Got ’em on a string: The skills,knowledge and attributes of group string teachers in Queensland

Abstract

There appear to be considerable differences in the outcomes of group string teaching programs in Queensland. Some teachers appear to be able to generate, manage, and administrate highly efficacious programs; others seem to experience difficulty transferring the knowledge and skills required for students to become successful string players. As a case study with multiple participants, this investigation set out to document the reflections of mid-career group string teachers, observe the outcomes of their programs and teaching methods, and establish a preliminary collective profile of skills, knowledge, and attributes. Key findings include a high degree of overlap in the participant profiles, and the potential for further research into undergraduate training and post-tertiary supervision of group string teachers entering the workforce. Implications of the study include the need to appraise current undergraduate programs preparing group instrumental teachers in Australia, and the necessity for developing strategies to mentor these graduates in their early teaching years.

Keywords

group string teaching mentoring

Introduction

The motivation for undertaking this research comes from the author’s own experience as a group string teacher in primary and secondary schools in Queensland, observation of fellow group string teachers in school settings, awareness of the differing capacities of practitioners, and the considerable perceived variance between outcomes of programs from one teacher to another. The results of group string teaching programs in Australia are quite varied (Murphy, Rickard, Gill, & Grimmett, 2011), and whilst the ability to underscore thriving programs is in evidence (Carr, 2010; Stronge, 2002), the inability to generate efficacious outcomes is also apparent. Perhaps the latter category includes those who lack the teaching skills, the musical skills (Culver, 2003), the administrative skills, or the personality and behaviors (Cheng & Durrant, 2007; Mills & Smith, 2003; Wendell-Yonker, 2000) needed to inspire prospective youngsters to sustain their commitment to instrumental tuition and succeed (Purdy, 2006).

This investigation aimed to gain an understanding of what is essential for group string teachers to generate, manage and administrate efficacious programs. The study set out to ascertain how the participant teachers achieve their outcomes, and to commence establishing a collective profile of skills, knowledge, and attributes of these practitioners.

Teacher quality and its impact on student learning

Teacher quality and effectiveness appear to be the greatest in-school influence on student engagement and academic outcomes (Ainley, 2013; Sanders & Horn, 1998). Differences in student background and ability are considerably less important than variation associated with teacher/class membership (Rowe, 2003). The equation “high-quality teacher workforce = high-performing students” seems to be universally upheld.

Schulte (2004) commented, “The teacher is the single most important component of a successful first-year string class” (p. 134). In instrumental music classes, some additional external factors may influence learning. Student access to instruments, level of student practice, parental support, and class lesson scheduling conflicts are external factors that may affect achievement levels. However, it seems that the major influence on student learning is the overall competence of the teacher (Ihas, 2006).

A broad base of content knowledge of the teaching area is seen as essential to effective teaching in generalist subject areas (Gore, Ladwig, Griffiths, & Amosa, 2007; Ingvarson & Rowe, 2008; Stronge, 2002). The corresponding quality in group instrumental music tuition is for teachers to have a breadth of understanding of the content to be taught, and also to be skilled musicians in their own right. Participants in a study by Carr (2010) noted the importance of being proficient on at least one of the bowed string instruments, as well as being able to demonstrate the desired tone, style, and technique on all four bowed instruments. The ability to model characteristic musicianship qualities is necessary in developing students’ basic performance skills.

The consensus is that structure and content of lessons, teacher personality, and behaviors, and the ability to provide motivation to learn are the most significant factors in determining the successful outcomes of group instrumental instruction (Murphy et al., 2011; Quaine, 2011). Kopke (2003) identified the ability to communicate as one of the most important qualities of a good teacher.

As far as group instrumental instruction is concerned, many students, especially younger ones, actually prefer to study in a class with their peers (Kohut, 1966; Quaine, 2011). The benefits of group teaching are amongst the recurring similarities between the Suzuki and Rolland approaches to string teaching (Quaine, 2011). Other internationally recognized programs, like Sheila Nelson’s “Tower Hamlets” string program in Britain (Nelson, 1985), and Szilvay’s “Colourstrings” method (Edgerton, 2005), have a substantial dimension of group tuition. Added to this is the team teaching approach employed by these pedagogues (Nelson, 1985).

Research question and methodology

The focal research question for the study was: What are the collective skills, knowledge, and attributes necessary for efficacious group string tuition? In order to address this question, a number of sub-research questions were considered: What are the personal attributes of experienced group string teachers, both innate and learnt? What skill set is needed to teach string students in homogenous and heterogeneous groups? What knowledge do prospective group string teachers need to acquire to efficaciously deliver group instrumental teaching programs?

