Collaborative teaching may provide classroom support, professional development, and mentoring for teachers (Gallo-Fox & Scantlebury, 2016; Guise et al., 2017; Friend et al., 2015; Rytivaara et al., 2019). Recent scholarship in music education has indicated that collaborative teaching may also provide a more holistic approach to student teacher preparation (Kim, 2020; Palmer, 2018; Vanderwerff, 2019). Yet, research has shown that strong teacher-to-teacher relationships are essential for collaborative teaching to benefit teachers (Pratt, 2014; Guise et al., 2017), and that a purposeful study and enactment of care may aid in the development of these positive relationships (Rabin, 2020). Nevertheless, collaborative teaching in music education has generally focused on collaborative teaching in higher education, or as an exploratory, temporary practice (Bartleet & Hultgren, 2008; Clauhs & Newell, 2013; Freer & Barker, 2008), making it difficult to determine how teachers may develop and maintain strong, caring relationships that foster collaboration. The aim of this research was to examine long-term collaborative teaching to understand what attributes contribute to successful collaborative teaching partnerships among secondary instrumental music educators. In this ethnographic study, I examined the collaborative teaching experiences and social practices of four secondary instrumental music educators over an eight-month period through the lens of Noddings’s (2005, 2012, 2013) educational care theory. I used multiple methods of data collection such as interviews, observations, surveys, and artifacts to understand the context, attitudes, and approach these teachers used in working together. I utilized Gee’s (2014) approach to discourse analysis to deeply explore the data and understand care across teachers’ relationships. Collaborative teaching provided these four secondary instrumental educators with consistent support and professional learning. The teachers’ collaboration thrived as they developed strong, caring relationships. Despite heavy teaching burdens, teachers felt less overwhelmed and isolated than in their previous teaching positions. Instead, the teachers expressed a sense of belonging and fulfillment from working collaboratively. Teachers’ attitudes rather than their skills, experience, or specialty played a primary role in the development of their caring teacher-to-teacher relationships. These teachers were committed to working together, to helping one another in the classroom, and to maintaining and developing caring relationships.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

The current study focuses on what, how, and why music is being taught in the practices of three Jewish Israeli music educators. Participants included three high school music directors working in three main Jewish subsectors that constitute the main streams of public education in contemporary Israeli society: secular, ultraorthodox, and national religious. In contemporary Israeli society, these subsectors of Judaism are organized into communities differing in nuanced religious affiliations, geographic locations, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The subtle differences between these communities constitute practical and philosophical conceptualizations of being Jewish in the contemporary State of Israel. The government-mandated education system in Israel recognizes these subsectors as separate and segregated streams of education, organized into separate institutions, inspectorates, and curriculum. Music education in Israel, however, is mandated through a single national curriculum for all socioreligious sectors. The interest of this study is in the ways this single curriculum is enacted by various sociocultural nuances of Judaism in contemporary Israeli society. The research design was based on Scollon and Scollon’s 12-month framework of nexus analysis, developed for explorations of cultural implications underlying everyday actions. The study included three phases: (a) engagement—acclimation in practice sites and contexts; (b) navigation—discovering the key elements and moving between the individual and the social constructs that each practice entails; and (c) change—analysis that challenges the existing practices and inspires transformation. Data accrued through observation, interviews, and one focus-group session. The final stage focused on participant involvement in data analysis and representation. Findings are presented through a series of narrative texts: portraits of each participant, followed by scenes of practice, annotated with narrative testimonials designed from the words of participants. Introductory chapters address the main constructs upon which these narratives rest and fuel the interpretations that follow each of the narratives. Findings reveal interrelationships between music education and Jewish-Israeli intrareligious tensions. Conclusions call for further attention to the cultural implications of music educators’ situated work, in Israel and abroad.

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