A Longitudinal Perspective of the Roles of Expectations and Music Teacher Identity Development

William M. Dabback, James Madison University

Jo-Anne Van der Vat-Chromy, James Madison University

Lisa Maynard, James Madison University

The purpose of this longitudinal study is to explore expectations and their roles in the development of music teacher identity. Researchers conducted nine interviews with three pre-service teachers (band, choir, and orchestra) in 2011 to describe and investigate participants’ changing self-perceptions as they progressed through their student teaching semesters. The same individuals were interviewed after three years as practicing music educators to further define changes in their expectations, career paths, and perceptions of themselves as teachers as well as how their teaching had transformed since graduation. Reflective journal entries guided by questions furnished by the researchers provided additional data for the second phase of the research.

Research has supported the importance of music teacher identity development on both personal and professional levels. Studies have suggested music students often identify more with music performance-based identities than music teacher identities (Froelich 2007, L’Roy 1983), while other research suggests that students may achieve balance between musician and teacher identities (Pellegrino 2009, Hellman, 2008; Shieh & Conway, 2004; Woodward, 2002), which can increase student satisfaction as they prepare for teaching careers within the contexts of music schools that privilege music performance (Roberts 2004). Garnett (2014) perceives this as the first significant transition pre-service teachers must experience and states that music teachers go through a second transition in which they must reconceptualize their abilities and experiences in their intended work context. As a fluid construct, Frierson-Campbell (2004) and Gray (2011) found that in-service teachers’ identities continue to evolve, and the latter author suggests early career mobility can help establish their foundations as teachers negotiate varied school contexts.

Four themes emerged from data analysis in the first phase of this study. Contexts and Expectations located the student teachers with respect to their mindsets and the hopes as well as the actual social settings and interactions they navigated during the semester. The second theme, Preparation and Frameworks, examined the place of past experiences, belief systems, and university preparation in how participants approached their student teaching semesters. Teaching and Learning in Student Teaching comprised reflections on classroom interactions, including issues of classroom management, instruction, relationship building, and interviewees’ perspectives on the student teaching process. The combination of the first three themes resulted in insights regarding Self-Realization as the student teachers reflected on perceptions of themselves emerging from their personal histories, interactions, and experiences over the course of the semester.

After three years of in-service teaching, participants had affirmed their career choice as music teachers and they reported continued confidence in their abilities to teach the musical aspects related to their positions. Conversely, each experienced struggle with the non-musical aspects of their jobs, and their experiences challenged pre-service expectations in issues of gender, age, and relationships with administrations. All three participants had moved at least once and expected further transitions in the near future as they projected their career paths. In addition, they reported surprise at the number of non-curriculum related challenges they experiences as new teachers such as the amount of time and energy their positions required and offered advice for pre-service music educators.

References

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Garnett, J. (2014). Musician and teacher: Employability and identity. Music Education Research, 16(2), pp. 127-143.

Gray, L.F. (2011). The impact of changing teaching jobs on music teacher identity, role, and perceptions of role support. D.M.A. Dissertation, Arizona State University. Proquest, UMI Dissertations Publishing 978-1-1245-8839-1

Hellman, D. (2008). Do Music Education Majors Intend to Teach Music? An Exploratory Survey. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 27 (1), 65-70.

L’Roy, D. (1983). The development of occupational identity in undergraduate music education majors. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of North Texas, Denton. ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing 8327044

Pellegrino, K. (2009). Connections between performer and teacher identities in music teachers: Setting and Agenda for research. Journal of Music Teacher Education 19(1), pp. 39-55.

Roberts, B. (2004). Who’s in the mirror? Issues surrounding the identity construction of music educators. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 3(2). http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Roberts3 2.pdf.

Shieh & Conway (2004). Professional Induction: Programs and Policies for Beginning Teachers. In L. Bartel (Ed.), Questioning the Music Education Paradigm, vol. 2 (pp. 162-178). Toronto: Canadian Music Educators Association.

Woodward, P. (2002). The Social Construct of Music Teacher Identity in Undergraduate Music Education Majors. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson (Eds.), The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (pp. 275–694). New York: Oxford University Press.