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Action, Criticism & Theory for Music Education
The refereed journal of the
Volume 9, No. 2
September 2010
Wayne Bowman
Editor
Electronic Article
Reflections on the Teacher Identities in Music Education
[TIME] Project
Graham F Welch, Ross Purves, David J Hargreaves,
and Nigel Marshall
© Graham F. Welch 2010 All rights reserved.
ISSN 1545-4517
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Mayday Group are not liable for any legal actions that may arise involving the article's
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For further information, please point your Web Browser to http://act.maydaygroup.org
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 11
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Reflections on the Teacher Identities in Music Education
[TIME] Project
Graham F. Welch1, Ross Purves1, David J Hargreaves2, and Nigel Marshall2
1Institute of Education, London
2Roehampton University, London
Introduction
One of the enduring paradoxes of music education in England in recent years is the difference
between the relative ubiquity of music in many people’s lives, irrespective of age, and the
persistent shortage of people who are willing to become (and remain) specialist teachers of
music in schools. The teaching of music—at least in a school setting—appears to be less
attractive compared to our personal and social engagement with it. Somehow, the educational
‘packaging’ of music (whether real or imagined) is not appealing.
For example, there has been much contemporary commentary (e.g. Bull, 2005;
Vandewater et al., 2007) on the widespread consumption of music through its availability
provided by new electronic media, such as web-based access on computers and mobile
phones, YouTube, mp3/mp4 digital audio and video music formats and players, as well as the
established Compact Disk (CD) market.1 The British Music Rights Survey (2008) surveyed
the musical experiences and behaviour of 773 young people aged 14–25+ years. They found
that music ‘is an absolutely integral part of young people’s lives’, with 14–17 year-olds
listening to music over six hours per day, either in the background or as the main focus of
their attention. Ninety-two percent of respondents in this age group had their own mp3
player. When asked what three items they would take with them to a desert island, music was
selected most often by all age groups. Their personal music collection was ‘their most
treasured possession’ (op.cit. p.9). Yet, in England, customarily only 7%–8% of young
people (on average) continue to study music formally within the secondary school curriculum
beyond the age of 14 years when it becomes optional (Saunders, 2008). Music is an important
part of people’s lives and identity (MacDonald et al., 2002). But, even though many
professional musicians take opportunities to interweave instrumental teaching alongside
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 12
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performance as part of a portfolio career (Welch et al., 2008a), classroom-based music
pedagogy is less popular.
In an attempt to attract more people into music teaching in secondary schools (for
pupils aged 12 to 18 years), music has consistently been listed as a ‘priority subject’ by the
UK Government’s Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)—a Non-
Departmental Public Body with responsibility for the quality of teacher supply to schools and
workforce development in England. Music continues to be a secondary school recruitment
priority, alongside mathematics, science, design and technology, information and
communications technology, engineering, manufacturing, modern languages and religious
education (TDA, 2009a). These subjects attract additional financial incentives for graduates
wishing to teach. Eligible applicants in music currently receive a student bursary of £9000
(TDA, 2009a – approximately US$13,600) and an additional ‘golden hello’ payment of
£2500 (TDA, 2009b).
As well as official concern about the persistent shortage of music teachers is an
accompanying anxiety about variations in the quality of music teaching in schools. It is not
clear if (and how) these two concerns are related, but they co-exist and have done so for at
least the past decade (Welch et al., in press[a]). For example, in relation to the quality of
learning in music in schools, recent school inspection evidence suggests that there are still
official concerns about some schools in England (Ofsted, 2009). Although provision for
music was reported to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in around half the schools visited, “the
quality and range of provision were inconsistent and too much of the provision was
inadequate, particularly in the secondary schools” (Ofsted, 2009, p.5). Relatively few pupils
continued to study music as an optional subject from the age of 14 years and standards in 1:4
secondary aged lessons were described as ‘substantially below average’ (op.cit., p.22). In
particular:
Even though all the lessons seen in the secondary schools visited were taught by
specialist music teachers, the students in these lessons made less progress overall in
Key Stage 3 [ages 11–14] than in any of the other Key Stages. Progress was good or
outstanding in only just over four in 10 sessions seen. The work tended to focus on
developing the students’ technical competence without enough consideration of the
quality of their musical response and the depth of musical understanding. For
example, students rarely developed or demonstrated their understanding of different
musical processes or influences on music. (Ofsted, op.cit. p.23).
