Perceptions of Effective Teaching and Pre-Service Preparation for Urban Elementary General Music Classrooms: A Study of Teachers of Different Cultural Backgrounds in Various Cultural Settings

This study examined perceptions of effective, urban, elementary general music teachers concerning effective teaching and pre-service preparation for urban, elementary general music classrooms. The study was conducted in two phases: survey and interview. Survey phase participants were experienced, urban, elementary general music teachers from different geographical areas of the United States, who had been identified as effective teachers by music teacher educators or music supervisors. Interview phase participants comprised a subset of survey participants who achieved high levels of potential cross-cultural adaptability on the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (Kelley & Meyers, 1995). A comprehensive interview instrument was administered to each participant in a collective case study research design. From the gathered data, 162 themes emerged from coded passages, with 100 themes comprising commonalities among the six interview participants. In addition to specific traits, beliefs, and strategies, the following four meta-themes emerged from an examination of commonalities: flexibility, cultural knowledge and skills, caring and responsive attitude, and musical knowledge and music teaching skills. From these meta-themes, a model of effective, urban, elementary general music teaching was generated. Findings and implications of the study were also discussed, and recommendations were made for future research