| Popis: |
Music teacher education programs have remained largely unchanged since their development over a century ago, despite the evolving musical and pedagogical needs of preservice teachers and their future students. Scholars have advocated for a shift from traditional models of music teacher preparation to new conceptualizations of these programs that include democratic practices in their structure, curricular content, and modeled pedagogies. Therefore, the purpose of this multicase study was to examine democratic practices from the perspectives of undergraduate general music methods professors. Four participants from universities of varying size and location provided insights into the inclusion of these practices in their general music methods courses and music education degree programs. By investigating the experiences of general music education professors, my goal was to obtain a greater understanding of how democratic teaching practices are understood and implemented in music teacher education. Three research questions guided this study. First, how do four general music professors describe democratic practices in music teacher education? Second, how do these participants implement democratic practices in their undergraduate general music methods classes? Third, what challenges and opportunities do general music methods professors associate with these democratic practices? Data collection methods included directed journaling, artifact collection, interviews, and observations. An interpretive approach to analysis occurred alongside the collection of data, so that each stage of the data collection process could inform the next. A cross-case analysis revealed six characteristics of democratic practices—learner-centered, student agency, facilitator framework, mutual processes, teaching for social justice, and metacognition—and numerous considerations for implementation in general music methods environments. Though music education literature has provided broad conceptualizations of needed changes in music teacher preparation programs, little information is available on the practical implementation of democratic practices in music teacher education. The goal of this research was to illuminate nuanced perspectives of general music professors on democratic teaching practices in their courses and degree programs. This research contributes to the gap in the literature by providing examples of conceptualization, implementation, and associated benefits and challenges of democratic practices in this specific context, and in detailing the implications that employing democratic practices in music teacher education contexts could have on K–12 music environments. The findings of this research may be useful to music educators who wish to include opportunities for democratic practices in their classrooms and programs, shifting the field of music education from a teacher as expert paradigm to one that recognizes the unique values and perspectives of the learner. |
