Constructing a Personal Orientation to Music Teaching : Growth, Inquiry, and Agency (2ND)

Constructing a Personal Orientation to Music Teaching: Growth, Inquiry, and Agency, (Second Edition), is a textbook for studies in music education. Expanding upon the first edition, the authors promote inquiry and reflection to facilitate teacher growth, lifelong learning, and a disposition toward educational change. The revised text responds to current calls for social change and teacher education reform by reaffirming and intensifying the need for music teachers to adopt a personal orientation toward their work. A personal orientation encourages teachers to initiate their own growth, engage in inquiry, and exercise agency in school contexts. Strongly grounded in current theories and research in teacher education, Constructing a Personal Orientation to Music Teaching: Growth, Inquiry, and Agency strives to do the following: Engage readers in analyzing their own experiences in order to conceptualize the complexity of teaching Involve them in clarifying their reasons for seeking a career in teaching Support their insights, questions, and reflections about their work Promote a reflective, critical attitude about schools in general as music teachers are urged to think of themselves as change agents in school settings Construct a moral purpose as a compass to guide their current and future endeavors in the profession. Every chapter includes a wealth of pedagogical features, including new methodologies and examples of practice to engage the readers in processes of inquiry and reflection. The second edition is organized in two parts. Part I focuses on positioning music teachers as learners in the profession, significantly expanding concepts explored in the first edition that are central to a personal orientation to professional growth. In the new edition, a reconceptualized Chapter 5 challenges teachers to cultivate their identities as change agents. The second half of the book—focusing on becoming a student of music teaching— features five new chapters. A provocative cha