howtobeamusicteacher

LearningHowtobeaMusicTeacher:anautobiographicalcasestudyABRSTRACTinthiscasestudytheauthoroutlineshowshe‘learnt’tobeaprimaryschoolMusicteacher.Anautobiographicalresearchdesignusingphenomenologyasananalysistool,isusedtodeterminethenatureofthislearning.Knowledgegainedfromnon-Musicteachersandadministratorswhenteachinginschools,andfinallyknowledgegainedwhenundertakingin-service.Eachoftheseareasisdiscussed,withreferencetotheauthor’sautobiographicalnarrativeinterviewsconductedandrelevantliterature.Possibleimplicationsforteachers,MusicteachereducatorsandemployersofMusicteachersarediscussed.IntroductionThisarticleexamineshowIlearnttobeaprimary(elementary)schoolclassroomMusicteacher.IwasbothresearcherandsubjectinastudyexamininghernatureofbeingaprimaryschoolclassroomMusicteacher.TheprojectbeganwhenIwroteanautobiographicalnarrativeaboutmyteachingexperiences.HavingcompletedthenarrativeIdecidedtoembarkonaresearchjourneywherethenarrativewasmyprimarydatasource.IwantedtounderstandmoreaboutwhatbeingaclassroominMusicteachermeanttome.Thereforetheprojectwasadiscoveryofself,andtheresearchquestionbeingaskedwaswhatisthenatureofthislivedexperience?Theexperiencebeing,teachingMusic.MyworkingbackgroundisinLinqiTownChunanHangzhou,wheretheprimaryschoolclassroomMusicteacherhastraditionallytaughtMusictoeachclass(gradethreetogradesix;ages9-14)intheschoolforonetothreeclasseseachweek.TheclassroomMusicteacheraimstohaveallchildrenlistening,speakingMusicandperformingMusicsongs.AutobiographyAsindicated,thisarticleisconcernedwithresearchstemmingfrommyautobiographicalnarrativedetailingmyteachingexperiences.Abbs(1974)writes,'Thecentralconcernofallautobiographyistodescribe,evokeandgenerallyrecreatethedevelopmentoftheauthor’sexperience(p.6).Theuniquenessofautobiographyistheveryfactthat‘noonecanknowbetterthanIwhatIhavethought,whatIhavewished;Ialonehavetheprivilegeofdiscoveringmyselffromtheothersideofthemirror'(Gusdorf,1980,p.35).Oneofthegreatadvantagesofusingautobiographyisthatitallowssuccessivequestioningandprobing(Denzin,1989,p.191).Thisdoes,tosomedegree,compensateforpossiblefailureofmemory.‘Thewritercanturnbackuponherowntextsandseethereherownprocessesandbiasesofselectionatwork,(Grulnet,1980,p.155).Griffiths(1995)advocatesthatresearchersfocusonthemselvesasindividuals,withactionsbeingdirectedat'improvingparticular,localsituations,recognizingthebroader,globalrepercussions'(p.94).Sheindicatesthiscanbeachievedthroughautobiography(p.95).Bullough(1998)arguesthatbiographiesandcasestudies'canusefullyinformbothbeginningandexperiencedteachers(p.31).PinarandPautz(1998)aremorespecificaboutthebenefitsofteacherautobiography,indicatingthatcurriculumtheorists'nowdependuponautobiographytoprovidenewunderstandingsinthecurriculum,emphasizingthelivedexperienceofteachersandstudents'(p.72).InusingautobiographyasaresearchtoolIdiscovered,asPinarandPautzwrite,thatautobiography'canspuranarticulationoflivesthatcontestsocialnormsandprovidenarrativesthathelpteachersandstudentsredefinetheireducationalexperiencesontheirowntermsandintheirownvoices'(p.72).ResearchDesignTheresearchdesignofthestudyconsistedofthefollowingstages:1.Writingtheautobiographicalnarrative;2.analyzingtheautobiographicalnarrative,drawingtheessentialthemesfromit;3.reflectingonthesethemes,andmorespecificallythe'reality'ofeventsandperceptionexpressedintheautobiographicalnarrativethatcontributedtothesethemes;4.interviewingcharactersfromtheautobiographicalnarrativetoreflectonthethemesthatemergedfromtheautobiographicalnarrative;and5.documentingtheresearchliteratureoneachthemetogainagreaterinsightintoeachthemeanddeterminewhatmyexperiencescancontributetothisbodyofliterature.Thesecondstageinthisanalysiswasofcriticalimportancebecausethethemesthatemergeddeterminedthedirectionofanalysisinsubsequentstages.Drawingthemesfromdataisaphenomenologicalmethodofanalysis.'Athemecanbedefinedasastatementofmeaningthat(i)runsthroughallormostofthepertinentdata,or(ii)oneintheminoritythatcarriesheavyemotionalorfactualinput'(Elyet'11.,1991,p.150).VanManen(1990)describesathemeastheformofcapturingthephenomenonthatoneistryingtounderstand;athemedescribesanaspectofthestructureoflivedexperience(p.87).Phenomenologyisthestudyoflivedexperience.Itaimsforadeeperunderstandingofthenatureormeaningofoureverydayexperiences.Fromthelivedexperiencedescriptiontheoverallthematicqualityofthedescriptionisextracted(VanMannen,1990,p.57).Phenomenologistsdonotusecoding,butassumethatthroughcontinuedreadingsofthesourcematerialthe‘essence'ofanaccountwillberevealed.Thisapproachdoesnotleadtouncoveringlaws,butrathertoa‘practicalunderstanding'ofmeaningsandactions(Miles&Huberman,1994,p.8).Thethirdstageofthestudy,reflectingonthesethemes,andmorespecificallythe‘rea1ity'ofeventsandperceptionsexpressedintheautobiographicalnarrativethatcontributedtothesethemes,centredaroundthequestioningandprobingofself.Thisinvolvedtheidentificationofsubjectivityandfictionalizationthatoccurredintheautobiographicalnarrative.Thefourthstageoftheproject,interviewingcharactersfromtheautobiographicalnarr