The purpose of this study was to examine preservice music educators' perceptions of how the culture of a music teacher education programme and its embedded communities of practice influenced their occupational identity development. Research questions were (1) What specific cultural influences and communities of practice, if any, did the…

Increasing evidence, both in general education and music education, points to the significance of inquiry as a part of teacher preparation. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the ways in which an introductory research project would help preservice music educators understand good "music teaching" and to discover the extent…

This article presents an empirical investigation of music education students' journals within a percussion methods course at a Midwestern university in the United States. The findings of this investigation raise issues about music education students' sense of self-awareness, specificity within the journals, and the predominance of discussions…

This article presents the transcript of Peter Webster's 2014 Senior Researcher Award Acceptance Address. Webster comments on several big ideas in music education: (1) The consideration of teaching as a blend of constructivist approaches and direct instruction that values student-centered work primarily as evidence of learning; (2) The…

The present study investigated the strengths and areas of improvement for elementary music teacher preparation from the perspective of multiple members of a single body of music teachers. Subjects for the study were elementary music teachers from an urban school district in the southern United States. All elementary music teachers in the school…

Describes the creation of a high school general music class by a university methods professor, a graduate assistant, and a high school choral director. Explains that the class used university methods class students to serve as guest lecturers and performers in the high school course. Discusses evaluation, benefits, and suggestions for creative…

Attempts to determine the type of rehearsal organizational structure used by successful Ohio high school mixed chorus directors. Examines relationships between rehearsal structure and either teaching style or student attitudes. Results imply that music methods courses should offer a variety of rehearsal organizational strategies. (Author/LS)