Good Teaching Practices Of Music Teachers In Secondary Education: A Multiple Case Study

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1 Good Teaching Practices Of Music Teachers In Secondary Education: A Multiple Case Study Julio Hurtado [1], Vicent Fontelles [2] ABSTRACT In this work we show the most significant features of our research which has been accomplished with the collaboration of the Research and Scientific Politic Department of the University of Valencia. It has been elaborated following a case study methodology, and it analyses the practice of six secondary school teachers who have been able to wake up their student s interest by using an innovative and contextualized methodology that provokes a significant learning. Instruments for data recompilation have been: in-depth interview, nonintervened observation and the analysis of the multimedia documents produced during their lessons. From the analysis of these data we have reached to the following conclusions among others: firstly, independently of the socio-cultural context and even using different methodologies, these teachers are obtaining good results due to their personal implication in the development of students-based activities; and, secondly, teachers vocation and motivation are the basis for a good teaching professionalization. Keywords:0Good practice, secondary, music teaching [1 Universitat de València, Carrer dels Tarongers, 4, Valencia (Spain) julio.hurtado@uv.es [2], Universitat de València, Carrer dels Tarongers, 4, Valencia (Spain) vicent.fontelles@uv.es INTRODUCTION0 InthisarticlesIwillbrieflydescribetheResearchProjectcalled GoodTeachingPracticesofMusicTeachersinSecondary Education: a Multiple CaseMstudy, which has been financed by the ViceMpresident of Research and Scientific Policy of the UniversityofValencia(Spain). ThisstudysurgedfromthenecessitydetectedbyourgroupofteachersoftheSecondaryMasterDegreetohavemore knowledge onthepracticesfulfilledbythoseteachersofsecondarythathadalongandconsolidatedtrajectory,inorderto showthemlatertotheirstudentsofthementioneddegree.thisway,wecouldbeclosertotheteachingrealityatthesame timewewouldhaveabankofdidacticalresourcestobepartofthedifferentsubjectsincludedinthespecialtyofmusic. By means of this Master Degree, students graduated in different fields are trained to be teachers in the secondary educationstage.init,thereisa specializationtobeteacherofmusicforhighschools,andthemainpartofthesestudents comesfromthesuperiorconservatorystudies.nevertheless,trainingreceivedattheconservatoryisorientedtothemusical creationorinterpretationbutitisnotvalidforteaching.ifweaddthatsecondarystageiscompulsoryforalltheteenagers, trainingattheconservatoryisevenlessadjustedtothiseducativecontext. 1. THE0CONTEXT University0of0Valencia0 The University of Valencia of today is the outcome of more than five centuries of history that have led to the accumulationofknowledgeanduniquedocumentarytreasures,makingitoneofthetopspanishuniversities.inthethirteenth century,highereducationwasestablishedinthecityofvalenciathankstokingjamesiofaragonwho,in1245,hadobtaineda StudiumGeneraleinstitutionfromPopeInnocentIV.However,notuntil30October1499didtheJuriesofValenciadrawupthe ConstitutionsofwhatwastobecomethefirstUniversityofValencia:auniversityauthorizedbythePapalBullon23January 1501,signedbythevalencianPopeAlexanderVIandbytheroyalprivilegeofFerdinandIItheCatholic.Itwasgrantedon16 February1502. Formorethan500years,thedevelopmentoftheUniversityofValenciahasruninparallelwiththedevelopmentofthe cityandhasbeenaninextricablepartofitsurbanfabric,creatingspacesforteaching,research,creationanddisseminationof 66

