A Dialogue of Necessity

Contextualizing Music Teacher Identity

Uncovering teacher candidates’ (preservice teachers’) music experiences is pivotal to understanding music teacher identity, a topic that is an integral part of the dialogue in music teacher education (Ballantyne, Kerchner, & Aróstegui, 2012; Bernard, 2009; Dolloff, 2007; Kirk, 2008; Lamb, 2003; Smith, 2007). Canadian teacher candidates, studying to be elementary education generalists, are often required to teach or integrate elementary general music into their daily classroom curriculum. While there is potential in Canada for students to enroll in a Bachelor of Music Education at some postsecondary institutions, there are many universities that offer a Bachelor of Education which embeds music education within the context of the degree. For close to 10 years, as a Canadian teacher educator (music education professor), I (Griffin) have often been puzzled by the fear of teaching elementary music that is embodied by many teacher candidates enrolled in a Bachelor of Education degree. I have witnessed a lack of teacher confidence in music instruction causing many preservice teachers to feel incompetent about their music teaching abilities (Adler, 2012; Stunell, 2010). Thus, there are particular challenges facing teacher education programs whereby teacher candidates have a limited amount of time (often less than 20 hours of instructional time in Canadian Faculties of Education) to engage in philosophical and pedagogical orientations toward elementary music education. Accordingly, I have found it necessary to delve deeper and explore literature that would assist in better understanding this topic, leading to how I may meaningfully inquire into teacher candidates’ experiences narratively (Barrett & Stauffer, 2009, 2012a; Ferguson, 2009; Griffin, 2011b) as a vital form of reflection (Dogani, 2008) in the preparation process of preservice music educators.

This article is framed around literature that is relevant to the topic described. The subsequent three sections draw on integral research that has helped inform this important discourse in music education. These sections involve addressing the following areas: fear of teaching music, the relevance of informal music learning on influencing teacher identity, and the influence of such experiences on preservice teacher education programs. These three areas provide context for deepening understanding of how to better prepare teacher candidates to teach elementary music. Finally, the article addresses how this literature helps to position my (Griffin) current research study exploring how teacher candidates’ daily music experiences inform their teaching practices.

Fear of Teaching Music

Price and Burnsed (1989) pointed out that elementary school music teaching methodology has received considerable attention in music education research. Generalist classroom teachers often find themselves in either a primary or supportive role for music instruction. Berke and Colwell (2004) suggested that music education methodology courses ought to offer a balance between fundamentals (theory) and the practical applications of music as a teaching tool so as to increase teacher confidence. Abril and Gault (2005) noted that various factors can affect instructional goals, including general music teachers’ past experiences with school music, which shapes both their values and attitudes toward teaching general music.

In reference to this topic, Hash (2010) conducted survey research with 116 preservice elementary classroom teachers in Michigan, United States to determine attitudes of preservice teacher candidates toward teaching music. Results indicated that teacher candidates viewed music as less important than other core curricular subjects, and considered the nonmusical outcomes that result from teaching music as more important than the musical outcomes. Participants consistently reported feeling uncomfortable with the task of teaching music and felt the class should be taught by a music specialist. The comfort level improved when integrating music into other subject areas.

Holden and Button (2006) responded to a statutory requirement in the United Kingdom that all generalist elementary classroom teachers be required to teach music to the high standard of the National Curriculum regardless of music specific training, ability, or confidence. Seventy-one generalist teachers with teaching experience ranging from 0 to <21 years participated in a mixed-methodology study incorporating a survey questionnaire and follow-up interviews concerning their attitudes and views on teaching music. The study investigated the attitudes of generalist teachers toward teaching music, and the factors that affected their confidence to do so. Holden and Button (2006) found a significant difference in the level of confidence to teach music between teachers with formal music training and teachers without, as well as between teachers with a high degree of involvement in some form of musical activity and those with a low degree of involvement.

