Pre-service elementary education teachers: an international approach to music methods coursework.

Abstract

An internationalized approach will enable classroom teachers to confidently integrate music within their classroom content and pedagogical approach to teaching within an international framework. There has been no research, however, into an internationalized approach to instruction in the music methods coursework for pre-service elementary classroom teachers. The purpose of this study was to a) discover the degree to which an internationalized approach to music instruction will enable pre-service elementary classroom teachers to integrate music from an international perspective into their instructional content and pedagogy; b) discover how the value/practicality of curricular components effects confidence to integrate music using an internationalized approach to instruction; and c) determine the degree to which confidence to integrate music using an internationalized approach to instruction is effected by prior music education, perceived degree of difficulty of requisite music skills, and prior cross-cultural/intercultural experience. A Concurrent Embedded design from a mixed methods approach to research was used. Fifty-three pre-service teachers enrolled in their music methods course at a large, midwestern university during spring and fall semesters 2010 voluntarily participated in the study. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through a pre-test/post-test questionnaire given at the beginning and the ending of the10-week music methods class. Qualitative data were also collected in the form of interviews, reflective writing assignments, field notes, and lesson plans developed and taught by participants. Results indicate confidence to integrate music using an internationalized approach to instruction develops throughout the course. Pre-service teachers‘ confidence to integrate music using an internationalized approach was significantly related to the curricular components they deemed valuable and practical for classroom use. Confidence to integrate was also significantly effected by prior music education and perceived degree of difficulty of requisite music skills. Pre-service teachers‘ confidence was not effected by prior cross-cultural/intercultural experience. Teacher educators, therefore, need to model internationalized instruction, content, and pedagogy throughout methods courses, and pre-service teachers need time to implement internationalized practices in their lesson planning, microteaching, and reflective processes. Teacher educators must also address musical skill development to compensate for varied musical backgrounds and to encourage the development of musical proficiency and understanding. This study provides a model for internationalized music instruction in teacher education.