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 13
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These comments are somewhat surprising given the high level of interest that young
people as the ‘clients’ of school music education demonstrate towards music in their
everyday lives, whether as consumers, producers, or both (e.g. Laughey, 2006). In theory,
pupils’ underlying interest in music might suggest that they would be highly motivated to
engage with music in the classroom and be receptive to music education that draws on and
extends their interests. This motivation and awareness of music, in turn, should provide
teachers with an ideal basis to focus on deepening the quality of music responses and
understanding. If this is not the case, at least for a significant minority, one possible
explanation may relate to the nature of the kinds of music customarily available in school
curricula compared to the kinds of music that young people engage with outside school. For
example, ‘school music’ has been reported to be teacher-directed, for learning and serious,
whereas music outside school is perceived as more self-selected, for enjoyment and popular
in nature (Hargreaves & Marshall, 2003). Accordingly, one recent large research project
investigated how to channel young people’s existing passion for music with a different
pedagogical approach that embraced a more student-led, less teacher-directed approach
(Green, 2008).2
This change in pedagogy drew its inspiration from an investigation into how popular
musicians learned and developed their musical knowledge in relatively informal and personal
ways, often as part of a collective (Green, 2001). Yet anecdotal evidence suggests that many
of the music teachers in schools are likely to have a more Western classical and
conservatoire-type background, perhaps with few opportunities to become expert and
knowledgeable about the kinds of popular musics favoured by their pupils. Indeed, a recent
study of professional musicians found distinctive differences in their biographies related to
musical genre (Creech et al., 2008) and that these impacted on their views about music. For
example, whilst classical musicians ranked the ability to improvise as the least important
musical skill, but valued notation-based musical skills, the other-than-classical musicians
(jazz, rock, Scottish traditional) assigned the least importance to the ability to sight-read, but
rated improvisation and memorisation highly. Biographical information revealed that
Western classical musicians began formal learning on their first instrument at an earlier age
(classical:
X
= 8.8 years; other-than-classical:
X
= 12 years) and were influenced musically
by parents, instrumental or vocal teachers and formal groups. Conversely, other-than-
classical musicians tended to be slightly older in their formative musical encounters and
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 14
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reported that, typically, they were most influenced by well-known performers and
membership of informal groups (Creech et al., op.cit.). Although all musicians, irrespective
of genre and gender, had a very strong musical identity, with their musician self forming
a core component of their overall sense of identity (Welch et al., 2008b), there were
significant differences in their biographies which could have an impact on how they might
approach the challenges of teaching.
The three facets of school music teaching rehearsed above—recruitment shortages in
secondary schools, the perceived differences between ‘school music’ compared to music
outside school, and how these might relate to the genre-biased biographies of professional
musicians—have been evidenced at least since the 1990s and formed the backdrop to the
Teacher Identities in Music Education (TIME) research project led by David Hargreaves and
Graham Welch, supported by Ross Purves and Nigel Marshall, in the early part of the current
decade.
The Teacher Identities in Music Education (TIME) project3
At the turn of the century, there was a widespread perception on the part of pupils, teachers,
and policy makers that a ‘problem with school music’ existed, particularly at the secondary
level. Some evidence for this came from examination statistics and school inspection
evidence, as well as from academic research, although there were some early signs of change.
At the time, the Government were also seeking to generate more ‘flexibility’ in the
curriculum to free up time for ‘core’ subjects in English schools (English, mathematics and
science). This led ‘The Campaign for Music in the Curriculum’ to call for a minimum of one
hour’s music teaching each week (Spencer, 1998). In response, ministers and senior civil
servants in the Education Ministry were quick to make public statements about how much
they valued music in schools. Nevertheless, two months later, a Times Educational
Supplement (TES) survey of 692 primary schools reported that one in five was ‘cutting down
on music teaching as a direct result of Government policy’ (Lepkowska, 1998).
The research team hypothesized that one contributory factor was the perceived
authenticity of ‘school music’ in relation to ‘music outside school’, not least because the
latter was reported to be a core attribute of adolescent musical identity (e.g. Zillmann and
Gann, 1997; Carpentier et al., 2003; see also the articles by Saunders and Stunell in this ACT
volume). The TIME project approached these issues from the point of view of the ‘musical
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 15
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identities’ of two groups of professional standard musicians: (i) those who had chosen to
become teachers who constituted the main focus, compared to (ii) those who had decided
against such a career option.
Methodology
PARTICIPANTS
With initial teacher education as its prime focus, the beginning teacher project participants
were 74 students on one-year, full-time Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
secondary music courses at four universities. This group represented 17.5% (nearly one in
five) of the total population of those graduating with a PGCE in secondary music teaching in
June 2002. Recognised as high-quality providers of initial teacher education in music (with
the majority of the features of their initial teacher education provision rated by OfSTED in
the ‘very good’ category), the participant universities (n=4) were chosen on the basis of pre-
established links with members of the research team, relative cohort size and geographic
spread.
A comparison group of final-year undergraduate music students (n=66) was drawn
from four specialist music colleges and two university music departments. These participants,
who represented 1.28% of the total number of graduates (5,155) from music-related courses
in 2003 (HESA, 2005), provided a contrasting perspective to the (n=74) graduate musicians
who had already opted to undergo initial teacher education. The comparison group was
nearing the end of their undergraduate degrees and a career in secondary music was still one
of many career options.
Each of the beginning teacher participants completed the first of two questionnaires
whilst in their final weeks of initial teacher education (PGCE). This explored their musical
and educational backgrounds, opinions and perceptions concerning their chosen profession.
A second questionnaire was completed nine months later into their subsequent career path.
