Issues Facing Music Teacher

Education in the 21st Century

Developing Leaders in the Field

The Author
A professor of music education at
the University of Michigan, School
of Music, Theater and Dance.
She has presented at national and
international conferences
(including NAfME and ISME) and
has published more than 80
articles on these topics in all of the
major music education journals.
She is currently editor-in-chief of
Arts Education Policy Review.

Colleen M. Conway

Music Teacher Education Research Context

SMTE Society for Music

Teacher Education (1982)
NAfME National Association
for Music Education
Journal of Music Teacher
Education (1990)

SMTE Areas of Strategic Planning

and Action

Teacher Recruitment
Assessment and Alignment
Preservice Teacher Development
Restructuring the Curriculum Cultural Diversity in Music
Teacher Education
Cultural Diversity in Music Teacher Education
School and University Partnerships
Policy and Association Partnerships
Professional Development for the Beginning Music Teacher
Professional Development for the Experienced Music
Teacher
Teacher Retention
Preparing Music Teacher Educators and Supporting Current
Music Teacher Educators
Alternative Licensure

Topics of Interest to the Organization

Student-centered instruction
Developing comprehensive musical understandings in every
student
Changing the culture of instrumental music education
The importance of the teaching/learning process in a productdriven profession
Lifelong musical participation
Increasing the influence of instrumental music education
methods instruction/instructors
Defining/describing pedagogical content knowledge in
instrumental music teacher education
Recruiting instrumental music teachers and instrumental music
teacher educators
The ongoing professional development of teachers in ways that
move them beyond the traditional instrumental music
education paradigm

Recruitment of Music Education

Majors into the Preservice Program
Current music teachers may be the best
recruiters the profession has. They exert a great
deal of influence that could positively affect
the recruiting of future music
teachers (Fredrickson and Burton, 2005)
P-12 music teachers are encourage to work
with local Tri-M Chapters.
apprenticeship of observation

Observation of Teaching with a

Teachers Lens
A focus on getting music education students out
to schools early in their teacher education
experience.
Fieldwork observations are often cited by
beginning music teachers as both the most and
the least valuable requirements in the music
teacher education program.
Learning to view the classroom from the teachers
perspective is an important benchmark in the
journey to become a teacher.

General Issues in Music Teacher

Education Curriculum
Managing to fit all the coursework deemed
necessary into the degree program along with
general music requirements as well as general
studies requirements.
Most music education students take longer than
four years or attend in the summers to complete
the degree.
Most music students experience a conflict of
identity as they try to develop as a musician and
a teacher simultaneously.

Preservice Fieldwork
Faculty loads, student schedules, availability of local
schools and other resources affect the nature of
field placements.
There is a delicate balance between fieldwork that
provides good first teaching experiences and
fieldwork that is a trial by fire approach to the
profession.
Immersion Fieldwork refers to placing students in a
diverse setting for an extended time period during
which they live in the community as well as teach.

Music Education Methods Courses

Music Education students need to learn to reflect
in and on the action in music classrooms and
they must consider multiple strategies for solving
classroom dilemmas.
Questioning techniques need to be practiced by
methods instructors and skills for facilitating
classroom dialogue explored.
More frequent testing and the use of alternative
grading procedures will provide a methods course
atmosphere more conducive to the learning of
reflective thinking skills.

Student Teaching
The most valuable component of the teacher
education process.
To think beyond the given context instead of telling
them how to teach or what to do.
Have open lines of communication between the
co-op teacher and the university supervisor
regarding the student and the placement details.
To view student teaching as a spot on the
continuum of learning to teach and not as the end
point.

Graduate Certification Models and

Alternative Certification
These programs typically have the same
coursework and sequence as an undergraduate
degree including preservice fieldwork, methods
courses and student teaching.
The major advantage is the potential for
alternative routes to attract a more diverse
teaching force.
The disadvantage is that there is no research in
music education on alternative routes and it is
unclear in the general research if teachers stay in
the field in the long term.

