Music teachers' knowledge and social representations of music

2010

Innovare, 2019

Art education practices could strategically target those political, social and cultural disparities that negatively affects children and youth. Targeted practices are becoming more concurrent, and such is the case with music education. Historically, music education has directed its efforts mainly to the development of the so-called vocation or talent to play an instrument or to sing. It has been mostly focused to disciplinary training. Consequently, institutionality has governed the music teaching-learning processes since medieval times, prolonging the classical idea of trívium (grammar, dialect, rhetoric) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music) with political mediation of the so-called conservatories or music schools.

2012

This paper examines the influences of music teachers' on primary school pupils' musical activities, self-perceptions, and attitudes to music. We will discuss issues that involve results about the relations between music teachers' and their profile according to their musical background, academic training, and professional and artistic activities', with their pupils musical activities, self-perceptions, and attitudes to music. The main findings were gathered from two studies that were carried out in two phases (year 1 and 2): the Pupil Questionnaire Study and the Music Teachers Study. The total participants were 9 music teachers carrying out extracurricular musical activities in 16 Portuguese primary schools and 406 children from grades 3 and 4 (aged 8-11 years). The findings were drawn from the connections and relationships found between the results from the Music Teachers Study and the results obtained through the Pupil Questionnaire Study, in each school. These last results involve the description of pupils' perceived activities during extracurricular music classes, musical attitudes, and self-perceptions to music, and their perceptions of their music teachers in school during their participation in the musical activities. The main findings are discussed according to five main themes: a) Musical activities: singing and playing musical instruments and music notation learning. b) Pupils' self-assessments of themselves on the activities of singing, playing musical instruments and notation learning. c) Pupils' self-perceptions of themselves in two aspects: musicality and competence in music classes. d) Pupils' attitudes to music; and e) Pupils' attitudes and perceptions of their music teacher. Findings across the sample suggested that music teachers background, academic, professional and artistic, did not seem to have influenced the musical activities they have provided to their pupils' in the musical activities, except in some cases for the use of the recorder in classes. The same teachers in different schools developed different musical activities. Music teachers do not seem to significantly influence pupils' musical skills assessments; however, the 'time effect' was an interesting find. That is, the time pupils' spent participating in the extracurricular musical activities may have influenced more pupils' selfassessments more than the music teachers possibly did. Results also suggested that pupils' attitudes and self-perceptions of music do not appear to be influenced by particular aspect of a teacher's profile, background or experience, and more specifically, the presence of pedagogical training appears to have little or no impact. Also, it was not possible to establish a direct connection between the ways pupils' perceived themselves as being 'musical' or not, with their attitudes to music. No associations were found between music teachers' academic backgrounds and general 'profile' and the aspects relating to how much pupils' felt they were learning in the music classes and towards their idea of having a profession connected to music. In, summary, is was not really possible to establish with any degree of consistency that a connection exists across the sample between pupils' musical activities, self-perceptions, and attitudes to music and their music teachers' academic background during both phases. We will also discuss some implications of this study for music teachers training.

Sociological Explorations, 2007

*** I did not author or edit this publication*** Brian A Roberts, PhD edited and curated this document as the proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on the Sociology of Music Education held at Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2-5 July 2007.

2023

The notion that cultural and social "formulations within the educational sphere constitute crucial contents of negotiation and struggle which may have decisive effects on the capacity of society to maintain or transform itself" (Morrow & Torres, 1995, p. 9) comes neither as a surprise nor a revelation to anyone today. The field of music education, however, while often borrowing from sociological thinking, is yet to fully embrace sociological inquiry. The lack of commitment of a relationship kept at armslength, specially in the US, is evidenced in the fact that the music education field has no established journal dedicated to sociological investigation, while coursework in the area is rare and often relegated to "appendix status" within graduate education. Research studies make use of sociological frameworks, but it is not unusual for researchers to "employ" social theory a posteriori-as caulk upon an unfinished or stubbornly nonaligning structure. Rare, is indeed the space in music education studies where sociological dispositions are nascent or play an intrinsic conceptual role within the investigative structure.