The latter focused on their experiences either as Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in an
educational setting or in their alternative choice of employment. Of the original (n=74)
sample, 29 took this opportunity to provide more detailed information of their day-to-day
experiences of their new role. Within this sub-group, 25 of the 29 were involved directly in
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 16
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some form of classroom-based music teaching, either in full-time (n=17) or part-time
secondary, special, or independent school contexts, or working in further education.
Case studies provided a third strand of data collection. Six of the participants who had
completed the initial questionnaire agreed to be observed subsequently in school during their
second term of full-time teaching. The three males and three females represented a variety of
musical and educational backgrounds and were from schools with a diversity of intakes,
locations and catchment areas.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
The Longitudinal Questionnaire Study
The initial questionnaire gathered information in four main areas: (i) demographic data that
embraced participants’ musical and educational backgrounds and influential experiences; (ii)
measures of self-efficacy in music and teaching; (iii) measures of their identification with
professional groups in these two vocational domains and their wider social implications (e.g.
union membership, institutional affiliations and peer attitudes); and (iv) an exploration of
participants’ attitudes towards selected aims of music education and their perception of
important skills for musicians and teachers.
With regard to (ii), the assessment of self-efficacy, a detailed reading of the research
literature (e.g. Bandura, 1997) led to an adaptation of an existing, widely-used generic
instrument for the assessment of vocational and academic self-efficacy (Sherer and Maddux
et al., 1982). Two distinct but comparable self-efficacy scales were constructed from the
same, original version. These gauged participants’ perceived efficacy in the face of a variety
of characteristic challenges related to their musical and teaching activities. Participants rated
their agreement with each of a series of statements using a seven-point Likert scale.
For (iii), an assessment was made of participants’ relative orientation towards
teaching and/or musical performance (drawing on Kadushin, 1969; Roberts, 1991). In all of
these, participants’ responses to a series of statements were recorded also on a seven-point
Likert Scale.
In order to assess attitudes towards possible purposes of music education (iv),
participants rated eleven statements of the aims of music teaching that had been cited
frequently in the literature (for instance, see Austin and Reinhardt, 1999) and which reflected
musical, personal and social perspectives. Participants chose what they considered to be the
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 17
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five most important skills that they felt musicians, teachers and music teachers should
possess from a list of alternative statements. They also selected musical skills that they felt
peers would expect them to exhibit as students of music or music teaching. These sets of
skills were informed by similar lists found in related studies, including Froehlich and L'Roy
(1985), Kostka (1997), and Teachout (1997).
The questions relating to each of these four areas were sectionalised and presented out
of sequence in order to reduce the likelihood of ordering effects in participants’ answers and
to increase internal consistency. For the second questionnaire, participants were asked to
update demographic data where necessary. In addition, questions relating to participants’
current employment were included. All other sections of the questionnaire remained constant
across the two iterations, enabling longitudinal comparison. Questionnaire data were
essentially quantitative and were entered into SPSS (version 10) for analysis. The relatively
few questions that resulted in short, text-based qualitative data were also included in the
SPSS file, but were subjected to further processing using Microsoft Excel. The qualitative
data generated in response to the open-ended, additional questions distributed alongside the
second questionnaire were processed using QSR N6 software (also known as 'Nudist’; QSR
International, 2000).
Case studies
A second major strand of data collection was a series of participant case studies. Whilst
providing an in-depth and significant source of contextual data in their own right, the case
studies also served to inform the design of the second questionnaire in the longitudinal
component. The case study element was designed to explore issues raised in participants’
responses to the initial questionnaire in greater depth and to investigate the demands placed
upon them as Newly Qualified Teachers of music. Also of interest was the extent to which
the participants’ own music education and postgraduate teacher education were perceived to
have prepared them for their Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) role. Each teacher was
‘shadowed’ for a school day and a detailed record kept of all their teaching, administrative
and extra-curricular activities. The shadowing was followed by ninety-minute semi-
structured interviews in which participants discussed the perceived impact of their musical
and educational backgrounds on their new careers. The interviews also covered their initial
experiences of the job, possible plans for career development and detailed views on the
purpose, status and philosophy of secondary school music education. Each case study
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 18
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generated field notes and audio recordings of the semi-structured interviews, which were also
subsequently transcribed for qualitative analysis.
The preliminary analysis of the data from the first questionnaire informed the foci for
the case studies and was presented to a small Advisory Group, created to act as a
‘soundboard’ and to provide a commentary on the emergent findings during and at the end of
the project. This group included the PGCE course leaders from five of the collaborating
higher education institutions, along with two external ‘project consultants’ who represented
research perspectives from a specialist music college and a university education department.
The Advisory Group also received and commented on the outcomes of the second
questionnaire.
Key Findings4
The final year undergraduate students in the survey demonstrated a relative homogeneity as
well as particular biases in their overall musical profiles. With regards to musical
backgrounds, over 80% of participants had followed a traditional English system academic
route. This embraced an Associated Boards of the Royal Schools of Music grade VIII
qualification on their first study instrument or voice, as well as secondary school examination
passes in music – General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and Advanced Level
qualifications, taken at ages 16 and 18, respectively—before embarking on an undergraduate
degree in music. Just fewer than 20% also possessed an additional instrumental qualification,
such as a licentiateship or associateship awarded by a British college of music. None of the
participants had studied for any of the newer vocational music-related courses (such as
National Diplomas or General National Vocational Qualifications) now on offer to 16- to 19-
year-olds in England.
