Journal of Music Teacher Education RSS feed -- OnlineFirst Articles

An Exploratory Study of Secondary School Pupils' Perspectives Regarding the Student Teachers in Their Music Classrooms

Davis, V. W. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:56:06 PST

The purpose of this study is to determine how pupils view the student teachers in their classrooms. In this exploratory study, secondary school music students were asked to offer their insights about the student teachers assigned to their music classes as well as discuss their feelings regarding the experience of being taught by a student teacher. Participants in this study were 248 middle and high school students from a medium-sized southern city who were enrolled in one of three types of school ensemble: band, choir, or orchestra. Seven student teachers were represented in this study. In a 20-question survey, pupils were asked to respond to questions regarding the student teacher’s warmth, enthusiasm, and fairness; preparation and delivery; classroom management; and knowledge of subject matter or musicianship. Pupils rated the student teachers favorably in creating good relationships with the students and in improving their teaching skills. Certain delivery and classroom management skills were rated lower.

Perceptions of Preservice Teachers Regarding Feedback and Guided Reflection in an Instrumental Early Field Experience

Chaffin, C., Manfredo, J. — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:23:37 PST

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of 4 preservice music teachers regarding elements of verbal and written feedback as well as guided reflection during an early field experience program at a large midwestern university. Participants were observed and interviewed regarding their perceptions of various forms of feedback and guided reflection activities embedded within an early field experience program. Participants identified individual written feedback, modeling, and class seminars as most beneficial, enabling them to reflect on past teaching episodes as well as plan for subsequent lessons. The results of this study suggest that individualized feedback, whether written or verbal, may be an effective measure for facilitating preservice teacher reflection during early field experience.

The Motivation of Undergraduate Music Students: The Impact of Identification and Talent Beliefs on Choosing a Career in Music Education

Jones, B. D., Parkes, K. A. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:21:01 PST

The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons why undergraduate music students choose a career in teaching classroom music and how these reasons are related to their beliefs about their identification with teaching classroom music, identification with music performance, teaching talent, and performance talent. Participants included 143 students enrolled in music performance and music education programs at seven large U.S. universities who completed an online questionnaire. One major reason that students chose a career in teaching music was that teaching music had become part of their identity, a part that was separate from their music performance identity. In many cases, the motivation for developing this identity was their belief that becoming a classroom music teacher would allow them to help students by acting as a role model. The findings suggest that further research related to career choice in music education should include the psychological construct of identification with teaching classroom music.

Preservice Classroom Teachers' Attitudes Toward Music in the Elementary Curriculum

Hash, P. M. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:58:49 PDT

The purpose of this study is to survey preservice classroom teachers at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to determine their attitudes toward music in the elementary curriculum. Research questions examined participants' (a) musical abilities and experience as well as beliefs regarding (b) the roles of the classroom teacher and music specialist, (c) their comfort level with teaching music as a subject and integrating music with other disciplines, (d) the importance of music in relation to other subjects, and (e) the importance of various outcomes of the general music program. A survey was administered to 116 preservice elementary classroom teachers enrolled in either student teaching or early field experience during the 2008–2009 academic year. Data indicated that most of these respondents do not feel comfortable teaching music as a subject, believe music should be taught by a specialist, and disagree that classroom teachers should be capable of teaching music. Results also suggest that participants regard music as less important than other subjects and nonmusical outcomes of music instruction as more important than musical outcomes. The majority of respondents, however, agree that music can improve achievement in other disciplines and are supportive of music integration. These findings were helpful in designing the music portion of an art and music methods course at Calvin College and may have implications for elementary music methods classes offered at other institutions.

Why Select New Music Teachers Chose to, or Chose Not to, Apply to Teach in an Urban School District

Bruenger, S. D. — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:27:50 PDT

The purpose of this investigation is to describe the criteria that highly qualified music-education students with cultural diversity training from a Hispanic-serving institution used in their decision to apply or not apply to teach in an urban district on graduation. Eleven participants were selected. Three of them applied to an urban district and one accepted an urban job. Findings from employment inducement studies formed the theoretical basis to analyze the criteria the participants used to make their employment decisions. Content analysis of open-ended interviews reveals the importance of the following criteria in making the decision to apply to teach in an urban school district: the participants’ perceptions of the match of their own values to the organization’s values, specifically, whether they would be able to achieve what they wanted to and the proximity of the school district to where the participant grew up. These participants did not place great importance on salary. The finding of most interest is that the four participants who did not apply to teach in an urban district instead accepted jobs in midurban Title One schools, thereby teaching the same socioeconomic population they would have taught in an urban school. These particular participants were willing to teach students in lower socioeconomic circumstances, but they wanted to do so in a district where they believed that their ensembles would be competitive.