| Summary: | Prior research suggests the existence of a general divide between educators in the field and scholarly research writings; however, the extent to which this divide extends into writings associated with areas of philosophy and curricular construction has not been thoroughly investigated in the field of music education. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate secondary level music educators (N=3) perceptions of and receptiveness to two journal articles derived from contrasting philosophical stances in music education.
Data collection included a combination of on-site observations to ascertain current teaching practices of participants, completion of a survey designed to measure self-reported willingness to read articles reflecting differing philosophical views, the reading of two subject matter-relevant but philosophically opposed articles, and a personal interview to discuss participants reactions to the articles and gain deeper understanding of their beliefs. Analysis was conducted through a case study approach in which data related to each participant were considered prior to making cross case comparisons. Themes that emerged from consideration of the data included participants (a) philosophy and beliefs related to teaching and classroom practices, (b) reactions to the stimulus articles and scholarly writing in general, (c) beliefs related to festivals/competitions, and (d) influential mentors and other individuals. These themes closely aligned with several hypothesized contributing factors derived from a review of the literature, especially factors suggesting a strong adherence to traditional models, a perception of impracticality associated with revisionist teaching methods, and the polarizing nature of the discourse in writings.
|
|---|