Almost all participants played more than one instrument, with just under 80% either
first studying piano or possessing relatively expert keyboard skills. The vast majority had
learnt their first study instruments with privately engaged studio teachers. A significant
minority had also been taught by peripatetic teachers at school. Over half the participants had
experience performing in orchestras, while 29% had experience of playing in classical
chamber ensembles such as string quartets. In contrast, only 11% had experience of
performing in jazz ensembles or big bands and only 6% had been members of pop, rock or
soul groups. Two percent had worked in theatre pit orchestras and none of the sample had
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 19
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been active in performing non-Western music.
Participants felt that their individual instrumental teachers (both before and during
their undergraduate studies) had had the most influence on their musical careers overall.
Other significant career influences were their parents, listening to well-known performers,
attending musical events and educational ensembles (such as county youth orchestras).5
Perhaps surprisingly, their own secondary school music teachers were reported as having
made relatively little impact on their musical career aspirations, with a mean ranking below
these other influences. Participants reported that they were even less likely to have been
shaped through playing in informal ensembles with their friends (e.g., garage bands) or by
their primary school class music lessons.
Participants were asked the open-ended question, “In an ideal world, what would be
your career in five years’ time?” Forty-seven percent saw themselves as becoming solely
professional musicians of some description, with another 18% planning to split their time
between professional performance and instrumental teaching. Nine-percent saw themselves
as becoming involved in nonperforming musical work (including music therapy and arts
administration), while 10% believed that they would leave the musical world completely.
Only 2 of 66 participants forecast a future for themselves in secondary school music teaching,
with one aiming to become a department head within five years. Two other participants
expressed a desire to work in primary schools, one as a generalist teacher and the other as a
music coordinator. When asked whether they were considering a career as a secondary
school music teacher, 85% of the sample reported that they were not and 12% reported that
they were.
Although the majority of these participants were positive about being involved in
music education in some form—such as part of a portfolio career alongside performance that
echoed the profile of their own instrumental teachers—they were much less positive about a
career in the school classroom. Of the 85% who said they were not considering this career
path, one third reported that this decision was due largely to their desire to focus on
performance and, in fewer cases, composition. Some qualified this by noting that combining
these professions with instrumental teaching was much preferable to class teaching. One in
five (19%) explained their decision not to teach in secondary schools in terms of a perceived
lack of discipline and disinterest exhibited by pupils. Some participants believed that they
lacked the authority necessary to control classes so as to ensure standards of behavior were
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 20
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maintained, while at the same time, facilitating musical learning. Thirteen percent of
participants cited perceptions about school working conditions as a reason not to teach. These
included salaries, class sizes, long hours, too much paperwork and bureaucracy, interference
from the Government in the form of the National Curriculum and other educational
initiatives, and a lack of support (financial and otherwise) from school senior management.
Another 13% said they simply had no desire to teach, or in some cases, hated the very
thought of such a career option.
In contrast, a different picture emerged from the main focus group that, at the time of
the initial questionnaire, was completing their one-year, full-time PGCE course towards a
formal teaching qualification in music. Analysis of the demographic data revealed that, whilst
the majority of these PGCE students were recent graduates (between the ages of 21–25),
some had made the move into teaching in their thirties, forties and even fifties. As part of the
first questionnaire, participants were given space to offer some reasons for their decision to
embark on a career in secondary music teaching. When this qualitative data were analysed
and ranked according to age, four distinct categories of responses emerged.
• ‘Recent graduates’, defined as those participants aged between 21 and 25 years,
represented 56.8% of the sample. They reported that they were embarking on their
first career soon after completing undergraduate study or, in a minority of cases,
postgraduate qualifications. Many said that secondary school teaching was their first
choice of career.
• In contrast, the ‘transitional group’ were aged 25 to 35 and represented 17.6% of
sample. Their choice of a teaching career had been made subsequent to a range of
other (sometimes musical) activities. One third of these had a postgraduate
qualification. Unlike the ‘recent graduates’, the members of this group were more
likely to express some form of ambivalence about their career path. Having a teaching
qualification was seen as providing them with a wider range of options in
employment, as part of a more ‘portfolio’ approach. Their long-term commitment to
teaching appeared more equivocal than their younger colleagues.
• The third group were termed ‘fresh starters’ and were aged 36 years and above. They
represented 12.2% of sample and 44% had a postgraduate qualification. This group of
the oldest students expressed a clear commitment to teaching as a definite career
change, having had significant prior employment in the music field, often as a
successful performing musician. Their stated reasons for choosing teaching included
family commitments, the need for a more predictable income, as well as a sense of
wanting to pass on their love of music to a new generation.
