![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to examine and describe the life experiences that influenced one music teacher’s career choice to teach music in an urban school. The primary research question is: What experiences influenced the participant to pursue urban music education as a career? Calling upon research into urban music education and career choice, the article used a “secondary analysis” of survey, journal, and interview data collected in a larger investigation of the teacher career cycle, as viewed through the lens of narrative research. Findings are presented in four categories, and indicate that the teacher’s career choice was influenced by three primary elements: (a) feeling a need to be of service to others; (b) experiencing cultural differences; and (c) curiosity about the city; all of which led to (d) being a part of the city. These elements combined to form not just a career choice, but a strong sense of commitment to teaching music in a specific city. Implications for both urban music education and music teacher education are discussed, as are suggestions for further research.
References
Section:
|
Abril, C. R. (2006). Teaching music in urban landscapes: Three perspectives. In Frierson-Campbell, C. (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom: A guide to leadership, teacher education, and reform (Vol. 2, pp. 75–95). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | |
|
Abril, C. R. (2009). Responding to culture in the instrumental music programme: A teacher’s journey. Music Education Research, 11(1), 77–91. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Ackerstrom, M., Jacobsson, K., Wasterfors, D. (2004). Reanalysis of previously collected material. In Seale, C., Gobo, G., Gubrium, J. F., Silverman, D. (Eds.), Qualitative research practice (pp. 344–358). London: Sage. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Anderson, L., Stillman, J. (2010). Opportunities to teach and learn in high-needs schools: Student teachers’ experiences in urban placements. Urban Education, 45(2), 109–141. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Anderson, L. M., Stillman, J. A. (2012). Student teaching’s contribution to preservice teacher development: A review of research focused on the preparation of teachers for urban and high-needs contexts. Review of Educational Research, 83(1), 3–69. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Au, K. H., Blake, K. M. (2003). Cultural identity and learning to teach in a diverse community: Findings from a collective case study. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(3), 192–205. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Baker, V. D. (2012). Profile of an effective urban music educator. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 31(1), 44–54. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Blair, D. V. (2013). Chelsea’s journey of becoming a teacher: A narrative of then and now. Research Studies in Music Education, 35(1), 39–50 Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Brewer, W. D. (2014). Searching for community: The role identity development of a dually nontraditional music education student enrolled in a traditional degree program. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 200, 23–40. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Brown, A. (2013). Waiting for superwoman: White female teachers and the construction of the “neoliberal savior” in a New York City public school. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 11(2), 123–164. Google Scholar | |
|
Bruenger, S. D. (2010). Why select new music teachers chose to, or chose not to, apply to teach in an urban school district. Journal of Music Teacher Education, (19) 2, 25–40. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Bullough, R. V. (2008). The writing of teachers’ lives—Where personal troubles and social issues meet. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(4), 7–26. Google Scholar | |
|
Carlow, R. (2006). Building confianza: Using dialogue journals with English language learners in urban schools. In Frierson-Campbell, C. (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom (pp. 25–34). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | |
|
Castro, A. J. (2014). Visionaries, reformers, saviors, and opportunists: Visions and metaphors for teaching in the urban schools. Education and Urban Society, 46(1), 135–160. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Conway, C. M. (2008). Experienced music teacher perceptions of professional development throughout their careers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 176, 7–18. Google Scholar | |
|
Conway, C., Eros, J. (2016). Descriptions of the second stage of music teachers’ careers. Research Studies in Music Education, 38(2), 221–233. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Corti, L., Bishop, L. (2005). Strategies in teaching secondary analysis of qualitative data. Forum: Qualitative Social Research North America, 6. Retrieved from: http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/509/1099 Google Scholar | |
|
Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 6–13. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
Doyle, J. (2012). Music teacher perceptions of issues and problems in urban elementary schools. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (194), 31–52. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Doyle, J. L. (2014). Cultural relevance in urban music education: A synthesis of the literature. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 32(2), 44–51. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Emmanuel, D T. (2006). Cultural clashes: The complexity of identifying urban culture. In Frierson-Campbell, C. (Ed.), Teaching Music in the urban classroom (pp. 15–24). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | |
|
Eros, J. (2009). A case study of three urban music teachers in the second stage of their teaching careers (Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan). Available from ProQuest Digital Dissertations and Theses database. (AAT 3354146) Google Scholar | |