From the research question the enquiry was framed as a qualitative case study, which then proceeded towards the selection of participants and methods of data collection. The preliminary selection criteria for qualifying participants included extensive experience as a group string teacher, and evidence of a thriving program ascertained through well-managed programs, student numbers involved, and quality of output (Carr, 2010; Stronge, 2002).

In determining the cohort to be included, group string teachers were initially canvassed through advertisements in publications from the Australian Strings Association. After interaction with nine potential participants, the project was confined to a sample of three group string teachers, each assigned a pseudonym (Oliver, Ann, Yoshi). Geographic constraints played a part in the choice of participants from the pool.

The selection criteria for the participant population were significant to the project, because the intent of the research was to begin to establish a collective profile of essential characteristics for group string teachers. Mid-career teachers offer a depth and breadth of experience over an extended period time which lends itself towards more comprehensive teacher profiles (Stronge, 2002). As such, the study was conducted with mid-career participants at three school sites in the South East Queensland region of Australia. The study sites were incidental to the research, since the project focused on the individuals in the study, and not the schools to which each is attached. In many respects, the teaching contexts of the participants did not have a significant bearing upon the profile of each individual as a group string teacher. Nevertheless, it became evident that the school culture did have some influence upon the nature and degree of success of the group string programs run by the participants. Furthermore, the difference between private and public school contexts affects somewhat the scope of the programs run by each of the participants.

Two of the participants teach at well-established private schools. Ann works at an all-boys school, where the intake is from year 5 (ten-year-olds) upwards. Yoshi works in an all-girls school where the enrolments are from preparatory to year 12. The third participant, Oliver, is an itinerant group string teacher working across a number of Queensland state schools. Interaction with Oliver, for the purpose of this study, occurred at one of the schools on his circuit.

Data collection, analysis, and coding

Interviews, observations of group lessons and ensemble experiences, and review of teacher generated artifacts constituted the empirical date for this study. Data were collected over an 8-month period from the latter part of 2013 through mid-2014. The multiple methods of data collection resulted in a triangulated composite profile (Bryman, 2004).

Multiple interactions with the participants supplied data for the project. Two semi-formal interviews with Yoshi were conducted 8 months apart, concurrent with observations of large heterogeneous group classes led by the participant in a team-teaching situation. Two interviews were conducted with Oliver, five months apart. Observations of multiple small heterogeneous classes were also conducted on the days of these interviews. Across a period of three months, Ann was observed teaching small homogenous string classes on two separate occasions, directing a large heterogeneous class and a large heterogeneous ensemble rehearsal both in a team-teaching situation, and running an end-of-semester concert. A single, extended interview was conducted with Ann on a separate occasion in the middle of the 3-month observation period. Member-checking was achieved via the return of interview transcripts to each of the participants to ensure clarity of representation of the participants in the data captured.

Data collected included minute-by-minute field notes of in situ group lesson observations (n = 14), semi-structured interviews (n = 5), ensemble rehearsals (n = 1), and concerts (n = 1). Details documented in group lesson observations included the mechanics of lesson sequence, teacher–student interactions, questioning techniques employed by the participants, repertoire covered, and techniques explicitly taught. An interview schedule was devised to provide points of departure for the semi-structured interviews. This allowed for the distillation of points of similarity and contrast between the participants specifically related to their methods, support materials, and approaches to group string teaching.

A thematic analysis of all of the data was undertaken to indentify key themes or recurring emergent patterns (Yap, 2013), as well as to encompass divergent aspects in the group string teaching dynamic of each of the participants. With thematic coding, the researcher establishes labels by which sections of data can be recognized. The broad reading of data moves towards discovering patterns and developing themes. In this study, comparison of data from earlier and later interviews and observations helped in finding and augmenting unfolding themes and patterns. On the second and subsequent readings of data gathered, more themes became evident than were first noted. The result of this was that not only were the individual profiles given more substance, but also the collective profile became broader in its scope.

Verbatim transcriptions of all interviews were prepared for the data analysis phase of the research. Hand-written notes, taken during observations of group lessons, ensemble rehearsals, and ensemble performances, were similarly transcribed. Artifacts in the form of teacher-generated teaching materials, documents outlining details of string programs, formal progress report pro formas to parents/carers, and memos advising about rental/purchase of instruments were readily supplied by the participants to contribute to the understanding of what characteristics group string teachers deem essential. The result is a starting point for a collective profile of common skills, knowledge, and attributes of group string teachers. It has been most interesting to note that a fairly consistent profile exists across all three participants (Thompson, 1984).