• Finally, a small percentage (4.1%) of participants were perceived as being
‘qualification earners’. They were drawn from across the age range and saw the
PGCE (Qualified Teacher Status) qualification as necessary to provide them with
music career options, such as the ability to be paid at a higher rate for peripatetic
music teaching within the school system. They were not primarily seeking
employment as secondary school music teachers, although they were not discounting
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 21
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having teaching as part of their ‘portfolio’ of activities.
Overall, and in line with the responses from the undergraduates reported above, the
majority of these PGCE students had followed a similar traditional academic route of school-
based music GCSE/ ‘O’ Level and GCE ‘A’ Level qualifications before embarking on an
undergraduate music degree. In addition, the older students often had performance or
instrumental teaching diplomas and, sometimes, higher degrees. As with the undergraduates,
very few students had vocational qualifications, such as a BTEC Ordinary or Higher National
Diploma, or GNVQ.
Almost all of those questioned said that they possessed experience of teaching or
other educational work before commencing the PGCE. Over 70% had taught as an
instrumental teacher, whilst 15% had delivered practical workshops or been involved in
outreach activities. However, few had directed choirs or instrumental groups in an
educational context. The majority played between two and four instruments each and almost
90% either were first study pianists or reported that they possessed relatively expert keyboard
skills. Most had been taught by private or school-based peripatetic instrumental teachers, but
some had gained their instrumental skills through either community ensembles (e.g. brass
bands), lessons from parents, or informal activities with friends. Many had experience of
playing in orchestras at county, university or professional level. Fewer, however, had been
active in jazz, popular or non-Western music—the kinds of musical genres that might typify
the musical experiences and preferences of the adolescent age group who would be their
prime teaching career focus.
Apart from keyboard skills (which were highly rated), they regarded many of the
practical musical skills gained during their own formal music education (such as instrumental
technique, sight-reading and a knowledge of classical composers) as less critical to their
intended role as teachers. Being able to conduct and improvise were seen as more important.
Significantly, however, many said that they still felt pressure from their fellow PGCE
students to maintain a high standard of instrumental technique. When asked about their views
of the aims of music education, and in contrast to the responses from the undergraduate
musicians, most of the participants felt that social benefits and opportunities to develop
transferable skills in pupils were more important than the cultivation of future professional
musicians. Also in contrast, the majority reported that their own secondary school music
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 22
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teachers were amongst the three most formative influences on their musical careers, along
with private or school-based instrumental teachers and their parents.
Subsequently, 29 former PGCE students responded to the second questionnaire in
May 2003, approximately nine months after the original. Of these, just over half (n=17, 59%)
were by then employed as full-time secondary teachers in the maintained sector. A minority
had opted to take up part-time posts (n=3, 10%) and were spending between two and four
days per week in school. The remainder had taken up alternative forms of educational
employment, embracing the special school sector (n=2, 7%), the independent sector (n=2,
7%) and further education (n=1, 4%). Three others (10%) were working as instrumental
teachers, whilst one other had returned to full-time postgraduate study.
With a significant proportion of former PGCE participants electing not to take up full-
time employment as music teachers in maintained secondary schools, the research team was
keen to explore potential factors that might have affected individuals’ decisions to look
elsewhere for employment. Part of the longitudinal questionnaire study was designed to
investigate participants’ self-perceptions of their abilities as both a musician and a teacher,
and to profile levels of perceived self-efficacy in these vocational domains.6 Based on our
undergraduate musician responses (Purves et al., 2004), it was hypothesised that individuals’
decisions to go into full-time maintained secondary teaching might be related to their self-
perceptions as efficacious musicians and teachers. During both phases of the longitudinal
questionnaire study, participants were asked to rate the extent that they agreed or disagreed
with statements developed from Sherer and Maddux et al.’s (1982) generic instrument for the
assessment of vocational and academic self-efficacy. Examples of these items include: ‘If I
can’t perform a piece of music at first, I keep trying until I can’, ‘If something unexpected
happens during a performance, I do not handle it well’ and ‘I am a self-reliant musician’.
Responses were made using a 7-point Likert scale. Higher values corresponded with
increasing agreement with the statements. A parallel set of statements relating to challenges
faced in general teaching was also included (for instance, in the case of the first item above:
‘If something unexpected happens during a lesson, I do not handle it well’). In all, seventeen
distinct statements were presented for each scale, with the mean values of participants’
responses calculated to provide overall indications of musical and general teaching self-
efficacy. Cronbach’s Alpha values were calculated to ensure that both the music and teaching
versions remained as internally consistent as the original Sherer and Maddux instrument.7
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 23
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In order to assess whether these measures of (a) general teaching and (b) musical self-
efficacy were related to career destination, the 29 participants who completed the second
questionnaire were divided into two subgroups: those who had become full-time music
teachers in maintained secondary schools (n=17, 59%) and those who had not (n=12, 41%).
