The quality of teaching occurring in schools is directly linked to the quality of preservice preparation that teachers receive (Darling-Hammond, 2000). This is particularly important in the area of music teacher education, given the unique challenges that classroom music teachers commonly face (Ballantyne, 2001). This thesis explores early-career music teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of their preservice teacher education programs in Queensland. It also explores influences impacting upon early-career music teachers' perceptions of effectiveness and early-career music teachers' perceived needs in relation to their preservice preparation. The study addresses the research questions through the use of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. In Stage 1 of the research, questionnaires were completed by 76 secondary classroom music teachers in their first four years of teaching in Queensland, Australia. In Stage 2 of the research, 15 of these teachers were interviewed to explore findings from the questionnaire in depth. Findings suggest that preservice teachers perceive a need for teacher education courses to be contextualised, integrated and allow for the continual development of knowledge and skills throughout their early years in schools. This research provides an empirical basis for reconceptualising music teacher education courses and raises important issues that music teacher educators need to address in order to ensure that graduates are adequately prepared for classroom music teaching.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/265067 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Ballantyne, Julie |
| Publisher | Queensland University of Technology |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Julie Ballantyne |
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