Hallam et al. (2009) analyzed questionnaires submitted by 341 teacher candidates from four teacher education programs in the United Kingdom. They concurred with the findings of Holden and Button (2006) in that the teacher candidates with the most confidence to teach music were those with an existing instrumentalist background. Statistically significant differences were reported in the confidence levels of those who played an instrument and those who did not.

Stunell (2010) discussed the problem of lack of teacher confidence in music instruction explaining that teachers who perceive themselves to be nonmusical believe they are not competent to teach music in their classes. Stunell (2010) conducted a case study in the United Kingdom investigating the reasons behind the anxiety toward teaching music in the classroom. Participants included four primary generalist teachers with 10 years teaching experience. Each self-identified as having a strong teacher identity, but a weakness in the field of music instruction. Although these generalist teachers supported a holistic view of teaching in the classroom, they reported being relieved to send students for music class when a music specialist was available. This is in keeping with the results of the data that supported the low self-efficacy beliefs of the participants. The participants reported having anxiety about being able to control a music classroom, but expressed a strong desire to overcome this weakness. They, however, felt that adequate knowledge, skill, and understanding of music could not be easily accessed.

Hennessy (2000) illuminated a widely held Western societal attitude that people, including teachers, believe musical ability to be a gift available only to a select few, and that this talent is fixed. This talent for music performance is required to successfully provide music instruction, a premise that is at the root of a long tradition viewing music as a specialist subject. Many teacher candidates arrive at university with an inherent belief that they are musically talented, or not, and believe that this fact cannot be altered. Hennessy (2000) conducted research into student teacher views on the effectiveness of their teacher education programs to prepare them to teach the arts. The interviews were conducted for more than 3 years at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom resulting in findings focused on 10 students following the generalist primary teacher stream. Hennessy (2000) concluded that in each case, the teacher candidates reported music as the subject in which they had the least confidence to teach, even though seven out of the 10 participants had learned to play at least one instrument during their school years. Nine of the 10 participants indicated negative experiences with boredom, embarrassment, difficulty, or disengagement with their previous personal classroom music education. Although each participant initially lacked confidence in their ability to teach a music class, after completing their teacher education which exposed them to insightful pedagogical strategies, multiple observations, and teaching opportunities, followed by ample feedback and room for reflection, findings indicated an increased level of confidence by the teacher candidates. This research supported the notion that it is not only the lack of subject knowledge that fosters low confidence in teaching music but also prior negative classroom experiences. The majority of participants in this study were competent musicians earlier in their lives, but had their perceptions of themselves as musicians altered as a result of these negative experiences.

Stunell (2010) investigated what the word confident meant to teachers in relation to music, and what they believed they needed to be confident in music instruction. Research results determined confidence to include the ability to participate in the subject matter professionally with peers. At least a minimal level of positive musical self-efficacy seemed to be required in order for this to occur. This finding is in keeping with those of Holden and Button (2006) where teachers ranked music in the lowest category of confidence citing feelings of vulnerability stemming from the inability to read music. More than 50% of research participants in this study preferred to use music as an integrative tool to enhance another subject rather than as its own subject focusing on the skill of music notation and composition. Findings indicated that confidence was gained when support was provided through music specialists and professional development.

The findings of Seddon and Biasutti (2008) also concurred with the importance for teachers to feel confident in their subject matter. Seddon and Biasutti (2008) designed a study in Italy involving an online music activity in which three teacher candidates with no prior musical skill learned to play a 12-bar piece of music. The successful completion of the activity yielded improvements in their perception of their own musical ability, as well as their ability to teach music in the classroom.

Wright and Kanellopoulos (2010) conducted narrative research in two Greek universities in which they provided teacher candidates with a course in Improvisation in Music Education. Participants reported the experience to be free of the fear and intimidation, so often at the core of traditional music instruction. Competition and judgments of better or worse were replaced by a sense of difference and participants felt free to explore their own musical identities apart from the rigidity of a traditional conservatory foundation.