Findings

This research establishes a preliminary collective profile of skills, knowledge, and attributes common to group string teachers running efficacious programs. Points of convergence include the significant impact of the participants’ own teachers; the development of substantial self-authored teaching resources; the steady pace of instruction in foundational technique; the relatively high level of retention of students; the teachers’ abilities to relate well to the students in their classes; and the sense of investing in their students beyond the simple mechanics of learning a stringed instrument. Divergences were largely to do with the varying contexts in which each practitioner operates: the starting age for students; the option to employ team teaching; and the size of groups being taught. Other differences were largely reflective of the degree of undergraduate training in group string teaching, and personality differences between the participants, as evidenced by the pace of delivery of lessons, and the degree of teacher animation in the classroom.

Undergraduate pedagogy training

Having undergraduate training in methods of string teaching appears to be an essential ingredient in establishing young group teachers for the profession. Oliver commented, “In the university days we had a subject which was called ‘Studio Teaching Methods’ … and it was a bit of a hodge-podge of a course. It wasn’t incredibly well structured, pretty haphazard in what was presented and what was covered and … I don’t think it was incredibly useful.” He further stated that during his very early string teaching career, “I didn’t have any idea about teaching myself, and I was just doing some lessons basically based on what I knew, which was nothing about teaching.” Ann described her undergraduate training in string pedagogy as “fairly non-existent … and [that] when [she] first started doing teaching [she] used the same approach [that she had learnt in her childhood].”

The third participant, Yoshi, completed a “methods of string teaching” course in the third year of tertiary training. He noted the commitment of the university string pedagogy lecturer to take “a bunch of us to the AUSTA [Australian Strings Association] conference in Sydney [mid-1980s].” Yoshi was also fortunate to have “a very clever teacher at school who insisted that [he] sit in on some beginner lessons … with [another teacher] who was teaching Colourstrings, even then [early 1980s]!” It appears that Yoshi, who reported the most structured and thorough undergraduate pedagogy training, conveys the least sense of “teaching how he was taught.” Having received training at the undergraduate level appears to have put him in a better position to begin his string-teaching career.

Professional development

The Australian Strings Association has had a major impact upon the development of the three participants in this study. Oliver commented that he “did [his] own thing” as a teacher for quite a few years, then felt the need for some professional development, broadening, and fresh ideas. All three participants commented upon the highly significant impact that the Australian Strings Association had upon their development. “AUSTA in Brisbane’s phenomenal!” recounted Yoshi. “For string pedagogy [AUSTA has been the key ingredient in my professional development], absolutely. I’ve pretty much been to all the AUSTA conferences except the first one.”

High-level instrumental skill base of participants

A high level of proficiency has been noted as an essential ingredient in effective instrumental teaching (Carr, 2010). Ann recounted that her first private teacher “was from the Covent Garden Opera Orchestra … and she absolutely threw me in the deep end … she was the person who really got my playing up to a high standard through big challenges and lots of encouragement.” After her undergraduate degree she then proceeded to complete a performance Master’s with an inspiring teacher. It was still “a performance focus”, and then she “started doing a bit of professional work, but,” in her own words, “at the heart of it, really, I always wanted to teach.”

Oliver felt it wasn’t such a bad thing for conservatorium students to be preoccupied with learning instrumental skills at the expense of teaching skills. His notion is that a strong background in instrumental performance, and the necessary skill acquisition required for playing at a high level, sets prospective teachers up with a broader base of knowledge (Carr, 2010). Upon graduating, he spent 18 months working full-time in a professional orchestra in Brisbane. Similarly, Yoshi worked with a professional orchestra for several years as a contract player, whilst furthering his violin studies at a postgraduate level.

Participant-authored tutor books and materials

Since the development of significant teaching material is a characteristic of the work of notable international string pedagogues such as Rolland, Nelson, Suzuki, and Szilvay, it is most interesting to observe that two of the participants have written their own tutor books assimilating their pedagogical ideas into material suited to the contexts in which they have taught, or are currently teaching. The third participant has built his program upon Colourstrings material, whilst including material of original design.