A comparison of the self-efficacy scores for these subgroups of participants obtained from
both questionnaires was then conducted using two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA)
tests.8
There were no significant main effects or interactions for differences between mean
levels of general teaching self-efficacy for either of these subgroups of participants on either
questionnaire. This suggests that neither subgroup had a significantly higher or lower level of
general teaching self-efficacy than the other at the times of the two questionnaires. Perhaps
more interestingly, however, is the corollary that those participants choosing a full time
career in the maintained secondary school music classroom had not experienced a significant
increase in their level of general teaching self-efficacy two terms into their first post. In fact,
the mean level decreased, albeit it non-significantly, during this period: 5.86 on the first
questionnaire, 5.58 on the second.
Two potential explanations for this lack of change in general teaching self-efficacy
might be offered. Firstly, it might be that future secondary school music specialists had
experienced the most profound changes in their general teaching self-efficacy towards the
beginning of their initial teacher education course, possibly as they undergo their first
classroom placement. By the time of the first questionnaire (the last two months of their
PGCE courses), levels of general teaching self-efficacy may have risen to reflect their accrual
of practical classroom experience during the intervening months. Thus, the timing of the first
questionnaire might have been too late to show any appreciable difference with levels
reported subsequently two terms into their professional careers. An alternative explanation
might be that professional life in the maintained secondary school music classroom may have
presented challenges not foreseen or prepared for during the PGCE – a situation sometimes
referred to as ‘praxisschock’ (e.g. by Mark, 1998). Consequently, the full time teachers may
have responded to the statements posed on the general teaching self-efficacy section of the
second questionnaire with these emergent professional realities prominent in their minds, the
net result being that their general teaching self-efficacy scores effectively ‘stood still’, not
least because of the widespread demands on their time in school.
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 24
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With regards to musical self-efficacy scores, there were no significant main effects for
the mean levels of musical self-efficacy obtained during the first questionnaire. However,
there was a significant interaction in the scores between questionnaires over time for the two
subgroups (F = 7.48, p = 0.01). Specifically, the second questionnaire scores for those not
teaching music full time in maintained secondary schools increased markedly from the
equivalent scores from the first questionnaire. Non-full-time teachers had a higher mean
score (from 5.78 to 6.05), whereas the mean score of the full time teachers in maintained
secondary schools decreased from 5.50 to 5.24. The difference between these two subgroup
scores was itself statistically significant (t = 2.404, df = 27, p > 0.05) on the second
questionnaire.
One possible explanation for the above significant interaction is that those participants
who rated themselves more highly in terms of their musical competencies were less likely to
pursue full-time employment in maintained secondary schools. From their responses, it
would seem that individuals who more strongly identified with musical performance – and
who sought opportunities to build this into a working week as part of a portfolio career –
sought employment that enabled them to engage in more one-to-one, small group or
specialist teaching. Perhaps the demands of a performance-oriented portfolio career would
seem to dictate higher levels of musical self-efficacy in order to navigate the diverse range of
professional contexts required beyond life in the mainstream secondary classroom.
A comparative analysis of musical self-efficacy scores from the 66 final-year
undergraduate participants (Purves et al., 2004) suggests a similar difference. Of these, 56
(85%) indicated that, at this time, they were not considering a career in secondary school
music education. The mean musical self-efficacy score for the 56 was 5.51. This was in
contrast to a mean of 4.89 for the 8 remaining participants who were actively considering a
secondary teaching career. Whilst the group sizes were very uneven and this difference was
statistically non-significant (t = 1.910, df = 62, p = .061), the similarities with the PGCE
musical self-efficacy findings above are intriguing.
When taken together, data from both undergraduate and postgraduate participants
(Questionnaire 2) (total n=95) are supportive of the original TIME project hypothesis that the
identities of performer and teacher are not always seen as mutually supportive because of the
particular demands of each. Our data suggest that undergraduates expressing a willingness to
teach and postgraduates who not only completed a PGCE but who went on to find full time
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 25
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employment teaching in maintained secondary schools demonstrate a long term commitment
in terms of their orientation towards teaching rather than performance (see Hargreaves et al.,
2007 for more detail on the project’s Musician-Teacher Orientation Index). However, our
PGCE qualified subgroup who were not full time teachers in maintained secondary schools
were developing a career pathway which drew on both their performer and teacher identities.
Conclusions
Overall, the main findings of the TIME project concerning these two groups of participants
were that the vast majority of undergraduate musicians and intending music teachers had
similar qualifications and backgrounds in the Western classical performance tradition, very
few had non-standard qualifications and few had performance experience of other-than-
classical musical genres. The respective views of the beginning teachers of their own general
effectiveness, whether as teachers or as musicians, changed very little over the period.
However, their perceptions of the required skills for successful music teaching did change,
increasingly emphasizing communication and interpersonal rather than musical performance
skills. It would appear also that many music undergraduates were put off teaching careers
because of fear of pupil behaviour and disinterest, and concerns that a lack of piano skills
may make them unprepared for the role. In spite of the wide-ranging demands of
contemporary music teaching, we concluded that the profession was still largely judged in
terms of musical performance skills, and that this public perception needed to be broadened if
the music teacher recruitment shortage was to be alleviated. Furthermore, the TIME data
indicate that new recruits to music teaching in schools in England are likely to have a strong
Western classical music background and little formal knowledge and understanding of other
musical genres. This may leave them relatively underprepared musically in terms of their
ability to understand and extend the musical interests and identities of their adolescent pupils.
