Music Teacher Education Program Practices: Preparing Teachers to Work With Diverse Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Mara E. Culp ◽  
Karen Salvador
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Diverse Learners ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Education Programs

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.

Values, Agency, and Identity in a Music Teacher Education Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 105708372110305
Author(s):  
Olivia Gail Tucker ◽  
Sean Robert Powell
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Agency And Identity

Many view music teacher education as a locus for socially just transformation of music education through the development of preservice teacher agency and identity development. However, few have directly examined values in music teacher preparation programs, and values are implicit in agency. The purpose of this exploratory, intrinsic case study was to investigate the visible values in music education courses at one institution to add a new dimension to research and practice. We collected data from four instructor and five undergraduate participants through observations, interviews, and syllabus review. Themes of critical thinking, agency, student centeredness, positive teacher-student relationships, and skills and knowledge for teaching emerged from the data. Findings indicate that values may be relative in practice despite shared language among preservice teachers and music teacher educators. We provide guiding questions for program review and future research through the lens of values.

Pushing the Boundaries from the Inside

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Colleen Conway ◽  
Shannan Hibbard
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Adaptive Expertise ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Classroom Relationships ◽  
School Based

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.

scholarly journals Initiating mobilizing networks: Mapping intercultural competences in two music teacher programmes in Israel and Finland

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Miettinen ◽  
Claudia Gluschankof ◽  
Sidsel Karlsen ◽  
Heidi Westerlund
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Instrumental Case Study ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Group Interviews

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.

scholarly journals Connections and Capacity: An Exploration of Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Belonging, Social Networks, and Self-Efficacy in Three Teacher Education Programs

AERA Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 233285842090149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Bjorklund ◽  
Alan J. Daly ◽  
Rebecca Ambrose ◽  
Elizabeth A. van Es
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Network Centrality ◽  
Education Programs

Learning to teach is rife with challenges. Preservice teachers’ self-efficacy can potentially mitigate the stress of these challenges, and teacher education programs are fundamental in helping them build this important resource. As such, understanding the foundations of self-efficacy is important for researchers and teacher educators alike. Grounding our study in social network theory, we explored the relationship between sense of belonging to a teacher education program, network centrality, and self-efficacy. Our sample included 245 preservice teachers in three university teacher education programs. We found that sense of belonging to the program and network centrality (in-degree and out-degree) were significantly and positively related to preservice teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. This study builds on a growing literature that explores the relationships between preservice teachers’ social networks and their beliefs and practices.

Music Teacher Educator Perspectives on Social Justice

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Salvador ◽  
Jacqueline Kelly-McHale
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
School Music

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.

The Preparation of Music Teacher Educators: A Critical Link

2012 ◽  
pp. 684-688
Author(s):  
David J. Teachout
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Closed Loop System ◽  
Education Students

This article discusses the “ecosystem” within music education that defines teacher education, and reminds educators of their obligation to give music education students the tools needed for them to supersede current practices. It argues that music education is encased in a “closed-loop” system, where teachers teach how they were taught; and where opportunities for transformative change rarely occur within teacher education programs. Breaking this cycle is a key to developing more effective music educators who can question past practices and deal with current and future realities.

Gender and Sexual Diversity in Music Teacher Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 574-601
Author(s):  
Erin M. Hansen ◽  
Colleen A. Q. Sears
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Diversity Education ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Sexual Diversity ◽  
Music Classrooms

In music education, issues related to gender and sexual orientation are numerous and complex, and they have significant implications for EC-12 students, teachers, and curricula. By making preservice teachers aware of common issues related to gender and sexual orientation in music education, and equipping them with strategies to help navigate unexpected and teachable moments, preservice music teachers may better facilitate discussions about gender and sexual orientation in a way that will yield equitable, safe, democratic, and open music classrooms. This chapter will (a) provide music teacher educators with an overview of the current political and social climate for LGBTQ students and teachers, (b) present rationale for the inclusion of gender and sexual diversity education within music education, (c) illustrate different approaches to incorporating this topic into the curriculum, (d) identify common concerns of preservice music students regarding gender identity and sexual orientation, and (e) provide resources for further study.

scholarly journals Towards relational music teacher professionalism: Exploring intercultural competence through the experiences of two music teacher educators in Finland and Israel

2020 ◽  
pp. 1321103X2093639
Author(s):  
Laura Miettinen
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Starting Point

This study explores the complexities that are involved in the development of intercultural competence in music teacher education by examining the accounts of two music teacher educators from Finland and Israel who work extensively in culturally diverse contexts. A semi-structured interview method was used in conducting the interviews. Deardorff’s categorisation of the process model for intercultural competence was used as a starting point for the data analysis. The findings suggest that considering intercultural competence within a broader framework of relational professionalism would deepen the understanding of the essential aspects of intercultural music teaching and learning. Seen from this perspective, it is important to acknowledge and identify both the capabilities of music education professionals and the relational and contextual aspects of culturally diverse educational settings. Both hold lessons when striving for a meaningful intercultural educational relationship. The study suggests that in order to enhance the conceptual and experiential understanding of the development of intercultural competence within relational professionalism in music teacher education, music teacher educators could share and discuss their own experiences of teaching in intercultural contexts with their colleagues and students. This can in turn lead to enhanced intercultural competence. The increased self-reflection through sharing and discussion can also make the development of reflexivity possible.

scholarly journals Cultural Humility in Music Teacher Education: A Virtuous Vice, A Vicious Virtue

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-120
Author(s):  
Hayley Janes
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Cultural Humility ◽  
Music Teacher Education ◽  
Personal Experiences

Music teacher educators are not alone when grappling with the challenge of preparing students to navigate diversity and confront inequity and injustice. Educators and researchers from multiple disciplines face similar challenges and have responded with various approaches related to cultural multiplicity. The concept of “cultural humility” is one such approach from the health sciences (Tervalon and Murray-García 1998). I both put forward and challenge cultural humility as a process for preparing music educators to think about, work, interact, and live with cultural multiplicity. I draw on personal experiences, using a critical autoethnographic epistolary to write letters between my various selves. Existing research on cultural humility is first organized into intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions. I then problematize the virtuous reputation of humility specifically and explore its implications for cultural humility. I suggest that cultural humility is neither “good” nor “bad” but is something to be exercised differently in different contexts.

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