Ann noted, “My motivation for producing [my own tutor book] was way back when I was … working with 3- and 4-year-olds and I wanted a visual representation of what I was doing. I was coming up with enough of my own material, and having [a husband] with [high level] keyboard skills” meant that she could “do (her) own thing.”

Drawing on his experience from having taught in Scandinavia, Oliver commented, “I think that just the Colourstrings, the concepts they have based their teaching on make a lot of sense—well to me they did, then the idea was to come here [to Australia] and see how you could incorporate some of those ideas into my own teaching in my own context, so that’s what I’ve probably been doing for the last five years. I think developing my own material—that has [been] the biggest change in what I do in the lessons … I use the keyboard in the lessons because you can turn anything into something that sounds like music, I think, if you use the keyboard.”

A broad base of content knowledge in the teaching area (Gore et al., 2007) is demonstrated by the participants’ initiative in authoring their own tutor material. Furthermore, a general enthusiasm was shown by the children in the group classes of all of the participants. Perhaps this results from the commitment of the participant teachers to the children and the programs which they run, but also reflects the notion that many students, particularly younger ones, prefer learning in classes with their peers (Kohut, 1966; Quaine, 2011).

Immersion

‘Immersion’ refers to music programs which demonstrate multiple aspects contributing to an integrated whole—in this instance a group string lesson (or lessons), an ensemble rehearsal, and a general class music lesson complementing each other. “Immersion” is a key concept in two of the three participants’ group string teaching scenarios. “I think immersion’s the thing,” Ann commented. Students receive a small group string lesson (upper strings separate from lower), a compulsory large group ensemble rehearsal, and a class music lesson, which she takes.

Yoshi reflected, “I think sitting in on those lessons in Finland, where you see all of the preschool children having all this pre-instrumental stuff, so all sorts of terminology and theory knowledge that kids understand, before they even come to an instrument—they know about rhythm patterns, they know about pitch, they know about working in ensembles, and the reason why it is so successful there is that the whole school has been built around that, so they have quite extraordinary results there [the East Helsinki school music program].” In line with this viewpoint of immersion, children in Yoshi’s program receive two group string lessons per week [one large group and one smaller group], a single class music lesson a week, as well as reinforcement in their academic classroom, depending upon the level of commitment of the class teacher. Yoshi teaches some classroom music, though not the same year level that he takes for group string classes.

There tends to be greater distinction between instrumental specialists and class music teachers in Queensland state schools. Typically, class music teachers are based in a single school and give half hour class music lessons to cohorts of 25–30 students. Instrumental teachers normally itinerate between several schools. This means that there is less chance of integration between string classes and general music classes; hence Oliver’s string program runs essentially as an entity, with no particular relationship to a broader musical context within the school.

Significance of participants’ own teachers

Each of the participants had one or more highly significant string teachers during their primary and/or secondary school years. “I’m still in contact with all of my teachers, even the first teacher,” recounted Ann. Her first violin teacher “was very heavily trained in Rolland and Nelson … and that’s had a big impact on all of my approach and ideas as well … . She set us up really, really well, but she also contextualized it. It wasn’t just about having a lesson and learning how to play—we were straight away into chamber music, right from the day dot. She was really big on … making the music make sense in other contexts.”

Oliver explained, “My teacher … who taught me all the way through school … there are other things I feel I’ve got from her … just incredible consistency and reliability as a teacher in just always turning up and being there—that side too, which is very important—undervalued sometimes.” Yoshi reflected, “I had a lot of fun playing violin at school. I had a wonderful teacher … I only had her there for, perhaps, four years and in that time she built up three substantial string orchestras. We used to play all around town in Brisbane … we just had all sorts of great experiences.” The positive string playing and learning experiences enjoyed by all three participants during their primary and secondary schooling years remains with them today as both a fond memory and as an inspiration for their own teaching practices.

Slow and steady

One very clear consensus held by all participants is with respect to the speed of development in the teaching of foundational technique to beginner students. Ann recounted, “I think in my own development, if I look back to when I first started as a teacher, the big change is taking things slower with my students. And I see a lot of ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ teachers. I think they try to go far too quickly … I make no apology to my students for keeping them on open strings for quite a while, and making sure [that things are] all right.” Oliver commented, “There’s a tendency to try and get hot-shot teachers in to do something quickly, but sometimes I think the long-term, steady approach is better … in the end.” Yoshi reflected, “I think [that] the longer I’ve been doing it, the slower I go, because it’s much more important to get basic things working well.”