Comments from two case studies illustrate the potential benefits of having a broad experience
of musical genres on which to draw in the classroom.
RP:…is there a sense that you can just talk about music with kids?
M: It’s difficult. Because I’m still establishing myself in the school, so I still try and
maintain this guard as [sic] a teacher/pupil relationship. I don’t offer myself into
much open discussion with Years, 7, 8 and 9 [ages 11+ to 13+]…And, if you’re
gullible enough to fall for it, that’s it, you’re gone…I had a kid sing [name of group]
and I just made a small acknowledgment to him, and the kid went, ‘Ooh, ooh, bing’.
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education Electronic Article 26
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RP: He was surprised that you knew?
M: Yeah. ‘Sir knew something about what I listen to’, you know! Especially the kids
with the [indistinct] and things like that. They don’t actually think that I might
actually be able to do some of those things. Especially when the kids [are on] the
guitar to tune up. The other day someone brought in a guitar and he was learning –
he surprised me – he was learning ‘Stairway to Heaven’.
RP: Oh really!
M: And, it was like a massive flashback. I was like, huh, you’re 13 and you’re
learning this, you know. Jimmy Page is nearly in the grave, what are you doing? No
offence to Jimmy, but…you know. But, this is the scourge of all music shops and this
kid’s here playing it and I’m thinking, well you know, I’ll just have a quick go to see if
I can remember it. And, he was—jaw dropped. Because, the kids love that. The kids
like to know you can do something they can’t, and the kids like to see that. And,
there’s not a problem with showing your skills. Obviously, if I can play some
[indistinct] chords and learn a bass line on the piano, they think that’s fabulous, you
know. I know myself it’s not and obviously; somebody else who has got more
experience would think, well you know, well he knows what he’s doing. But, it’s
enough to keep the kids entertained and there is that pressure on that sort of thing,
expectation for you to entertain, as well as teach and make it fun.
A second interview participant, D, had a very different musical background to M, but
nonetheless relied heavily on his own significant exposure to popular styles in order to seek
out ‘common ground’ with pupils. D began as an orchestral violinist and church chorister and
worked hard to develop strong sight-reading skills from an early age. However, parallel
studies of the guitar led to an interest in performing jazz and rock: ‘I realized that I could do
lots of different types of music…that was important to me’, he commented during interview.
Undergraduate operatic performance studies at a London conservatoire were interrupted in
favour of a musically broader, more academic course at a well-known London university. D’s
interest in musical research culminated in the award of a PhD in musical history. Thus, before
entering the classroom, D had already amassed significant academic, compositional and
performing experience of both Western classical and popular genres (even if, as the following
extract suggests, the two had not always been easy bedfellows). Such breadth of practical
experience was clearly an important strand in D’s self-identity as a music teacher:
D: I played in a Barn Dance Band and still now.
RP: You do that now, do you?
D: Yeah …which involves some improvisation. A more relaxed style. And, I’ve used it
in my classes as well.
RP: Have you? ... When you say, improvisation, you also play jazz and rock as well
…?
Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
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D: Yeah, improvisation there as well. And, I played in a band as well when I was at
[the London Conservatoire]…which interfered with my studies a bit there as well—
my classical studies. I developed as a rock musician, which I like to use in school.
And, I do a ‘Rock School’ on Tuesdays, so I do a lot of that. And, it’s important—it’s
important for the kids. So, and I do—I try and listen to as much music as possible. I
got really into African music last year. So, I’m really trying to develop myself as a
musician while I’m teaching, in as many different aspects of music. From ‘world’ to
‘early’ music and inevitably, if you’re going into so many different areas you’re
going to be jack of all trades, master of none. But, I think that is important really to
be like that as a teacher. I think it’s important to have—you know—your niches, or
what you’re specializing, but as important to have a basic understanding of all those
different styles.
It seems essential that Higher Education music departments should promote a more holistic
view of what constitutes a musician in their undergraduate courses and provide many and
varied opportunities for cross-genre collaboration, learning, shared performance and rounded
performance excellence (see Welch and Papageorgi, 2008). Subsequently, initial teacher
education courses should encourage similar holistic perspectives and provide appropriate
encounters in schools where successful genre diversity is demonstrated and modeled. Then it
may be possible to ensure that the paradox of music education—related to the ubiquity and
popularity of music in society compared to the relative unpopularity of secondary school
music education as a teaching career and as a majority pupil curriculum experience—is
finally resolved.
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Notes
1 In 2008, for example, digital album downloads numbered 10.3 million in the UK,
representing 7% of the total music album sales of 147 million (Office for National Statistics,
2010 [February]). Lifestyles and social participation. Retrieved 31st March 2010 from
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=2356). This represents a reduction, however,
from 2002 when album sales were 225 million (ONS, 2002). In contrast, the power of new
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media is illustrated by Apple’s report that 10 billion songs were downloaded globally from
2003 through to February 2010 (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10452216-37.html).
