Faculty Perspectives on the Master’s Degree in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to examine music education faculty members’ perceptions of the master’s degree in music education (MME). A total of 76 music teacher educators completed a researcher-designed survey instrument. Participants believed their MME students’ top four motivations for pursuing MME degrees were to become a better teacher, to gain a higher salary, to create a possible pathway to doctoral study in the future, and to gain academic stimulation through graduate level coursework. Faculty also indicated the MME degree was focused on both teaching/pedagogy and research. Participants explained that their students primarily learn about research through reading and discussing research articles in class, and that their students learn about pedagogy primarily from reading pedagogical articles and reflecting on personal teaching videos. In addition, participants presented various opinions regarding the purpose of MME degrees. Implications for music teacher educators are discussed.

“I’m Doing the Best I Can”: Teaching General Music in the Time of Covid-19

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the experiences of four elementary general music teachers (first year, early-career, mid-career, late-career) during the time of COVID-19. We considered impacts on the participants’ instruction and professional lives from data that were collected throughout the 2020–2021 academic year. Participants reported changes to their teaching environments, schedules, and job responsibilities. They shared the technology resources they implemented and highlighted inequities that emerged for virtual versus in-person students. Participants provided insight into the impacts of the year on their personal lives as well. Our implications include considerations for music teachers, music teacher educators, and school administrators as a result of participants’ experiences.

A Thematic Review of the Studies on the Music Teacher Competencies in Turkey

The first official works about the teacher competencies in Turkey were began in 1998 and many revisions made since then. In this framework, subject-specific competencies were prepared for some areas for primary education in 2008 and secondary education in 2011. This research aimed to review and analyze studies about music teacher competencies between 2008 and 2017 when music teacher competencies were in effect. For this purpose, the studies conducted during this period in Turkey were scanned, and the thematic content analysis was carried out within the framework of the method/design, sample group, data collection tools, aims, results, and recommendations. One of the research findings showed that the studies concerned were particularly related to the competency areas of planning and regulation, the theoretical-applied knowledge and skill, and professional development. Another finding pointed out that the vast majority of the studies employed a descriptive survey model. Last but not least, it was found that the samples of the studies were mostly constructed from pre-service teachers rather than in-service teachers. This current research suggests that further studies should give priority to choose in-service teachers as samples rather than pre-service teachers and also suggests more functional courses for both undergraduate program and in service training.

Turkish Folk Music Lessons with Phenomenon-Based Learning: Preliminary Lessons and Results

This paper presents the results of a pre-experimental design. The study was carried out with a single-group posttest model. In this study, the Turkish Folk Music unit was chosen for investigation as part of Phenomenon Based Learning with 10th grade high school students. In order to carry out the Phenomenon Based Learning process in an effective way, the teacher is meant to be well-prepared in different aspects. Therefore, during the research, the music teacher tried different introductory and follow-up activities. Following this, the opinions of 84 high school students were considered, concerning the activities. Results revealed that the introductory activities have the utmost importance in Phenomenon Based Learning. Although this study was carried out within time constraints, it was evident that these activities had a great impact on the students and the teacher. The students’ discoveries and inferences about both Turkish Folk Music and themselves for the future emerged as promising.

Care as technology for exclusion

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.

Methodological Fundamentals for Forming Art Values of Students-Musicians in Arts and Educational Activities

The article is devoted to the problem of value formation of a future music teacher in the process of professional training. Art education is considered as a component of training that accumulates performing, musical, methodological directions. The artistic education for Music teachers determines the poly-artistic vector of professional training, which includes understanding music and other arts. The success of artistic education is ensured by the subjectivity of a future teacher-musician who accepts such activities as a universal professional value. The hierarchy of pedagogical conditions of effective arts and educational activities is substantiated. The initial positions for substantiation of methodological fundamentals of arts and educational activities of the future Music teacher are specified, namely teacher’s focus on self-development and on values of other people. The groups of methods relate to motivation for the complex of musical activity, poly-artistic development, thesaurus in the field of various arts. The core of the methodological fundamentals is personal artistic communication with art as well as interpersonal artistic communication. The need for the functioning of a specific arts and educational environment is substantiated in order to provide artistic communication, The functional connection of pedagogical conditions and methods of formation of artistic values of students-musicians in arts and educational activities as subjects of environmental art education is explained. The prospects of research of the problem caused by actualization of processes of virtual communication, risks of minimizing of interpersonal art communication are defined. Key words: students-musicians, arts and educational

