Model for Developing Preservice Primary Teachers' Confidence to Teach Music.

Abstract

Although some school systems maintain music specialists in primary schools, the reality of the situation is that a large number of generalist primary teachers in Australia, Great Britain, and North America have the responsibility for teaching music in their classrooms. A notable amount of research from these countries has supported the notion that generalist and preservice primary teachers have a negative attitude towards and lack the confidence to teach music. This study attempts to assess whether or not preservice primary teachers ' confidence to teach music might be influenced by their experiences in a music fundamentals course that was a prerequisite to a music methods course. Although there is some research related to developing confidence to teach music in preservice primary teachers via music methods classes, little has focused on the role a music fundamentals course may play in the formation of these attitudes. The study was conducted with preservice primary teachers (N = 222) enrolled in music fundamentals courses in two settings: the University of Arizona, United States of America, and the University of Newcastle, Australia. Some of the general findings reveal that a music fundamentals course can effect a significant gain in confidence to teach music. It was also found that the instructor of these classes provided a strong model for teaching strategies and