Supporting Beginning Music Teachers

New teachers have two jobs they have to teach
and they have to learn to teach.
No matter how good a preservice program may be,
there are some things that can only learned on the
job.
The first encounter with real teaching occurs when
beginning teachers step into their own classroom.
The first years of teaching are an intense and
formative time in learning to teach.

The Four Stages of Teaching

by Kevin Ryan

Fantasy
Survival
Mastery
Impact

The Fantasy Stage

Some people call this the idealistic stage. This is
usually the period before a new teacher walks
into the classroom. The new teacher feels that
she/he would make a fantastic teacher because
of various reasons, that the new teacher is there
to save the world or at least save the children,
and that every school day will be fun, fun, fun!
The new teacher might voice the idea that,
Certainly, teaching will be hard. Inwardly, the
teacher knows that it would be easy.

The Survival Stage

The Survival teachers begin to rely on practices that they
see other teachers use, some effective, most ineffective, to
get through the day. Teaching becomes a matter of getting
through one day after another and holding on till paycheck
day. Many Survival teachers begin to whine and make
excuses, give busywork, and take no responsibility for the
students learning. They make fun of professional
development meetings and never actually develop as a
professional. Their conversations in the lunch room begins
with These kids in a high, whiny voice. Because the
Survival teachers do not succeed in teaching their students,
they will try to convince the teachers around them that its
not possible and make fun of teachers who are working
hard. Unfortunately, many teachers never leave this stage.

The Mastery Stage

The Mastery Stage begins when teachers take
responsibility for what goes on in their classroom and
hold themselves accountable for their students
learning. Suddenly, the Master teacher uses effective
practices, have high expectations, and strive to
improve professionally at all times. The Master teacher
is not afraid to ask for help or How did you do that?
This is where true enjoyment of teaching begins. The
Master teacher is very threatening to the Survival
teachers because they are living proof that these
kids can learn. The Master teacher may not yet be
t h e m o d e l t e a c h e r, b u t t h e i r a t t i t u d e a n d
professionalism will soon lead them there.

The Impact Stage

This is the ultimate teacher, the award
winning teacher who makes an impact on
his/her students lives. Every day is focused
on learning effectively, rigorously, and in
an engaging manner. The students may
view this as fun, fun, fun and in a real
sense, the Impact teacher has achieved
the dreams of the Fantasy teacher. The
teacher has come full circle and teaching
is an everyday joy.

Experiences of the Beginning Music

Teachers
Isolation
Loneliness
Culture-shock
In-service and administrative help
Community relations
Feelings of failure
Feelings of being in a sink or swim situation
Feeling overworked and overburdened
Feeling overtired
Being confused by or in disagreement with administrative
policies and evaluations
Dealing with parents and feeling threatened
Insecure and vulnerable

Supporting Beginning Music Teachers

The first step in supporting beginning music teachers is to
recognize the inability of many school districts to provide
appropriate support.
Music educators must become more active in the policy arena
so that music teachers may receive professional development
credit (in-service credit).
Beginning music teachers are often inducted into a school by
being provided with this is how it works around here
information.
Recognizing the need for professional development support
beyond the first year will help not only to retain the reflective
teachers, but it may also help foster more reflective teachers.

Mentoring Beginning Music Teachers

Beginning music teachers secure informal mentors
through their buildings, state music organizations
and other contacts rather than formal mentors.
Beginning teachers value the mentor more if they
have had an opportunity to interact in informal
ways (social gatherings) at the start of the
mentoring experience.
The beginning teacher might start the year by
observing the mentor in the mentors classroom first
then, the mentor might come to the beginners
classroom and do some teaching.

Characteristics of Mentors
Excellent musician
Strong knowledge of music subject matter
Exemplary teacher
Similar philosophy of music education
Proactive in establishing relationship
Good listener
Organized
S t r o n g k n o w l e d g e o f p o l i c i e s a n d
procedures(building, district and state)
Personable but professional

CONCLUSION
Music teacher education is often the effect of
attacks regarding lack of preparation for teaching.
Beginning music teachers need assistance in
dealing with the messy issues in school change and
curriculum reform that they encounter once they
begin working in schools.
True collaboration in music teacher education
between higher education faculty, policy-makers in
music education and P-12 music educators is still in
its infancy.