2 culture and science as well as knowledge transfer. Initiallydedicatedtothestudiesofmedicine,humanities,theologyandlaw,thepasttwodecadeshavesufferedanaccelerated process of transformation and growth, incomparable to earlier periods. This significant effort has turned the University of Valenciaintoamodern,globaluniversity.Ithasbecomealeaderintheapplicationofnewtechnologies,connectedtoimportant internationalscientificandteachingnetworks. TheUniversityofValenciahasbecomeonetothetopfivescientificcentersinSpainthankstothewiderangeofteaching andresearchactivitiesofferedinallareasofknowledge(basicsciencesandengineering,healthsciences,educationalsciences, humanitiesandsocialsciences,economicsandlaw)anditscommitmenttoexcellence. 1.2 The0Master s0degree00 ThecurrentlegalregulationsinSpainestablishthatinordertoaccesstotheregulatedprofessionsofprofessorinthe differentfieldsofsecondaryeducation,thestudentsmusthaveagraduate,orequivalent,qualification,andapedagogicaland educationaltrainingwiththemaster'sdegreelevel.themaster'sdegreeinsecondaryeducationteachingbytheuniversityof Valencia provides this professional authorization required by the educational Administration to practice the previously mentioned professions in secondary education public and private centers. This master's degree is structured in different specialtiescorrespondingtothecurrentspecialtiesofthesecondaryeducation. TheMaster'sDegreeprovidesbothabasictrainingtotheteachingpracticeinthesecondarylevelsoftheeducational system, and a specific training to one of the areas in which the previously mentioned professions are structured. The qualificationalsoincludesaworkplacementperiodineducationalcenters. Allclasses,includingthetutorialsforthepracticumandfortheMaster sdegreefinalproject,aretaughtbytheteaching staffofthecorrespondinguniversitydepartment.ifmoreteachingstaffisneeded,thecallfornewplaceswillbepublishedin the DOCV (Official Journal of the Valencia s Community). The information about these places is available on the Human Resources (PDI) website of the University. Teaching staff from the secondary schools within theframeworkof schools and tutorsdeterminedbythevalencia sdepartmentforeducation andfromthecorrespondingdepartmentsoftheuniversitywill participate in the tutorials for the practicum. The regulations for postgraduate studies confer the Master s Academic CoordinatingCommitteethecompetencetoapprovetheteachingstaffwhowillparticipateintheMaster sdegree. 3.0THEORETICAL0FRAME0 Broadlyandverysyntheticallyspeaking,webuiltthetheoreticalframeworkonthebasisofthedifferentexistingopinions aboutwhatwasthedegreerequiredforteachingmusicinsecondaryandbaccalaureatedegreeinthisspecialtyfaculty,whether throughadegreedisciplinesofmusicologyorhistoryandthescienceofmusicorconservatory.otherpossibilitiesinthepublic servicesincetheycanalsochooseanotherspecialtygraduates,whenevertheypasstestsinthecompetitionspecificopposition tothisfieldofknowledgeandacquirespecialtymusic(oriol,2005)following.adaptationtotheeuropeanconvergenceprocess andaccordingtotheproposalssubmittedbytheconferenceofdeansanddirectorsofeducationandteachingthistrainingis donethroughthemasterteacherofsecondaryeducation,whichlastsoneacademicyearwithaloadof60ectscreditsand commontoallthespecialtygenericsubjectsandspecificmaterialsforeachspecialty.despitetheincreaseinworkloadofthe specialty in this new proposal, different authors (Yanes, 1998) agree that it is still insufficient for the internalization of the teachingskillsneededtoapproachthetaskofteachingmusicinsecondaryeducationsuccessfully. 