INTERPRETATION OF CHORAL WORK AS A CREATIVE COMPONENT IN THE SYSTEM OF FACTORS OF PERFORMANCE SKILLS OF THE FUTURE TEACHER - MUSICIAN

The article considers the issues of training a future music teacher, substantiates the importance of musical performance in his professional development. The views of scientists on the interpretation of the concepts of "performance", "performing skills" are analyzed. The components that determine the performance skills are highlighted. The meaning of the concepts "creation" and "creativity" is specified, their differences are defined. The phenomenon of interpretation as a type of creative activity is analyzed. Different approaches of music teachers and scholars to the interpretation of the term "interpretive skills", which are manifested in analytical work with musical text, technical and performing skills, artistic taste, the performer's own attitude to the figurative content of a musical work and reflect the level of his creative abilities. The key provisions of the theory and practice of interpretive activity of the future music teacher are indicated. The stages of creation of interpretation of a choral work are singled out and the range of tasks of each stage is defined. Analysis of a musical work is considered as one of the components of interpretation. The focus is on the formation of interpretation skills during individual lessons in the class of choral conducting. Methods and forms of work are proposed to activate the creative thinking of students to expand the musical horizons. It was found that the state of creative search deepens the performer's knowledge of the musical image, forms the skills and abilities of full-fledged work on interpretation. Emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of reading the musical text, on the development of skills and abilities in the independent analysis of a musical work. The role of personal qualities of the student and own experience in creative process is defined. The peculiarities of the formation of interpretive abilities are characterized, in particular, the sketch study of works as one of the forms of analytical-synthetic activity of the student is singled out. It was found that musical interpretation is a key aspect of the performing activity of a future musician teacher.

Preservice Music Educators’ Perceptions of In-Person and Asynchronous Online Fieldwork Experiences

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine preservice music educators’ (PMEs) perceptions of a semester-long fieldwork experience first delivered in person and then asynchronously online. Using the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, I analyzed the PMEs’ perceptions of their teaching presence in both fieldwork experiences. Participants cited benefits and challenges with lesson plan organization, in-person and asynchronous instruction, and building consensus about effective teaching. Notably, the asynchronous fieldwork provided a non-reactive environment where the script and delivery of content took precedent over a rehearsal mindset, which was more responsive and occurred during the in-person fieldwork. Based on these findings, music teacher educators might consider asynchronous fieldwork when in-person fieldwork is unavailable or as a stepping stone to prepare PMEs for in-person fieldwork experiences.

Elementary General Music Teachers’ Preparation in Classroom Management

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary general music teachers’ classroom management preparation within music teacher education programs. Participants ( N = 341) were active elementary general music teachers as identified by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Descriptive data included frequencies, percentages, and cross-tabulations. The most frequently reported sources of classroom management preparation were mentoring from a licensed teacher and supervised fieldwork, while creating classroom rules and expectations and teaching procedures were the most frequent examples of within-course content. Participants were most satisfied with their preparation received through licensed teacher mentoring and supervised fieldwork. Implications for music teacher educators are presented.

Towards a sustainable, student-centred approach for technology-supported music education: A Dutch perspective

Applying technology in music education is not always obvious for music teachers. Pre-service music teachers should be trained in technology-supported music pedagogy, but this requires more than isolated lessons, short projects and ad hoc support. This article reports on an exploration towards a structural implementation of digital pedagogy in higher music education (i.e. a bachelor of music in schools). This exploration was based on student-centred approaches that were iteratively developed over time and have been investigated through an action research strategy. The aim of this article is to inform about the design of the approaches, such as the structure of courses with its assignments, participants and external collaborations, and turning points and insights that steered the approach. Focus is put on the so-called technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), technology acceptance and students’ motivation. In the end, this article presents recommendations for designing education that prepares students to enhance their practice with technology: (1) adapt to your students; (2) be concrete to your students; and (3) embrace collaboration. This article concludes with explaining the value of these recommendations beyond higher music teacher education by providing examples of how these recommendations can be translated to higher music performance education.