Informal Music Experiences

Over the past several years, a wealth of discourse in music education has centered around the value of informal music experience in music learning (Bartel, 2004; Bosacki & O’Neill, 2012; Buller Peters, 2004; Campbell, 2004, 2010; Graham, 2011a, 2012; Louth, 2012). Music is something encountered regularly in everyday life. People engage in music in many informal ways each day whether it involves listening, singing, dancing, or relaxing (Holden & Button, 2006; Welch, Purves, Hargreaves, & Marshall, 2010). Louth (2012) advocated that personal knowledge, fostered by informal music experiences, clearly shapes teacher identity. Graham (2012) supported this notion by indicating that many preservice teachers become involved in various groups to enhance learning. She noted, “participation in performance groups in school, church, community, and university affirms their confidence in their abilities, contributes to their image of self in music, and reinforces the values and standards of participation in music activities” (p. 275). The following various studies expand on the significance of informal music experiences in influencing music learning.

DeNora (2002) discussed the importance of understanding the value of music from an informal perspective. The human-music interaction is described as the process by which our response to music is shaped in the way in which it draws us into participation with it. This human-music interaction is proposed to be a powerful force in social construction suggesting that our experience with music is capable of shaping us as individuals and societies. DeNora (2002) provided evidence for the power of informal music experience and the likelihood that it plays a part in teacher development once an individual has been made aware of the idea that this informal experience is relevant. For this reason, it would be valuable to guide teachers in reflecting on both their positive and negative experiences and interactions with music in their daily world, and encourage them to use this information as a positive force in the development of their music teacher identity in the process of building confidence for classroom music instruction.

Despite close personal relationships with music, generalist teachers lack confidence to teach the music curriculum because they perceive it to be formal and therefore require a degree of competence and talent which they do not view themselves as possessing (Adler, 2012). Adler (2012) advocated the importance of assisting teacher candidates to renew their personal expression with music so as to empower them in their future teaching practices. He stated that proceeding with students’ beliefs and experiences through the use of narrative was a means to help them understand the importance of informal music experience in shaping teacher identity.

In their longitudinal questionnaire and qualitative case study research in the United Kingdom, Welch et al. (2010) identified a disconnect between the values and considerations of what is important in music between students in the classroom and the teachers who have been predominantly classically trained. These authors pointed out that music is experienced informally on a daily basis. In spite of this, Welch et al. indicated that, “The teaching of music—at least in a school setting—appears to be less attractive compared to our personal and social engagement with it. Somehow, the educational ‘packaging’ of music (whether real or imagined) is not appealing” (p. 11).

Dogani (2008) presented a social constructivist view of teaching and learning music, focusing on the value of reflection in the development of teacher identity. After analyzing qualitative data from 50 student teachers, results indicated that familiarity with music is more important than theoretical understanding to gain insight into the actual and authentic music experiences of children. Once put in touch with their personal musical lives, it was found that student teachers were influenced by their informal musical experiences in the development of their pedagogy.

In her ethnographic study conducted in a northwestern United States university, Dvorin-Spross (2005) investigated the musical experiences of 73 undergraduate nonmusic majors. The purpose of her study was to describe and interpret processes whereby students made use of their own childhood experiences and community music experiences as a foundation for constructing future music-making opportunities with children. Dvorin-Spross indicated the importance of starting with one’s own musical background, musical preferences, ways of knowing, and family values so that the students are personally vested in their own music learning.

Richardson’s (2012) narrative inquiry work with seven teacher candidates in a northern Ontario university offered insight into the necessity of exploring the informal musical experiences of teacher candidates. Through interviews, journals, e-mails, informal conversations, focus group discussions, and preservice classroom observations, teacher candidates were invited to story, restory, and inquire into their musical experiences to assist them in reimagining their personal and professional knowledge. Visiting past musical experiences assisted these teacher candidates to reframe an understanding of themselves as these experiences became integrated into their current teacher identity. Musical experiences that were perhaps at one time less valued as being meaningful influences toward teaching practice, began to be revisited, reconceptualized, and reframed as teacher candidates validated their prior informal music learning.

