Abstract
What does it feel like to be a music teacher? In this chapter, I credit a Chinese music education professor’s story with sparking my research into how elementary music teachers in the United States describe feeling like a music teacher, and meaningful professional development. I share two of seven music teachers’ stories, adding the voice of the second teacher’s principal. I also share how my Chinese colleague’s declaration of change inspired change within me, thinking about my feeling like a music teacher, considering new questions about professional development for experienced music teachers, and continuing to seek a work-life balance.
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Notes
- 1.
All names are pseudonyms.
- 2.
In Samantha’s school, classroom teachers’ planning periods are called rotations.
References
Abril, C., and B. Gault. 2006. The state of music in the elementary school: The principal’s perspective. Journal of Research in Music Education 54(1): 6–20.
Clandinin, D.J., and F.M. Connelly. 2000. Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Conway, C., S. Hibbard, D. Albert, and R. Hourigan. 2005. Professional development for arts teachers. Art Education Policy Review 107(1): 3–9.
Springsteen, B. 1984, May 4. Dancing in the dark. On Born in the U.S.A. [Record]. Nashville: Columbia Records.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the university professor from China, my translator and friend from Beijing, Samantha, Greg, and Greg’s principal, whose voices continue to fan the flames of my curiosity.
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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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Reynolds, A.M. (2012). Elementary General Music Teachers and Professional Development: Kindling the Spark, Fanning the Flame, and Keeping an Eye on the Fire. In: Barrett, M., Stauffer, S. (eds) Narrative Soundings: An Anthology of Narrative Inquiry in Music Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0699-6_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0699-6_15
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