Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy

A teacher’s ability to change and to be part of the society is the key trait of his or her professionalism and thus competitiveness. One of the most significant personality traits of a teacher is creativity, and one of the most important professional competences is the socio-cultural competence, which is characterized by an ability to use particular knowledge of the social and cultural environment, cultural values and their impact upon interpersonal communication, in order to cope with the challenges of the social environment without loosing own identity. The aim of the article is to analyze aspects of music teacher professionalism, which not just allow implementing musical contents, but also help pupils to acquire the socio-cultural competence. Materials and methods. Analysis of cultural studies theories, personality development theories and use of empirical methods – expert interviews, pedagogical observation methods in order to explore several aspects of music school teacher professionalism in the context of the described issue. The article analyzes competences of music school teachers in the work with pupils to promote the development of pupils’ musicality and to give a chance to understand the significance of learning music in a personal context. Based on the comprehension about music being a field of art education that may facilitate the development of personal culture of each pupil, extensive and versatile knowledge of teachers is emphasized, along with the ability to use integrated learning for the realizatio