Retention of students

At the conclusion of the compulsory two-year instrumental program run at Ann’s all-boys school, approximately 30% of the student body elect to do strings beyond that time. “I think it’s pretty, bloody good,” Ann candidly reflected, but then continued, “The big problem that we have across all the instruments is that middle school—so [years] 7, 8, 9—we can … claim that if we’ve got them ‘over the line’ from 6 into 7, good, fantastic, but then what we find is [difficulty keeping them participating] into [year] 8 and into [year] 9.”

Of the students that were observed in Yoshi’s compulsory 2013 group string class, eight from a cohort of 24 elected to continue learning a stringed instrument with a private teacher in the post-compulsory program the following year. “I think this class [year 2 in 2014] will probably be similar—there’s [sic] quite a few keen ones. There’s [sic] actually three in this class already having an individual lesson … and we have a band program in the school at year 4, so we tend to have a bit of attrition at year 4—unfortunately some cannibalisation goes on.” Yoshi comments further about the students who survive the band onslaught, “We’ve got some nice little players in grade 5, only a handful in year 6 at the moment, and then a good solid orchestra in the senior school, but not huge.”

In a teaching discipline where participation beyond a compulsory time-frame is essentially elective, these retention rates are good (Fu, 2009). This level of student retention is reflective of the notion that student engagement, and academic outcomes, are contingent upon teacher quality (Ainley, 2013; Sanders & Horn, 1998). The consistent level of retention of students may also be attributed partly to the documented evidence that young children, in particular, prefer learning in a group situation (Kohut, 1966; Quaine, 2011).

Of Oliver’s successfully auditioning year three students who then elect to start group string classes, he observed, “I find that I’ve probably got rid of them by [year 6 or 7] if they’re going to go. Those kids that have stuck, they’ve obviously liked it enough to keep going, but also have a little bit of ability … The attrition rate’s not huge in my primary schools. I lose a few every year.” On average in the school in which Oliver was observed, about 80% of the initial cohort continues beyond the first year. This represents a relatively high retention rate (Fu, 2009). Noteworthy is the fact that his ensembles regularly achieve distinction in competitive arenas. In 2008 one of his secondary ensembles was successful in being chosen as one of the seven finalists in a state-wide competition boasting several hundred school ensembles.

Whilst quantity is not necessarily the sole arbiter of success, in some measure it does reflect the level of strength of an instrumental program, particularly where there is continuance during the more senior schooling years. The modest success of Ann’s program was in evidence at the end-of-semester concert involving about 50 secondary school string players who have continued their studies beyond the two compulsory years. Yoshi’s ensemble program, after the initial mandatory year, involves approximately 50 students across numerous groups.

Singing in classes

Singing features in the string programs of all participants, to varying degrees. Ann noted, “I’m also doing singing with them … I’m picking up bits and pieces from all over the place … so singing’s really important.” Yoshi noted, “We just do the live singing thing—the vocalisation, but we do have a CD of all the songs that go with the second ABC book [Colourstrings], and I give that to the [academic] classroom teachers and they [the children] do a lot of listening to that, so that they’ve heard it. I give it to … our classroom music teacher and they sing some with her.”

Asked whether or not Oliver endeavored to relate his adapted Colourstrings-style program to its Kodaly roots, he responded, “A few years ago I tried to get them to sing a little bit of basic sol fah, but … since [Kodaly’s] not really being done in the classrooms anymore [in Queensland state schools] … it’s pretty hard to be doing it here [in the string classes].” So singing is only used as part of the audition/recruiting process to ascertain inherent musicality and the likelihood of success in learning strings.

Team teaching

It is evident that team teaching has been commonly used in the programs of internationally recognised string pedagogues (Nelson, 1985). The participants from non-government schools have established programs which incorporate team teaching. “We used to [individually] do small groups of four or five, [but] we seemed to get more done … team teaching [two teachers] with the whole group [over 30 children],” Yoshi informed.

Ann teaches smaller upper string groups of between four and eight, but there is some large group team-teaching in the program. An instrumental music “immersion” day early in the school year sees the lower strings specialist and Ann teaching separate classes during the first part of the day, then combining the classes into a group of over 30. The compulsory before-school beginner string ensemble rehearsal involves Ann and the lower strings specialist working weekly with the whole group.

Due to the current nature of the administration of programs in state schools, Oliver has no opportunity for team-teaching within the individual schools in which he works. Oliver plays recorded keyboard backings for the tutor materials he uses in his classes to allow him to migrate around the room and physically assist students with aspects of their technique.

