Music Teacher Education: Crossing Generational Borders

Author(s):  
Jody L. Kerchner ◽  
Carlos R. Abril

One challenge in the education of music teachers is helping them prepare to teach students beyond the traditional school years in a variety of settings. In so doing, music teacher educators should consider: (a) how they can prepare all music majors to engage with community adults through music; (b) how they can better prepare teachers to teach people of all ages in a diverse array of settings in and beyond schools; (c) how they might infuse a lifespan perspective in existing music education courses, from introduction to music education to methods and graduate courses in philosophy; (d) how community music can become a specialized track in music education, at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels; and (e) how they may incorporate additional resources (e.g., personnel, materials, field experience locations) to realize the aforementioned possibilities. This article considers adult characteristics and developmental theories in relation to a lifespan perspective in music teacher education programs.

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.


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.


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.


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Jolanta Lasauskiene ◽  
Yuqing Yang

The main aim of every teacher education programme is to educate competent teachers and to develop necessary professional qualities to ensure lifelong teaching careers for teachers. In various countries different traditions of educating teachers of music have been established following the traditions and needs of each country. The aim of this study is to present and generalise an overview of the most common models of music teacher education in Lithuania (with a focus on Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences) and other countries, so as to highlight the main features that might initiate discussion of critical issues in the context of music teacher education nationally and internationally. The article focuses on pedagogical study programmes of Music Education as well as on similarities and differences in their curricular. The research on models for teacher education in the best foreign higher education institutions creates conditions for adoption of the most successful international teacher education practices. Keywords: Initial music teacher education, teacher education curriculum, teacher education models, study programmes;


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-73
Author(s):  
Monica Lindgren ◽  
Ragnhild Sandberg-Jurström ◽  
Olle Zandén

In this article, we explore and problematise admission tests to specialist music teacher education in Sweden from a governing perspective, where higher music education is considered a discursive practice. It illustrates how power operates in legitimating the tests. The study uses stimulated recall in jury members’ talk about assessing applicants for music teacher education programmes, and uses Foucault’s concept of governmentality to reveal entrance tests as something regarded as generally good for all. This operating discourse is built on governmental rationality and processes that make it possible to reach conclusions about the applicants’ personalities and prospects for learning and developing in the future. Through care as technology of power, failing applicants are excluded from becoming music teachers and at the same time they are rescued from struggling in the future. The results are discussed in relation to issues of democratic music education, ethics and requirements for widened access to higher music education.


Author(s):  
Jolanta Lasauskiene

The topic of music teacher education and training raises many issues for discussion. The purpose of the present study was to analyse the approach of pre-service music education teachers towards their professional activity and to discuss their expectations within the context of the competence-based education. Thirty four students (international and national), all pre-service music teachers studying in Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, were included. The results indicated that generally the expectations of students were (more or less) in line with the principles of the competence-based initial music teacher education. Prospective music teachers describe their professional activity as broad and multidimensional but they also emphasise the importance of personal and ethnic values, implementation of general, subject-specific and professional competences and continuous improvement. It has been revealed that in music education it is particularly important to combine orientation towards pedagogical activities with orientation towards the spread of the learner’s personality. Keywords: Competence-based education, music teacher education, competences, student’s expectations, Lithuania.


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