Georgii-Hemming and Westvall (2010) conducted focus group interviews with 30 preservice music teacher candidates in Sweden. In their research, they investigated a number of questions, including whether teacher candidates felt they were being adequately prepared to teach music through their educational program. Findings revealed that music teacher identity relied strongly on past experiences in each candidate’s own elementary school music experience. The informal music experiences were joined with more formal music training in the shaping of the music identity of the teacher candidates. Hash (2010) supported this premise and suggested that Faculties of Education should focus on teacher candidates’ existing musical knowledge and experience and use this as the basis for methodological training rather than trying to develop new musical skills.

Relevance to Preservice Teacher Education Programs

Western society has tended to view music as a specialty subject requiring talent and expertise to understand, and subsequently to teach (Adler, 2012; Lamont, 2011; Seddon & Biasutti, 2008). In Canada, the province of Ontario’s Music Curriculum has a highly specialized outline of concepts and skills that require expertise and training to be successfully conveyed to elementary students to build their musical self-image (Adler, 2012). There is a clear bias toward musically accomplished individuals in the selection of teachers for music instruction (Georgii-Hemming & Westvall, 2010; Pellegrino, 2009). Adler (2012) pointed out in his discussion that specialist music teachers are usually artist-teachers who have undergone a minimum of 4 years of specialized music training before entering their teacher education program. Generalist music teachers have the opportunity of a brief eight to 16 week course incorporated into their teacher education program. It is, therefore, of little surprise that Adler (2012) reported that teacher candidates often express their need to rely on personal experiences and memories of their past teachers’ music classrooms to feel prepared to teach. In the province of Ontario, many teachers enroll in ongoing professional learning in music education through Additional Qualifications courses (accredited by the Ontario College of Teachers) after completing their degree to enhance their knowledge and skills. Such opportunities provide an additional means for teachers to become more confident with curriculum content and pedagogy beyond their methodology course within their Bachelor of Education degree.

A tremendous amount of fear and lack of self-confidence often accompany preservice teacher candidates when they consider the possibility of teaching elementary music (Adler, 2012; Hallam et al., 2009; Russell-Bowie, 2009; Seddon & Biasutti, 2008). It is necessary for teachers to attend to conceptualizing the varied ways in which music is encountered on a daily basis (Campbell, 2010; DeNora, 2002, Finney & Philpott, 2010), both informally and formally within varied cultural contexts (Campbell, 2004, 2010; Wade, 2004). When teacher candidates are encouraged to reflect on their own personal involvement in music and to value that involvement as their own musicality, a new confidence to connect with the daily musical experiences of their students can be fostered (Dogani, 2008; Holden & Button, 2006; Seddon & Biasutti, 2008).

Holden and Button (2006) revealed in their findings that teachers felt that their training was not adequate to prepare them to teach music effectively. They viewed music as a specialist subject requiring talent and expertise. The teachers indicated that greater subject knowledge would increase their confidence and effectiveness in the music classroom. In his research with teacher candidates at a northern Ontario university, Adler (2012) reported the inherent frustration of generalist teacher candidates at the prospect of being expected to learn content and pedagogy in a subject area that they feel clearly requires an existing expertise to successfully accomplish.

Russell-Bowie (2009) commented in a study of music education spanning five countries (Australia, United States, Namibia, South Africa, and Ireland), that the challenges faced by teachers in music education must be addressed at the level of the teacher education institution. Until teacher education programs acknowledge the need for teachers to receive adequate experience professionally as well as personally, there is little hope of producing effective music teachers who possess the confidence to effectively influence students in a music classroom. Russell-Bowie (2009) clearly articulated that teachers have little chance of becoming successful music teachers when they have not been afforded the opportunity to personally or professionally be involved in music experiences. Further to this, she stated, “Teacher education institutions could achieve much in both these areas, by giving music adequate time and priority, thereby equipping their students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to teach music confidently in elementary schools” (p. 33). Russell-Bowie (2009) further pointed out that the inherent increased cost to governments which implement increased instruction and experience for teacher education in music will ultimately produce teachers who possess both competence and confidence, and will subsequently be inclined to teach music, and to do so successfully. The result is a program rich in the arts benefitting students in all areas of the curriculum.

