The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the process of adolescent choral singers’ social identity development within three midsized, midwestern high school mixed choirs. Forty-nine interviews were conducted with 36 different participants. Secondary data sources included memoing, observations, and interviews with the choir teachers. The data analysis revealed an eight-stage process beginning with the student’s choice to audition and remain involved to the final stage, a desire to give back to the community. The central phenomenon of social identity was identified as team. Contextual conditions, including time, intensity, and size of group, strengthened participant experiences substantively. Social cliques and egos emerged as intervening conditions that impeded social identity development. Several individuals influenced participant social identity including peers, parents, school and community members, as well as the choir teacher. A temporal matrix is presented as well as propositions illustrating the development of social identity.

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to re-story the student teaching experience of two preservice music education majors who are visually impaired or blind. While music education scholars have devoted attention to P–12 students with disabilities, research with preservice music teachers with impairments is seemingly nonexistent. Using a transformative paradigm and social model of disability as lenses, we retell participants’ experiences across three commonplaces of narrative inquiry: sociality, temporality, and place. Participants told their student teaching stories through various field texts, including interviews, journals, emails, and informal conversations. Three particular issues were highlighted strongly within their narratives: accessible music, reliance on others, and individuals’ attitudes. Issues of what constitutes effective teaching, teacher identity construction, and preparedness for working with individuals with disabilities also emerged. Multiple avenues are suggested for practice, research, and policy in music, teacher education, and teachers with disabilities.

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The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand the process of field experience lesson planning for preservice music educators enrolled in choral, general, and instrumental music education courses within three university contexts. Data sources included multiple interviews, written responses, and field texts from 42 participants. Four waves of data collection and analysis revealed a five-step process beginning with “learning the tasks of teaching” and “experiencing an authentic teaching context.” Participants articulated the central phenomenon as “embracing teaching as an interaction,” which led to “teaching more effectively” and “learning about teaching with my style.” The findings reflect that participants developed a situated understanding of how thoughtful preparation is connected to effective teaching. An implication for this study is that preservice teachers should be consistently immersed in authentic context learning environments during undergraduate education.

The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate music education students identify, through a reflective writing exercise, the major characteristics of successful and unsuccessful teachers. We asked two research questions: (1) How did preservice music teachers describe successful and unsuccessful teachers (2) How did perceptions differ based on academic class and/or age? Using a written protocol, we collected data from 134 participants within three institutions and coded the data using figured worlds as a lens. The participants depicted successful teachers with rich description and highlighted interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects. The participants described unsuccessful teachers succinctly; characteristics that emerged included a lack of care and knowledge of students, inflexible teaching methods, and inconsistent standards. Implications for teacher education are proposed.