A Dialogue of Necessity

Abstract

Many teacher candidates (preservice teachers) in a Bachelor of Education degree cross the threshold into an elementary music methodology course with trepidation. Thus, teacher educators (music education professors) ought to explore the ways in which they can attend to students' music experiences so as to increase teacher competence. This article explores three relevant areas of literature: fear of teaching music, relevance of informal music learning on influencing teacher identity, and influence of such experiences on teacher education programs. Building on this literature, the article concludes with highlighting a 2-year narrative inquiry exploring how the daily music experiences of teacher candidates' inform their teaching practices. Through the use of visual narratives (body maps), oral and written narratives, and conversational interviews, 20 participants gave voice to their multilayered experiences that influenced their perceptions about music teaching. Findings deepen conceptualizations concerning the power of informal music learning in shaping teacher identity and practice.

Shifting From Fear to Self-confidence: Body Mapping as a Transformative Tool in Music Teacher Education

“…Not all the details of the research study are included here in this article; additional information regarding the inquiry, analysis, and findings may be found in Griffin (2011;2014) and Griffin and Ismailos (2015). Specifically, this article focuses on the personal music experiences of teacher candidates and the findings that illuminated how fear and lack of selfconfidence toward music teaching are often manifested and embodied in the formative process of music teacher identity.…”