2 See http://www.musicalfutures.org.uk/background for more information about the ‘Musical
Futures’ project that is now being followed in more than 800 secondary schools in England.
3 The formal title of the research project funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council in the UK from 2002–2003 was Effective teaching in secondary school music:
teacher and pupil identities, but it became more widely known by its shorter title The
Teacher Identities in Music Education or TIME project. The award reference number was
R000223751. The details of the project and major findings are a synthesis of key project
publications (Purves et al., 2004; Hargreaves et al., 2007; Welch et al., in press[b]) plus some
additional unpublished material.
4 For more detailed information on the findings from final year undergraduate participants,
see Purves et al. (2004). For detailed information on the main focus group of intending
teachers (who were initially all PGCE students), see Hargreaves et al. (2007) and Welch et
al., (in press[b]). The last of these contains much detail from the individual case studies, as
well as the narrative reports from other participants about their experiences of the first year of
teaching.
5 These findings were echoed in data from a later ESRC study of professional musicians
(n=244) in which Western classical performers demonstrated a very similar musical
biography to that reported in the TIME research (cf Creech et al., 2008; Welch et al., 2008a).
In both studies, data indicate that parents and private teachers had a strong influence on
Western classical musicians subsequent formal engagement with music.
6 Self-efficacy theory is concerned with people’s beliefs in their capabilities to deal with
situational demands and achieve identified goals (Bandura, 1997).
7 The music and teaching versions of the scale both had reliability scores of 0.85. The
original Sherer and Maddux (1982) scale had a score of 0.86. More detail on the design and
outcomes of the psychological measures used in the present study may be found in
Hargreaves et al. (2007).
8 One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests confirmed that that the musical and teaching self-
efficacy data resembled normal distributions, thus ensuring that the parametric ANOVA test
was appropriate for the analyses.
About the Authors
Professor Graham Welch holds the Institute of Education, University of London Established
Chair of Music Education. He is elected Chair of the internationally based Society for
Education, Music and Psychology Research (SEMPRE), President of the International
Society for Music Education (ISME) and past Co-Chair of the Research Commission of
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Welch, G. et al. (2010). Reflections on the ‘Teacher identities in music education’ [TIME] project. Action,
Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 9/2: 11–32. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Welch9_2.pdf
ISME. Current Visiting Professorships include the Universities of Queensland (Australia),
Limerick (Eire) and Roehampton (UK). He is also a member of the UK Arts and Humanities
Research Council’s (AHRC) Review College for music and has been a specialist consultant
for Government departments and agencies in the UK, Italy, Sweden, USA, Ukraine, UAE,
South Africa and Argentina. Publications number over two hundred and sixty and embrace
musical development and music education, teacher education, the psychology of music,
singing and voice science, and music in special education and disability. Publications are
primarily in English, but also appear in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, Greek,
Japanese and Chinese.
Ross Purves is a part-time Research Officer in the Institute of Education, University of
London and Course Manager for Music Technology/BTEC Music at Luton Sixth Form
College, UK. Previously, he was the Research Officer for the ESRC-funded ‘Effective
teaching in secondary school music: teacher and pupil identities’ project, led by Professors
Hargreaves and Welch at Roehampton and the Institute of Education. His doctoral research is
focused on geographical and social variables that impact on the music learning biographies of
young people. Publications embrace music teacher education, music technology education,
musical identities, conservatoire outreach impact, literacy development and music and
teachers’ professional development. He is an accomplished musician, arranger and composer.
David Hargreaves is Professor of Education, Froebel Research Fellow, and Director of the
Centre for International Research on Creativity and Learning in Education (CIRCLE) in the
School of Education, and has previously held posts in Schools of Psychology and Education
at the Universities of Leicester, Durham and the Open University. He is also Visiting
Professor of Research in Music Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and
Visiting Professor at the Inter-University Institute of Macau. He is a Chartered Psychologist
and Fellow of the British Psychological Society and was Editor of Psychology of Music
1989-96, Chair of the Research Commission of the International Society for Music Education
(ISME) 1994-6, and is currently on the editorial boards of eight journals in psychology,
music and education. In recent years he has spoken about his research at conferences and
meetings in various countries on all 5 continents. He has appeared on BBC TV and radio as a
jazz pianist and composer, and is organist at his local village church. In 2004 he was awarded
an honorary D.Phil, Doctor Honoris Causa, by the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts in the
University of Gothenburg, Sweden in recognition of his 'most important contribution towards
the creation of a research department of music education' in the School of Music and Music
Education in that University.
Dr. Nigel Marshall is Reader in Music Education Centre for International Research in
Creativity and Learning and the Program Convener of the MA in Applied Music Education at
Roehampton University. He is a Member of the Centre for International Research on
Creativity and Learning in Education (CIRCLE) and Member of the British Psychological
Society. He is currently the Coordinator for the European Teachers in Music Education
group. This team brings together academics from all over Europe with a research interest in
music education. He is also a composer of music for children and a violinist. His main
research and teaching interests are in the social psychology of music, music education, music
technology and comparative music education.