4.0METHODOLOGICAL0FRAME00 Ourresearchworkisframedwithinthequalitativemethodology,whichaccordingtoTaylorandBogdan(1986)isaway ofaddressingtheempiricalworldinaninductiveway,inwhichtheresearcherorresearchersseethestageandthepeoplefrom aholisticperspective.inparticularwehaveusedthemethodologyofacasemstudy(stake1998),sincebystudyinganindividual inanintenseanddetailedmanner,itoffersanextraordinarydepthinthestudy.itisincreasingthenumberofauthorswho defenditsundisputedscientificvalidity(yin,2003orkemp,1993),asitisaveryappropriateapproachtorevealthediversity andrichnessofthehumanbehaviour,whichismoredifficulttostudyfromothermethodologicalapproaches. Besides,thiscaseMstudyismultipleasweselected6cases:threefemaleteachersandthreemaleteachersofdifferent sociomculturalcontextsandwithdifferentteachingstyles.finally,basedontheanalysisofthecontentandthetestimoniesof thesixprotagonistswedrawnuptworeportsaboutthecharacteristicsofeachone,andlaterwemadeavideowhichshouldbe projectedtothemasterofsecondarystudentsinthemasterclassesasexamplesofgoodprofessionalpractice. 67

3 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education Volume 4, Issue 4 5.0PHASES0OF0THE0PROJECT00 TheresearchprocesswasdividedintosixphaseswhichIwillbrieflydescribebelow: Phase A: in this phase we sent a questionnaire to the music teachers of 50 secondary educational centers and high schoolsofvalencia.then,takingintoaccounttheiranswers,weselectedagroupof10teachersandreviewedindepththe answersabouttheirteachingpractices,sofinallywedecidedtochoosethreefemaleteachersandthreemaleteachers,who seemed the most outstanding by their activities and the diverse characteristics offered in their practices, diversity that constitutedoneofthemainkeysofourstudy. Phase B: the authorization to access in the centers. We contacted with the management teams and the selected teachers, and ask them permission to carry out the direct observance and the rest of phases for our research inside their schools.aswedidnotfindanyobstaclestodoit,weimmediatelyarrangedthedatesforthefirstinterviewsandfortheprocess ofobtainingevidences. PhaseC:inthisphasewemaintainedpersonalinterviewswitheachoftheprotagonistsofthecasesthatwehadselected andvisitedthemattheircentersinordertowatchthematwork.althoughwewerenotallowedbytheministryofeducationto recordtheseobservations,theseteachersgaveustheirownrecordings,whichwerepublicityowned,tousethemasexamples oftheirpractices.then,weanalyzedalltheireducationalmaterials,includingthedecorationoftheclassrooms,andaskedthem allthedocumentationtheycouldgiveus,suchasconcertprograms,postersofactivitiesandothers.inthissense,theyagain offeredustheirsupportandfacilitatedwhatweneeded.inthisphasewealsomaintainedsemimstructuredinterviewswiththe students. PhaseD:OncetheevidenceshadbeencollectedandthevideoMinterviewsrecorded,weturnedtotheprescriptionofthe audiosandvideosfortheanalysisofinformationobtainedinthesensedescribedbydezin(1989).withthedescriptiveand interpretativereportsinourhands,wewentbacktothecentersinordertocomparetheinformationwehadandreceivethe teachers approvalofthecontent. PhaseE:Havingthepermissionofalltheprotagonists,wepassedtoassembletheaudiovisualfile. Phase F: Lastly, we are broadcasting the results of this project by means of publications in education magazines and specializedjournals,andatthesametime,wearepresentingitincongressesandworkshopsaroundtheworld. 6.0INSTRUMENTS0 Thefirstinstrumentusedwasthequestionnaire,builtbyresearcherswiththehelpofateamofprofessionalexpertsfor validation.thisquestionnaireintendstogetinformationfromthoseteacherswiththespecialtyofmusicwhoareteachingin secondaryschools.theprocessingofdatawascarriedoutwiththehelpofaquantitativeanalysisprogram,spss,whichenabled ustosegmentandrecalculatethedataineachoftheproposedparameters.afterthedifferentphases,expressedabove,once wehaveselectedthesixprotagonistsofourcases,weusedasinstrumentsforcollectinginformation: a) inmdepth interviews which are one of the instruments most used in qualitative research techniques, a very useful methodtocollectdatathatcannotbereachedbytheobservationorquestionnaires(blaxter2008) b)theanalysisofdocumentssuchasschedules,magazines,postersofclasses,programsofconcerts c)audioandvideorecordingsofimagesandassertionsoftheprotagonistsinordertomakeananalysisofcontentand onerearaudiovisualdocument 7.0RESULTS0OBTAINED0 Theprocedures,usedtoobtaintheinformation,theanalysisandtheaudiovisualfile,havebroughtusalargeamountof qualitativedatathathaveallowedustodescribedifferentvariablesofeachofthecasesaswellascomparisonstounderstand theeventsexperiencedbytheprotagonistsofthecases. 