In search of a holistic view of the qualities of music teachers

Abstract

The search for teacher quality has been one of the priorities in the field of educational research during the last decade. The studies about teacher quality, however, have often focused on the technical, objective and easily measurable aspects of the profession and have ignored other personal qualities that are essential for an effective practice (Day, 2002; Flores, Hilton, Klonari, Nilsen & Snoek, 2008; Korthagen, 2004). In this paper we seek to identify the qualities of music teachers in primary and secondary education by investigating the links between both dimensions through a combination of the competence and humanistic paradigms. These perspectives allowed us to ascertain a number of competences considered necessary for an effective practice and to describe a series of personal aspects which revealed themselves as being essential for the successful performance of the participating teachers. Some aspects such as the need to acknowledge and value the moral and emotional dimensions of teachers and professional self-development were evident in this study. Although each perspective focuses on different dimensions of teachers, the results reveal that a balance between both sides of the technical and personal aspects of teachers is not only possible but necessary. The findings provide important insights for specialist music educators, teacher education programs and those who are considering a career in this field.