Ongoing development of professional identity is critical for pre-service and in-service elementary music teachers to grow and evolve as music educators over the course of their careers. This study was designed to gain insight into the factors surrounding the formation and ongoing development of professional identity of 4 elementary music teachers in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Narrative in both design and approach, the stories of 4 individual elementary music educators, each at different points along their careers paths, were told using their own words. My personal narrative was also added to the discussion. The participants were known to me in advance of the study and invited to be part of the study because they are all reflective practitioners who were comfortable sharing their stories of teaching music with me. All participants were women, which parallels the reality of the profile of elementary music teachers in Ontario.
Over a period of 4 months, I met with each participant for semi-structured interviews and in-school observations. Interviews were recorded using an audio recorder and later transcribed and verified by participants. Field notes were kept during classroom observations and supplemented by journal writings. Informal conversations, via telephone, email, or face-to-face further supplemented the data collected. The data was analyzed by reading and rereading, looking for themes, commonalities and differences of the participants. The results of the study are not meant to be generalized to a larger population, but to provide rich illustrations which may lead to common understanding.
The identities of these participants, and my identity, were first influenced through early experiences with music and teaching in the home, at school and in the community. As the participants began university undergraduate programs, both positive and negative experiences informed their developing identity as did experiences in pre-service and in-service teaching. The research findings and recommendations of this study have implications in several areas, including: issues of teacher identity, ongoing professional development and, pre-service and in-service education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/19187 |
| Date | 01 March 2010 |
| Creators | Eyre, Alberta |
| Contributors | Dolloff, Lori-Anne |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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