7.10Particular0features0of0the0cases0 Wheneachofthecasesanditsmostimportantfeaturesaredescribed,itmustbepointedoutthat,ofcourse,ineach casewefoundmanycommonpointsbothintheirmethodologicalanddidacticaspects,andthatourintentionwastoremark theirdistinctivenessinordertounderstandmuchbettertheiridiosyncrasy,because,inouropinion,ittranscendstheindividual 68

4 peculiarities of the music teachers in general. The order followed in the following exposition does not respond to any hierarchicalorqualitativecriteria,itisadescriptiveprocessindeed: Casenumber1:ateacherwhoseteachingpracticesarebasedinthestudent scorporaldevelopment.hedoesnotguide them,onthecontrary,studentsresearchthesoundsandhowitisproducedontheirownbyrecordingandreproducingitagain andagain.thisteacherusesmanysourcesandelementsfromtheinformationtechnologies(tics). Casenumber2:afemaleteacherwhoproducesherownmusicalsinaninterdisciplinaryandcooperativewaywiththe restofteachersofherschoolinordertodeveloptheprinciplesoftheconnivanceplanoftheeducativecentrewhereshethey areworking.thisway,sheoffersmodelsofreferencetofacethequotidianconflictsofamulticulturalstudentbodybymeansof musicalactivities. Casenumber3:ateacherthatarrangesmusicalthemespreviouslyselectedbyhispupils;headaptsthosesongstothe musicalandtechnicallevelofhisstudentssothesethemescanbeplayedwiththeinstrumentsofhisschool.duringhislessons, hedevelopstherequiredtechniqueinordertoplayneworchestrationsbasedonthethemesthathispupilslikethemost,which arelatershowninconcertsofferedbothattheschoolandoutside. Case number 4: a female teacher who basically develops, in all her lessons, a musical sensitiveness through the movement,inordertomakearepertorywiththestudent sorchestraandthechorusofherschool.withthisactivity,shedoes not only approach the contents of the curriculum in music teaching but besides they participate in all the parties that are celebratedattheschool.atthesametime,oneofhergoalsistoparticipateinallthemusicaleventsthattakeplaceinhercity whichareorganizedbydifferentpublicandprivateinstitutions,soherpupilscandeveloptheirsocialskillsbymeansofthese musicalmeetingsandscholarevents. Casenumber5:ateacherwhousestheValencia straditionalmusictoapproachthecontentsofthemusiclanguageat thesametimethathereflectsaboutthemusicandthehumanbeingevolution,theculturalmeltandthehumanidentity,as musicisfundamentalforanytransformation. Casenumber6:afemaleteacherthatusesthechorusandtheorchestraofherschoolastoolsforherprogram.She considers musicattheschoolmustbeprofessionalmusic.thereforestudentshavetoexperiencethediverseemotionsand reactionsthatmusicproducesinotherambits.feelingthemusicoutsidetheclassroomisthebestwaytostudy,tounderstand andtolovemusic.todothat,yearbyyearthecontentsofherlessonsareadaptedtothelevelofherpupils. Inallthesecaseswealsohadtheopportunitytointerviewsomeofthestudents,whosedeclarationswereaddedtothe observing and analyzing documentary evidence and videos collected for analysis of the activities and the behavior of the participants Common0general0features0 Mainconclusionsofourprojectmadeustofindoutthosecharacteristicsintheteachingpracticeswhichwerecommon tothesixteachers,despitebeingsodifferentamongthem: a)theirinitialtraining:theyallhadtheirfirstrelationwithmusicwhentheywereveryyoung;itwasacomplementary activitytotheircompulsoryeducationandtheyallweremotivatedbymembersoftheirfamily. b)theirpromptvocationtobeteachersofmusic:theyallhaveincommonthat,atthetimetheywerestudyingmusicin theconservatoryasaprofessionalactivity,theyfeltthenecessityofteachingmusicwithamethodthatwasdifferenttothat