ◽  
Sidsel Karlsen ◽  
Heidi Westerlund

Societies worldwide are becoming more aware of the educational challenges that come with increased cultural diversity derived from ethnic, linguistic, religious, socioeconomic and educational differences and their intersections. In many countries, teacher education programmes are expected to prepare teachers for this reality and develop their intercultural competences. This instrumental case study is based on a project that aims to initiate mobilizing networks between two music teacher programmes to explore intercultural music teacher education. In this study, we map the intercultural competences that are required of music teacher educators and that are provided in the music education programmes at two higher music education institutions in Israel and Finland. The data consists of 11 focus group interviews with music teacher educators at the Levinsky College of Education in Tel Aviv and the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, conducted by a multinational research team. The data was analysed abductively, using content analysis as a method. While the interviewed teacher educators could articulate many aspects of their own intercultural competences or the lack of them, the findings indicate that in musical diversity and teaching students from different musical backgrounds the teacher educators found it difficult to explain what kinds of intercultural competences their respective programmes provided for the students. Based on the findings, there is a need for a more holistic understanding of intercultural competences in music teacher education as well as how our institutions produce power. There is also a need for the teacher educators in the programmes to collaborate and discuss among each other in order to create “knowledge communities” and to move towards addressing intercultural issues.


2019 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37
Author(s):  
John Kratus

The future of American music education may be found in its past—a time when music teachers instilled lifelong amateur music-making in their students. There are differences between amateur and professional musicianship, and the focus of American music education shifted from amateurism to semiprofessionalism in the mid-twentieth century. An orientation toward semiprofessionalism makes little sense given the limited performance opportunities in large ensembles after high school and college. This article suggests a way back to nurturing amateurism and highlights two obstacles to this goal: the inflexibility of music teacher education and the profession’s reluctance to accept popular music. The article concludes with a narrative of what a world of amateur musicianship looks like.


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