MUSIC TEACHER EDUCATION

Undergraduate Music Teacher Education

Many studies of undergraduate education have explored the
relationship between various characteristics of the candidates and their
success in completing the program and gaining entrance to the
profession.

- Personal qualities
- Academic standing
- Aptitude
- Intellectual
- Musical competecies
Music Education for Elementary Classroom Teachers

The musical training of the classroom teacher is of universal

concern to music educators and has received considerable
research attention. Although studies in this area have much in
common with the research on preparing music teachers, the
unique practical and theoretical problems of educating the
nonspecialist require separate treatment.
The Historical Context
In the earliest form, music teacher training was
simply music training. The qualifications of the
typical New England singing school master in the
late eighteenth century considered of successful
completion of a singing school course.
• The singing school conventions that began in 1829 represent the first
sign of progress in music teacher training, which was furthered in the
1833 with the opening of the Boston Academy under the aegis of
Lowell Mason.
• One of the Academy’s stated purposes was to provide instructions in
the teaching of music, and in 1834 it sponsored a convention
featuring lectures on teaching methods.
• With the conventions, significant progress was made in music teacher
education even before the introduction of music into the public
schools of Boston in 1838.
After music found a place in the school curriculum, music teacher
training gradually became more closely allied with teacher education.

• The normal school curriculum included instruction in the rudiments

of music for classroom teacher, but not until the 1880s did the normal
schools offer courses for music specialist.
• In the first quarter of the twentieth century, the curriculum of the
normal schools was gradually expanded into four years, and the
training of music teachers and supervisors also became a four year
program.

• In some conservatories, such as Oberlin, music degrees had been in

place since the mid-nineteenth century, and the departments of
music ere established at some colleges, beginning with Harvard,
during the 1870s.
The National Association of Schools of Music
• Founded in 1924
• Issued recommendations on curricula for music teacher training.
• The purpose of NASM:
• Securing a better understanding among institutions of higher education
engaged in work un music.
• Establishing a more uniform method of granting credit.
• Setting minimum standards for granting of degrees and other credentials.
• The acceptance of music teacher education on the campuses of
colleges and universities in the 1920s was crucial to the development
of research.
• Doctoral dissertations in music teacher training became more
common after the world War II.
• The founding of the Journal of Research in Music Education in 1953
provided a much-needed outlet for the publication of research in
music education, including teacher training.
Predicting Effectiveness in Teaching

• The problem that mostly directly concern music

teacher education is not the prediction of
success in college course work but the prediction
of success in teaching.
Predicting Effectiveness in the Student Teaching
• Anderson and Wink found evidence that certain
personality traits may predict student-teaching
performance.
• Anderson studied the predictive effectiveness of a
battery of standardized PERSONALITY, CREATIVITY, and
TALENT TESTS.
Predicting Effectiveness in Inservice Teaching

• A classic example of a study based on comprehensive criteria for

teacher effectiveness is provided by R.J. Krueger, who investigated the
relationship between music teacher effectiveness and selected
personality and motivational variables.
• Krueger measured two distinct facets of success:
• (1) pupil achievement as measured by gain scores on the Music Achievement
Tests.
• (2) the opinion of pupils, principals, supervisors, peers, and the teacher
themselves.
Classroom Instruction
• Programed Instruction
• Videotape and Videodisc
• Observational Systems
• Micro teaching
• Behavioral Self-Assessment and Behavior Modification
Field-Based Instruction
• Field Experience Programs: The Status Quo
• The Effects of Field Experiences
• The Field Experience Triad
• The Role of the University
• Preparation for the Field Experience
• Supervisory Techniques
• Implications of the Field Experience Research
Evaluating Program Outcomes
• Among the most frequent recommendations were the following:
• More time should be spent in applying theory to practice; field experiences
and possible student should occur earlier in the curricular sequence.
• Supervision of student teaching should be improved; the student should
receive more feedback from both the college supervisor and the cooperating
teacher, and there should be more coordination among members of the triad.
• During the field experiences, more time should be spent in teaching and less
time in observing.