The purpose of this grounded theory was to discover the process of undergraduate students’ music teacher identity development in the first 2 years of their preservice music education program. Participants in this study were 21 undergraduate students from an introduction to music education course. We collected multiple types of data, including interviews and written artifacts, from a course-based undergraduate research experience that focused on music teacher identity development. Consistent with Charmaz’s approach, data collection and analysis were grounded in a constructivist paradigm. We analyzed participants’ music teacher identity development in a cyclical, three-phase process during the early years of their undergraduate teacher education programs. The three phases involved (a) outer experiences and interactions, (b) inner reflective processes, and (c) actions based on their reflections. The phases were situated within the context of participants’ developing sense of self. Central to this process was the students’ personal development, particularly as individuals in the stage of late adolescence.
AustinJ. R.IsbellD. S.RussellJ. A. (2012). A multi-institution exploration of secondary socialization and occupational identity among undergraduate music majors. Psychology of Music, 40(1), 66–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735610381886
2.
BallantyneJ.KerchnerJ. L.ArósteguiJ. L. (2012). Developing music teacher identities: An international multi-site study. International Journal of Music Education, 30(3), 211–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761411433720
3.
BeijaardD.MeijerP. C. (2017). Developing the personal and professional in making a teacher identity. In ClandininD.HusuJ. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 177–192). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526402042.n10
4.
BernardR. (2005). Making music, making selves. A call for reframing music teacher education. Action, Criticism, & Theory for Music Education, 4(3), 2–36.
5.
BouijC. (1998). Swedish music teachers in training and professional life. International Journal of Music Education, 32, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/025576149803200103
6.
BrewerW. D. (2009). Conceptions of effective teaching and role-identity development among preservice music educators (Publication No. AAT 3361859) [Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.
7.
BronfenbrennerU. (1979). The ecology of human development. Harvard University Press.
8.
CharmazK. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage.
9.
CorbinJ. M.StraussA. L. (2015). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (4th ed.). Sage.
10.
DabbackW. (2018). A longitudinal perspective of early career music teachers: Contexts, interactions, and possible selves. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 27(2), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083717727268
11.
DravesT. J. (2014). Under construction: Undergraduates’ perceptions of their music teacher role-identities. Research Studies in Music Education, 36(2), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X14547982
12.
DravesT. J. (2019). Teaching ambition realized: Paul’s beginning music teacher identity. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 29(1), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083719844211
13.
GoldieS. B. (2013). Music teacher identity development: The role of long-term, authentic teaching experience in the integration of multiple dimensions of identity (Publication No. 3729157) (Doctoral dissertation, University of Florida). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
14.
HallmanH. L. (2007). Negotiating teacher identity: Exploring the use of electronic teaching portfolios with preservice English teachers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(6), 474–485. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.50.6.5
15.
HastonW.RussellJ. A. (2012). Turning into teachers: Influences of authentic context learning experiences on occupational identity development of preservice music teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59(4), 369–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429411414716
16.
IsbellD. S. (2008). Musicians and teachers: The socialization and occupational identity of preservice music teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 56, 162–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429408322853
17.
IsbellD. S. (2015). The socialization of music teachers: A review of the literature. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 34(1), 5–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123314547912
18.
JohnsonE. (2014). “Conducting is everywhere!” A case study of the development of pre-service music teacher occupational identity in a beginning conducting course. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 2(3), 118–128. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v2i3.422
19.
KosR. P. (2018). Becoming music teachers: Preservice music teachers’ early beliefs about music teaching and learning. Music Education Research, 20(5), 560–572. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2018.1484436
20.
MerriamS. B.TisdellE. J. (2016). Qualitative design: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Natale-AbramoM. (2014). The construction of instrumental music teacher identity. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 202, 51–69. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.202.0051
23.
OlsenB. (2008). How reasons for entry into the profession illuminate teacher identity development. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(3), 23–40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23478979
24.
ParkerE. C.BondV. L.PowellS. R. (2017). A grounded theory of preservice music educators’ lesson planning processes within field experience methods courses. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65(3), 287–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429417730035
25.
PattonM. Q. (2014). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). Sage.
26.
PellegrinoK. (2019). Music teacher identity development. In ConwayC. M.PellegrinoK.StanleyA. M.WestC. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of preservice music teacher education in the united states (pp. 268–293). Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190671402.013.13
27.
PellegrinoK.JohnsonE.WagonerC. L.PowellS. R. (2021). Music teacher resilience: Identity transitions during the early years of teaching. In Jenlink’sP. M. (Ed.), Understanding teacher identity: The complexities of professional identity as teacher (pp. 163–186). Rowman & Littlefield.
28.
RobinsonS. (2014). A case study of self-affirmations in teacher education. Journal of Invitational Theory and Practice, 20, 27–36. https://doi.org/10.26522/jitp.v20i.3734
29.
RussellJ. A. (2012). The occupational identity of in-service secondary music educators: Formative interpersonal interactions and activities. Journal of Research in Music Education, 60(2), 145–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429412445208
30.
SaldañaJ. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed). Sage.
TuckerO. G. (2020). Supporting the development of agency in music teacher education. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 29(3), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083719885868
34.
TuckerO. G.PowellS. R. (2021). Values, agency, and identity in a music teacher education program. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 31(1), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837211030520
35.
WagonerC. L. (2015). Measuring music teacher identity: Self-efficacy and commitment among music teachers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 205, 27–49. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.205.0027