theywerelearning,sotheyleanedtowardsteachinginsteadofbeingprofessionalmusiciansastheyhadbeingpreparedatthe Conservatory. c)themeaningof teachingmusic insecondary:playingmusicinordertounderstandit.thisisacommoncharacteristic tothemajorityofthemethodologiesinthexxcenturysuchasdalcroze,orforwillems.musichastobelivedandexploredin ordertointellectualizeitlater.alltheprotagonistsofourresearchfollowthisline. d)theimportanceanddedicationgiventotheirprofessionalactivityatthehighschool:itispartoftheirlife sprojectand makesthemtofeelcompletebothashumanbeingsandasteacherswhoarecommittedwiththesociety. e)theiraltruistspirit,theircapacitytoworkinateamandbeleadersthatarecontinuouslydevelopingneweducative projects. f) The way theconsiderteaching:ahorizontal scheme where teacher and student work together towardsacommon finishwithoutanykindofhierarchy. g) Their empathy with teenagers and their knowledge about the psychological factors that evolve young people, and 69

5 theirgoodrelationshipwiththembothinsideandoutsidertheirclassroom. 7.30Concept0of0the0didactic0of0music0 Thereareothercharacteristics,morelinkedtotheirmusicaleducation,whicharecommontotheseteacherstoo: a)theyalluseandgiveimportancetothedifferentfunctionsofthemusicaleducation,suchasthesensemmotor,the audiomperceptive,thecognitive,theideationalandthedenotative.thismeansthattherearedifferentwaystounderstandand fulfilltheeducativeprogramcontents. b)theyallconsiderthatstudentsmustbeapproachedtotheknowledgeofthemusiclanguagebasicelements.forthat, theystartfromtheirowncompositionsandnomconventionalgraphicsinordertoreachthislevel. c) It is essential for them to teach all the procedural blocks of musical education, that is, movement, dance, instrumentation, voice but each teacher give more emphasis to one or other depending on their previous knowledge and experience. d)finally,theyallsharewhatitisdoneintothemusicclassroomwiththeircolleaguesinsimilaractivitiesandalsowith the rest of the educative sphere. Therefore, they offer concerts to other students and teachers and also to the student s families. 8.00CONCLUSIONS0 As we have observed through the documental evidences and the analysis of the data obtained during the whole researchingprocess,wecanaffirmthefollowing: a) Teachers feel completely satisfied when their educative labor is accepted by the student body and the rest of the educativecommunity. b)atthesametime,theeducativecommunityappreciatesthistypeofmusicalpracticesthatarecontextualizedwith theirenvironmentandproducesharedactivities. c)teachingmusicathighschoolsmustbeusefulforstudentstoknowthemultiplepossibilitiestheycanfindatamusical level,notonlyasmusicloversorenthusiasticpublicinthefuture,butalsoasawaytoworkasprofessionalsbymeansofthe differentjobsrelatedtothemusicindustry. d)studentsenjoymuchmorethoseactivitiesthataretranslatedintosignificantlearning.stagingofmusicalactivities motivatesthemandincreasestheirinteresttolearnandparticipateintheclassroom. e)musicturnsintoapowerfultoolforglobaleducation,educationforthecitizens,humanbeingvaluesandfundamental rights,etc. f)music,inthexxicentury,maybeunderstoodasabasicsubjectwhereasitcanbeusedastheaxistoaccesstothe wholeknowledgeandcontentsincludedintothecurriculuminordertogenerateasignificantlearning. REFERENCES Blaxter,L.Etal(1995).Cómoseinvestiga.Barcelona:Graó Kemp,A.(1993).Aproximacionesalainvestigacióneneducaciónmusical.BuenosAires:ColegiumMusicae OrioldeAlarcon,N.M.(2005).LamúsicaenlasenseñanzasderégimengeneralenEspañaysuevoluciónenels.XXy comienzosdelxxi,revistaelectrónicaleeme,16 Stake,R.(1998).Investigaciónconestudiodecasos.Madrid.Morata Taylor,S.J.yBogdan,R.(1986).Introducciónalosmétodoscualitativosdeinvestigación.Madrid:Paidos. Yanes,J(1998).Laformacióndelprofesoradodesecundaria:unespaciodesolado,RevistadeEducación,317,pp.65M80. YinR.K.(2003).CaseStudyResearch.BeverlyHills,CA:Sage. 70