Teaching primary school music: coping with changing work conditions

ABSTRACT

The changing roles of two primary (elementary) school music teachers are explored in this article, and how these changed roles have impacted on music programmes in their respective schools. Change readiness provides the theoretical framework for investigating the way both teachers responded to their changing roles. The first teacher’s role changed from being the school music teacher and part-time general classroom teacher to general classroom teaching only. The second teacher’s role changed from being a full-time music teacher to a full-time arts teacher (teaching music, dance, drama, visual art, and media). The focus is on these teachers and the school administrators who initiated these changed roles. The teachers and school administrators were interviewed (teacher three times across a nine-month period, school administrators twice across a nine-month period), and music lessons were observed in both schools. Narratives of each teacher’s experiences of their changed roles are presented, highlighting the complexities of teaching music in changing times (i.e. standardised testing, budget constraints, who is responsible for teaching music).

KEYWORDS:

• Primary school music
• change readiness
• school administrator
• standardised testing
• narrative inquiry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Peter de Vries is a lecturer in the school of education and the arts at Central Queensland University. His research revolves around learning and engagement in the arts, specifically in the field of music. He has published his research in refereed journals such as The Journal of Research in Music Education, Research Studies in Music Education, Music Education Research, The International Journal of Music Education, Early Childhood Education Journal, and the International Journal of Education and the Arts.