DISSERTATION

Jordan, R. C. (2022). Music teacher education and Gert Biesta’s three educational domains: Qualification, socialization, and subjectification (Publication No. 29165567) [Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

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Abstract

This dissertation is about an approach to music teacher education that attempts to prepare pre-service music teachers to find employment while also preparing them to improve the realities of school teaching and learning for themselves and their students. East Coast University’s (pseudonym) music teacher education program was identified through purposeful selection for examination via intrinsic case study. Through snowball sampling, five faculty members were selected for teaching observations and interviews. In addition, focus groups of student and alumni (self-selected through volunteer sampling) helped develop my understanding and description of the case, and identification of a resultant, overarching theme. The research was focused through Biesta’s three domains of educational purpose: qualification, socialization, and subjectification. The overarching theme presented in this dissertation involves a dualistic approach to music teacher education: East Coast University prepares music teachers with the skills to win and keep the job and to be change agents capable of improving their educational landscapes. Throughout this intrinsic case study, the researcher’s pre-service and in-service teaching stories are interwoven with the participants’ stories in ways that are intended to address positionality, contextualize the theoretical framework, and examine more deeply emergent research understandings.