Manny Brand

Collectivistic Versus Individualistic Cultures: A Comparison of American, Australian and Chinese Music Education Students' Self-Esteem.

Self‐esteem is often cited as an important personal competency for teachers. However, most self‐esteem research, particularly within teacher education and music teacher education, is framed exclusively within a European–American context. Since individuals from different cultures may tend to think about themselves in diverse ways, and given the importance of self‐esteem in the development of a music teacher, the purpose of this study was to compare levels of self‐esteem of 141 music education majors from America, Australia and China. Findings of this study reinforce those of previous studies showing that cultural groups diverge in their perceptions of self. In particular, Chinese music education students show a statistically significant lower level of self‐esteem than their western counterparts do. In addition to identifying different levels of self‐esteem, this study raises issues for further consideration by music teacher educators within a variety of cultural contexts.Self‐esteem is often cited as an important personal competency for teachers. However, most self‐esteem research, particularly within teacher education and music teacher education, is framed exclusively within a European–American context. Since individuals from different cultures may tend to think about themselves in diverse ways, and given the importance of self‐esteem in the development of a music teacher, the purpose of this study was to compare levels of self‐esteem of 141 music education majors from America, Australia and China. Findings of this study reinforce those of previous studies showing that cultural groups diverge in their perceptions of self. In particular, Chinese music education students show a statistically significant lower level of self‐esteem than their western counterparts do. In addition to identifying different levels of self‐esteem, this study raises issues for further consideration by music teacher educators within a variety of cultural contexts.

Fantasies and Other Romanticized Concepts of Music Teaching: A Cross-Cultural Study of Chinese and North American Music Education Students’ Images of Music Teaching

Within an international context, this article reports on the use of drawings by Chinese and North American music education majors as a means of examining these students’ images, expectations, and emerging concepts of music teaching. By studying and discussing these drawings within the methods class, it is hoped that these music education majors could project their present orientation toward music teaching. Several common themes were seen in both the Chinese and North American drawings. Individual drawings are analyzed and included as evidence of archetypal images and signifiers. It is proposed that these students’ drawings might serve as a means of uncovering, analyzing, and challenging music education students as they begin the career-long task of reconciling romanticized notions with more realistic experiences in teaching music.

Student Teaching: The Emotional Cycle

The primary responsibilities of public school and college supervisors of music student teachers are to observe, evaluate, and improve the music teaching skills of their student teachers. There is, however, another area of importance-dealing with the emotional and supportive needs of the student teacher. Especially at the start of the experience, student teachers are quite concerned about being accepted, feeling emotionally secure, and fitting into their new role. By understanding emotional concerns of the student teachers, supervising music teachers are in a better position to help them improve their teaching. Because student teaching is a new and different experience for music education majors, it can initiate an emotional cycle that runs from elation to depression throughout the experience.1 Even before beginning, many stu-\ dent teachers may share common concerns and problems. These can range from doubting their ability to teach music at all to wondering Ii--if they can handle large ensembles. Anxieties

Methods Class--Key to Improving Music Teacher Education.

eacher testing, abolition of lifetime by Manny Brand teacher certification, career ladders, ; merit pay, higher teacher salaries, improved working conditions, and emphasis on professional develop. ment are some of the forms being adopted in While such reforms have the most immediate impact on those presently teaching, there is a parallel reform movement in the training of prospective music teachers. Central to this teacher education reform movement are the two traditional suggestions for improving schools: encourage the better students to enter teaching and offer better teacher training. Such suggestions-mainly from people outside of teacher education such as politicians, university officials, state agency officials, and members of national commissions and foundations-have resulted in new admission requirements, testing prior to admission and certification, and higher graduation requirements. In response to such changes, music teacher educators are busy. They are grappling with a reexamination of policies of admission, retention, and graduation, the testing of prospective music teachers, alternative strategies for teacher preparation and certification, and the training of music teachers for new technology. Indeed, music education professors find themselves blinking in the spotlight of teacher education reform. Of all these reforms, perhaps none gets to the heart of the issue of improving the training of teachers as does a critical look at the music education methods class, the very essence of music teacher edu-

The Challenge of the 1st Year.

The music teachers side of the podium or desk is quite different from the students side, and a shock often awaits beginning teachers when they discover that being a teacher includes continual demands, instructional decisions, and unexpected responsibilities. This can be especially true for the beginning general music teacher, who typically has not been involved in a general music program when attending junior and senior high school. In some ways student teaching will prepare the first-year music teacher for solving these problems. Student teaching, however, is an unrealistic and protective environment. A concerned public school sponsor teacher and interested school faculty provide the necessary support for the student teacher. Unfortunately, this kind of assistance usually does not exist during the first school year. Furthermore, many student teachers believe that their first year will be as successful as was their student teaching; however, the kind of school situation first-year music teachers encounter is rarely used for student placement. The student teaching experience may even be deceiving because the student teacher is often protected from teaching problems. Even if the student teacher is faced with a difficult student or a problem class, the sponsor teacher is usually in the back of the room to assist. While the student teacher was

Career Counseling in Music Education.

Before the 1970s, the supply of public school teachers could not meet the demand. The shortage of certified teachers was critical, and many school systems were forced to hire uncertified teachers on an emergency basis. This situation was reversed, however, in the past decade and now many of us wonder what the 1980s will bring in regard to opportunities for school music teachers. In a nation as large and complex as the United States, factors relevant to the job market are bound to be variable according to specific locales, economic conditions, and employment opportunities in general. Several of our large cities, for example-cities that are presently plagued with collapsed budgets or massive teacher strikes-undoubtedly will not provide opportunities indicative of national norms. Yet, certain overall music trends seem to be materializing. Students considering a career in music education should seek help from their teachers in studying employment opportunities in locations they find acceptable. Despite the general oversupply of teachers that materialized, music educators have done well. A recent national survey of campus placement agencies, conducted by William Matlis, showed that seventy-seven per-

Reel Music Teachers: Use of Popular Films in Music Teacher Education:

Popular movies present fictional portrayals and Hollywood fantasies. Since such films serve as a lens through which our values are reflected and our perceptions shaped, this article examines cinematic portrayals of music teaching and music education. Specifically, this article identifies popular films that depict music teachers, examines and analyses the collective images of music teachers and music education as reflected in these popular commercial films, and reports on the use of these films in music teacher education.

Music Teachers' Role in Preparing Students for Live Symphonic Experiences

This study investigated the effect of varying the extent of music teacher involvement and training with concert-related instructional materials on student achievement and interest in music following live symphonic experiences. Three hundred and ninety-two middle school students were randomly assigned to one of six music teachers for the purposes of receiving pre-concert instruction. These six music teachers were randomly assigned to one of three different levels of involvement and training relative to the development and use of pre-concert instructional materials. Steps were taken to minimize teacher differences confounding with teacher involvement and training. There were no significant differences in music achievement or interest scores among middle school subjects based on the extent of their music teachers involvement and training with pre-concert instructional materials. Based on this study, there are no benefits, specifically in terms of student achievement or interest, in music teachers having a high degree of involvement or training with concert-related instructional materials. Future researchers may wish to examine possible affective benefits when music teachers are involved in the design of and training with concert-related instructional materials.

Music Teacher Education Challenge and Response.

or nearly all of us the idea of abolishing music teacher education is, of course, unthinkable. But such a notion typifies the barrage of criticism that teacher preparation, in general, has recently experienced. If the plethora of governmentand foundation-sponsored reports concerning education have created a wave of reform in public school education, teacher education has become the crest of the wave.