Morin (2004) conducted research in a large western Canadian university into the views of K–4 preservice teacher candidates about their understanding and skills for teaching music. Findings indicated that the area of greatest concern for these future generalist teachers was lack of both content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Participants in the study identified the importance of understanding how to teach music as more valuable than the actual theoretical content knowledge. Morin (2004) and Griffin and Montgomery (2007) pointed out that music in Canada is under provincial jurisdiction resulting in some provinces employing specialist music teachers, and others leaving the teaching of music to generalist elementary classroom teachers. It is recommended that in provinces where specialists are not employed, Faculties of Education need to provide a more comprehensive methods course specifically for teaching music to better prepare teacher candidates for their role as music teachers in their future generalist practice (Morin, 2004).

Specialist music teachers bring many strengths to the classroom, including the expertise to foster musical understanding, and providing guidance and participation in performance-based opportunities (Griffin & Montgomery, 2007). Griffin and Montgomery (2007), however, also pointed out that generalist classroom teachers often have more contact with and knowledge of the students in the classroom, and are in a unique position to make use of music as a tool to teach other subject content. Songs and musical activities flow effortlessly into any subject curriculum. Biasutti (2010) and Holden and Button (2006) reflected that teacher education programs need to promote the idea of music as a nonspecialist discipline that can be engaged in many different ways, encouraging a more holistic appreciation of music as part of the curriculum rather than an isolated subject.

Music is more than formal instruction as it can be experienced on a sensory level. Teacher candidates must be encouraged to reflect on their informal music experiences and recognize the value in them as part of the formation of their teacher identity (Biasutti, 2010). The process of reflecting on and continuing to engage in these informal musical experiences has had a positive impact on teacher confidence in the classroom (Dogani, 2008; Holden & Button, 2006; Seddon & Biasutti, 2008). It would therefore stand to reason that teacher education institutions should incorporate more opportunity to demonstrate activities and pedagogical methodology that take advantage of music and the arts across the curriculum.

Adler (2012) described his own pedagogical practice as an educator of generalist teacher candidates in Canada. His curriculum design is based on the empowerment of teacher candidates as musical individuals through self-exploration of personal and lived music experience. In her dialogue, Richardson (2012) stressed the importance of personal narratives as a tool that can lead to personal understanding and identification. In essence, it is the process of “coming to know what they know” (Richardson, 2012, p. 183) in the confines of a safe environment where personal stories are valued and encouraged.

Looking Deeper

Rather than focusing on what could not be accomplished in the short time frame of 15 instructional hours in elementary music education within a Bachelor of Education degree, I (Griffin) began to conceptualize what could be accomplished in this time frame within my own teaching practice. An integral component to this was awakening teacher candidates to their personal narratives of musical experience, and thus understanding how these shape their teacher identities and their positioning on the music educator landscape. Therefore, I engaged in a 2-year narrative inquiry (Barrett & Stauffer, 2009, 2012a; Clandinin, 2007; Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), examining the informal and formal music experiences of teacher candidates in a southern Ontario university. Such experiences are often silenced as students cautiously tread into a 15-hour elementary music education course.

Narrative inquiry is a relational form of inquiry that represents the living, telling, storying, and restorying of lived experience (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Clandinin and Connelly (2000) explained that “experience is what we study, and we study it narratively because narrative thinking is a key form of experience and a key way of writing and thinking about it” (p. 18). The three-dimensional narrative inquiry framework of temporality, sociality, and place (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006) honors that lives unfold, in relationship with others, in a variety of places. Barrett and Stauffer (2009), too, supported that narrative inquiry is deeply relational work and it “reverberates and resonates in and through the communities it serves” (p. 20). These authors described resonant work as a theoretical and philosophical framework that is part of a narrative ethic (Barrett & Stauffer, 2012b), a way of being and knowing throughout the research process. It was my intention to engage in resonant work with teacher candidates as the purpose of this inquiry was to explore how teacher candidates’ music experiences in their daily lives informed their teaching practices. The research questions guiding the inquiry were (a) How do teacher candidates experience music in their daily lives? and (b) How do personal music experiences shape teacher candidates’ perceptions of elementary music education? To address these questions, teacher candidates used a course assignment to engage in a process of creating a visual narrative body map (Art2Be, n.d.; Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, n.d.; Crawford, 2010; Gastaldo, Magalhães, Carrasco, & Davy, 2012), along with oral and written narratives that outlined their experiences. The use of visual art in the body mapping exercise was a unique reflection tool as a means to understand experience. Through this process, participants had the occasion to realize the power of their own experiences in enlightening their own practice as teachers. Through individual, conversational interviews, 20 teacher candidates gave voice to their multilayered music experiences that influenced their perceptions about elementary music teaching. The second author (Ismailos) was one of the teacher candidates enrolled in the Bachelor of Education degree who participated in the research study and was interviewed in the second year. Ismailos subsequently went on to pursue a Master of Education degree and became a research assistant for Griffin.

Rooted in experience, narrative inquiry offered a unique lens through which teacher candidates could narrate their lives through visual art and subsequently restory their musical experience as a formative process in their teacher identity. The findings of the study deepened conceptualizations as to how teacher candidates perceived themselves as beginning music educators based on their personal experiences of music in both informal and formal contexts. The findings uncovered insights in five revealing areas: the value of the reflection process through using visual art, the notion that music is everywhere, family influences, school influences, and fear of teaching music (Griffin, 2011a). Such discourse is valuable to the field of music education, music teacher education, and teacher identity by adding new understandings relating to the power of drawing on teacher candidates’ personal music experiences as a means to reduce fear, shape individual teacher identity, and influence teaching practice (Griffin, 2014).

Looking Forward

All of the literature discussed in this article is relevant in helping position a research study (Griffin, 2011b, 2014) that would allow me (Griffin), as a music teacher educator, to look deeper at teacher candidates’ experiences of music as I sought to understand how their prior experiences shaped their teacher identities. In my experience as a teacher educator, the fear is alive, real, and deep to the core for many students who sit before me. This causes great despair as a teacher educator who wants to be able to interrupt the fear and transform that into passion for music education, both at a level of personal music experience, as well as at the level of being a music educator in the elementary general classroom.

Despite the wealth of discourse already noted on this topic, additional inquiry as to the reflective tools used to uncover teacher candidates’ narratives of music experiences seems to be absent. How does a teacher educator (music education professor) go about thoughtfully engaging in understanding the musical lives of teacher candidates? It is not a simple question. This topic is immense and requires much consideration, deep thought, continued research, and subsequent conceptualizations within the profession of music education. We need not perpetuate the wheel in Faculties of Education whereby teacher candidates obtain their degree, become generalist teachers, and hope that they will not be asked to teach elementary music. All too often, such is the case. Priority needs to be placed on an adequate amount of time allotted for music education methodology courses in Bachelor of Education degrees so that teacher candidates have the opportunity to engage with philosophical, pedagogical, and instructional knowledge so as to prepare them adequately for the teaching profession. Without this priority, teacher candidates lack confidence and are fearful of teaching music. In the end, the children within our schools suffer. With ongoing research, it is my hope that the topic of teacher identity will continue to be explored in meaningful ways so that fear is reduced, teacher confidence is increased, and ultimately, children in schools are reveling as a result of their engagement in meaningful musical experiences.