Music Education Research, 2010

To cite this Article Addessi, Anna Rita and Carugati, Felice(2010) 'Social representations of the 'musical child': an empirical investigation on implicit music knowledge in higher teacher education', Music Education Research,

Music Education Research, 1999

Musiikkikasvatus 01 2012 vol. 15 55 ociology and Music Education is a collection of essays international in scope, aiming to establish and promote links between music education and various facets of sociological theory. This book is a much-needed addition to sociologically informed literature, and it constitutes a serious effort to employ sociological tools in productive and fruitful ways within the field of music education. With only two exceptions, the authors of this book are all music educators who have decided to delve through the wealth of sociological thought, looking for insights that may be applied to their own field. The book is original, accessible and well grounded. It shows us what are the possible inroads that can be opened when sociological lenses are employed in order to deal with current issues that concern music educators, both within academic and school contexts. It provides a broad and multilevel focus that draws on theoretical and applied research from a variety of international contexts. More specifically, it examines two sets of issues; the first relates to issues of power and control, their function within music education contexts, and their potential as conceptual tools for researching various music education encounters; the second deals with the possibilities for advancing alternative music education practices as a result of a sociologically informed understanding of music, musical experience, music teaching and learning.

This study investigates formal and informal music learning through the attitudes and perspectives of 41 randomly selected non-music teachers from a suburban Toronto, Canada high school. Data collection includes a questionnaire based on a semantic differential scale, as well as a randomly selected focus group. Hence, this is a mixed method study integrating both quantitative and qualitative data. Results indicate that the attitudes and perspectives of the participants were very positive towards informally trained musicians. Specifically, participants generated three principal themes. The first theme of value indicates that informally trained musicians are very esteemed members of society. The second theme of creativity identifies how informally trained musicians are great composers. Lastly, the theme of non-conformity focuses on the steadfast desire of informally trained musicians to achieve musical competency without formal instruction. From an education perspective, conclusions demonstrate that formal music educators should consider the inherent advantages of informal music learning.

Acta Scientiarum. Education, 2015

This text deepens considerations about the potential of school culture as a research category, in investigations that have as locus the relationship between education and artistic fields, particularly those constituted as a way to work with research objects that occupy different positions in these social spaces, namely: on one hand, schools and curriculum, and, on the other, music education. The argumentation hinges on three axes: the vocation of the school culture category in taking the researcher's analysis to the inside of the school, transcending the mere description; the approaches between education and artistic fields that have been made possible by the use of this category under analysis; and the contributions that the study of school culture have been offering to investigations that have curriculum and music education as study objects. Finally, the text presents notes of a research agenda, from the category school culture, that can contribute to the action of music educators in spaces where music teaching happens and/or is about to be realized.

Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 2023

Based on a review of the recent publication, The Routledge Handbook to Sociology of Music Education, this article seeks to problematize what might be meant by "sociology of music education." Taking a "socio-historical" approach, the article examines the historical trajectory and legacy of sociologically oriented interests in music education. Drawing on intersections between philosophy and sociology, the author emphasizes the difference between the empirical and the normative to argue for greater sociological sensitivity to music education's relationship to the political role of schooling as a state institution.

The paper investigates the particularities of a micro-group within the research group of students in the secondary school (5th -8th grade) whose potential has been tested using the MIDAS questionnaire for multiple intelligences. The students in the microgroup study Music as a subject in the national curriculum and a musical instrument (piano, violin) in the music department of the secondary school. The attitude parents have to such studies is relevant as the study of the instrument commences with the hope that there might be a potential in the student and ends up with the fact that Music is a useful subject and experience for the general instruction and education of the student which makes a difference comparing to others.

2012

A cultural-historical study about the connection between the Theory of Music Education and the Power of Definition Mats Uddholm Original title in Swedish; Om professionella aktörers musikpedagogiska definitionsmakt-En kulturhistorisk studie av samband mellan musikpedagogisk teori och definitionsmakt

This paper describes some preliminary findings from the Teacher Identities in Music Education (TIME) project, which is investigating how the attitudes and identities of intending secondary school music teachers develop during the transition from music student or musician through postgraduate teacher education and into their first teaching post. It is also exploring how students on undergraduate teacher education courses might differ from those in university music departments and specialist music colleges in their attitudes toward, and preparedness for, teaching secondary school music as a career. Some preliminary findings are that students from all of these different kinds of institution rate their teaching self-efficacy as higher than their musical self-efficacy: and that although secondary postgraduate certificate in secondary education students in music have traditional 'classical' qualifications, they regard 'teaching skills' such as communication and time management as being just as important as specific musical skills. They also value music education for its social and extra-musical/personal benefits more than as a foundation for a professional musical career.