|
Eros, J. (2013). Second-stage music teachers’ perceptions of their professional development. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 22(2), 20–33. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Fiese, R. K., DeCarbo, N. J. (1995). Urban music education: The teachers’ perspective: Richard K. Fiese and Nicholas J. DeCarbo look at responses from twenty urban music teachers about the unique teaching situations they face. Music Educators Journal, 81(6), 27–31. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Frankenberg, E., Taylor, A., Merseth, K. (2010). Walking the walk: Teacher candidates’ professed commitment to urban teaching and their subsequent career decisions. Urban Education, 45(3), 312–346. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Frierson-Campbell (Ed.). (2006a). Teaching music in the urban classroom, volume I: A guide to survival, success, and reform. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Google Scholar | |
|
Frierson-Campbell (Ed.). (2006b). Teaching music in the urban classroom, volume II: A guide to leadership, teacher education, and reform. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Google Scholar | |
|
Gaztambide-Fernández, R. A. (2011). Musicking in the city: Reconceptualizing urban music education as cultural practice. Action, Theory, and Criticism, 10(1), 15–46. Google Scholar | |
|
Groulx, J. G. (2001). Changing preservice teacher perceptions of minority schools. Urban Education, 36, 60–92. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Haycock, K. (1998). No more settling for less. Thinking, 4(1), 3–12. Google Scholar | |
|
Heaton, J. (1998). Secondary analysis of qualitative data. Social Research Update, 22. Retrieved from http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU22.html Google Scholar | |
|
Medjedović, I., Witzel, A. (2008). Secondary analysis of interviews: Using codes and theoretical concepts from the primary study. Historical Social Research, 33(3), 148–178. Google Scholar | |
|
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Google Scholar | |
|
Michael-Luna, S., Marri, A. R. (2011). Rethinking diversity in resegregated schools: Lessons from a case study of urban K–8 preservice teachers. Urban Education, 46(2), 178–201. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Mills, C. (2006). New millennium music education: Alternative certification and the urban setting. In Frierson-Campbell, C. (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom (pp. 67–80). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | |
|
Milner IV, H. R . (2012). But what is urban education? Urban Education, 47(3), 556–561. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Google Scholar | |
|
Rickels, D. A., Brewer, W. D., Councill, K. H., Fredrickson, W. E., Hairston, M., Perry, D. L., … Schmidt, M. (2010). Influences on career choice among music education audition candidates: A pilot study. Journal of Research in Music Education, 57(4), 292–307. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Rickels, D. A., Brewer, W. D., Councill, K. H., Fredrickson, W. E., Hairston, M., Perry, D. L., … Schmidt, M. (2013). Career influences on music education audition candidates. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 115–134. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Rinke, C. R. (2011). Career trajectories of urban teachers: A continuum of perspectives, participation, and plans shaping retention in the educational system. Urban Education 46(4), 639–662. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Roberts, B. (1996). Secondary analysis in qualitative research: Thoughts on data obsolescence. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 130, 44–151. Google Scholar | |
|
Robinson, K. M. (2006). White teacher, students of color: Culturally responsive pedagogy for elementary general music in communities of color In Frierson-Campbell, C. (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom: A guide to leadership, teacher education, and reform (Vol. 2, pp. 35–53). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | |
|
Sachs, S. K. (2004). Evaluation of teacher attributes as predictors of success in urban schools. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(2), 177–187. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research (3rd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Sindberg, L. K. (2014). Perceptions and perspectives of music teachers in urban settings: Isolation, conversation and collaboration. Music Education Research, 16(4), 387–403. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Smith, J. (2006). The challenges of urban teaching: Young urban music educators at work. In Frierson-Campbell, C. (Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom (Vol. 1, pp. 57–74). Oxford, UK: Rowman & Littlefield. Google Scholar | |
|
Steffy, B. E., Wolfe, M. P., Pasch, S. H., Enz, B. J. (2000). Life cycle of the career teacher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Thorne, S. (1990). Secondary analysis in qualitative research: Issues and implications. In Morse, J. M. (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 263–279). London: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Tiezzi, L. J., Cross, B. E. (1997). Utilizing research on prospective teachers’ beliefs to inform urban field experiences. The Urban Review, 29(2), 113–125. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Weiner, L. (2000). Research in the 90s: Implications for urban teacher preparation. Review of Educational Research, 70(3), 369–406. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Whipp, J. L. (2013). Developing socially just teachers: The interaction of experiences before, during, and after teacher preparation in beginning urban teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 64, 454–467. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI |
