The purpose of this study was to investigate factors contributing to the longevity of four early-career (5 to 10 years of experience) K–5 elementary general music teachers in Title I schools situated in four regions of the United States. The central research question was: How did early-career elementary general music teachers in Title I schools describe the opportunities and challenges that contributed to their decisions to continue teaching? Using Deci and Ryan's theory of self-determination as a theoretical framework, I analyzed how the four teachers reflected on the degree to which they each possessed autonomy, competence, and relatedness through recounting their perspectives, stories, and experiences. Although the participants shared many commonalities, they also experienced challenges and opportunities unique to their teaching environments. Results were mixed regarding their levels of autonomy and relatedness, but all four teachers possessed a high level of competence, which was likely a contributing factor to their longevity and potential to continue teaching. Nurture and care for children also emerged as a prominent theme from the results, which required the application of a separate theoretical framework. Noddings's theory of the ethic of care served as a lens for examining the myriad ways each participant demonstrated love, care, and concern for her students. All four teachers strongly expressed the important role their love of working with children and seeing them grow, progress, and learn played in their desire to continue teaching. Of all the contributing factors, the participants' ethic of care seemed to be the most significant influence on their decisions to continue teaching. They also spoke extensively about the role of their love for music as a subject. Conclusions address implications for the field and recommendations for future research.

TITLE: Popular Song in Piano Teaching ABSTRACT: Diploma thesis delas with the theme of popular songs in piano teaching. The thesis contains research which investigates the use and popularity of popular songs in piano teaching from the piano pedagogues' perspective. In addition, the thesis narrows this extensive topic to ten selected popular songs, their arrangements respectively created specifically for this thesis's purpose, to demonstrate their use in piano teaching on. Six of them are intended for little pianists, four are intended for advanced students. There is a theoretical part discussing selected aspects of elementary piano pedagogy which are applied in piano arrangements in the practical part of the thesis. KEYWORDS: popular song, piano four hands, piano methodology, development of general music skills, fairy-tales, Game of Thrones, ABBA

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The Ph.D. thesis Reflection of the Framework Educational Program for Basic Schools of Art in Czech Elementary Art Education deals with current development of pedagogical reform and its implication in lessons of music theory at basic schools of art. It traces its historic development and changes in educational content, methods and organizational forms of education, according to resources that are at disposal. Based on the research, current pedagogical reform helped to define content and scope of work in lessons of music theory. It enabled to adjust its educational content to specific conditions and profile of individual schools, it gave new view of teaching goals and strengthened teacher's position in creation of strategic school documents. Content based, interpretation skills are complemented with understanding of music core; pupils'values and attitudes are built. Among popular teaching methods feature critical thinking, peer learning and group work, learning through demonstration and actions. The most frequently used progressive method, according to the research, is the simulation method. Based on research findings, music theory at basic schools of art is a subject to continual improvements. Currently, according to accessible resources, there is no complex teaching material that involves modern...