Beyond the music

Each of the participants in this study indicated a motivation beyond the simple mechanics of teaching children to play an instrument. Ann reflected, “What are we really trying to teach here? It’s a combination of those concrete skills … but also it’s an art … and the beauty of it and how it makes you feel and all of that sort of thing, but the challenge of [being] a strings teacher particularly, of trying to keep that esoteric—the art alive and meaningful—when there’s [sic] so many black and white concrete things that need to be tackled as well.”

For Oliver, the community dimension of music making has become particularly significant. Thinking upon the time spent teaching violin in Scandinavia 20 years earlier, he commented, “In the school and in the community—it was rural—I really liked that side [the community aspect] and that sort of stuck with me when I came back here (to Queensland) and started teaching … and that’s when I developed [a regional youth string orchestra], which was like my version of a community kind-of music-making thing, which it has been for almost the last 20 years.”

Yoshi reflected, “I think we serve a role. You know, we get to an age when you have to think about things. The artistic things are what make our society, country, whatever, a civilisation. And if we think about civilisations from one–two–three thousand years ago, it’s the art and the music that we remember—and maybe the wars. They’re the ongoing things … It’s sort of part of the collective heritage that we have. And I think that it doesn’t hurt for kids to be educated in that and if we don’t, then all they have is the next junky pop song to be generated on someone’s computer, which, in 10 minutes’ time it’s been forgotten. So I think to be part of that link of an ongoing something of quality is quite a noble calling.”

Inferences and directions for future research

It is apparent that all three participants demonstrated the musical skills, administrative skills, and personality and behaviors necessary for successful group string tuition similar to that of previous studies (Cheng & Durrant, 2007; Mills & Smith, 2003; Wendell-Yonker, 2000). It is evident that the participants in this study demonstrate teacher quality and effectiveness appraised by the engagement of significant numbers of students with high quality outcomes (Ainley, 2013; Sanders & Horn, 1998).

A notable preliminary inference from this study is that there are many commonalities that define group string teachers. Indeed, the extent of common ground evident between the three practitioners studied was somewhat unanticipated. Before embarking on the data collection and subsequent analysis, the expectation was that there would be a significant number of divergences between the participants. This has not been the case. Whilst, expectedly, some variation is evident in tutor materials used, and in teaching approaches utilized, there is considerable overlap between the participants in most areas relating to group string instruction. Points of difference are due mostly to different personality traits in the participants, as well as the consequence of the contexts in which each of the practitioners operates.

Undergraduate training for group string teaching is one area in which only one of the participants reported a valuable experience. Building tertiary programs which major on the systematic training of group instrumental teachers, and the subsequent post-tertiary mentoring of early-career group instrumental teachers, seems necessary.

The conclusion that training for group string tuition needs to be given a greater focus in pedagogical study programs at tertiary institutions in Queensland could be transferred to other instrumental music areas. Instrumental tuition has, in generations past, been the privilege of the elite. In Queensland, for more than a generation, the democratization of instrumental music tuition has borne significant fruit, not just in the multiplied thousands of children who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to learn, but also in the significant injection of highly skilled musicians into the community and the profession at large. In the current climate, where the call for democratization of learning opportunities is under constant pressure, reconceptualizing initial instrumental teacher-training is vital. The participants in this study have relied largely on the work of the Australian Strings Association and other non-tertiary bodies to upgrade and expand their group string-teaching knowledge base. Tertiary teacher-training institutions and government-driven professional bodies need to be taking a greater lead in the continuing professional development of specialist teachers like group instrumental practitioners.

The participating teachers, who are all highly accomplished, reported challenges they faced transitioning from the tertiary education student to the novice teacher phase. This suggests the need to adopt an approach to active mentoring in the early career of instrumental teachers, which would provide the antidote to praxis shock (Ballantyne, 2007), and engender a sustained commitment to professional development and collegial support. The National String Project Consortium (n.d.) in the USA could potentially speak into the Australian situation in terms of the whole process of mentoring young group string teachers, not only at the undergraduate level, but in the early years of professional service, in a bid to train accomplished group string teachers and transition them seamlessly into the workforce.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

This article is based on the dissertation submitted for fulfilment of the Master of Philosophy degree through Griffith University, Australia. Thanks is due to the participants in the study for allowing observation of their classes, ensemble rehearsals and concerts, as well as the generous time given for interviews, and access to materials that they have generated for their group string teaching programs.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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