The Power of Metaphor in Music Education Research: Rural Music Educators Guide the Discussion

• In Event: 31.091 - Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: 31.091-16 - Qualitative Studies of Music Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Four participants describe their elementary music education contexts in terms of a literary device, a metaphor or image, to better understand their attachment to their ‘place’ where they teach, and the relationship they have with their students and school community. They also employ a music metaphor from an arts-based perspective to better inform themselves and others of what it is like to teach music in a rural school in a creative way. Participants highlight the strong connections they feel that exist between their ‘place’, their music education praxis, and their personal emotions and sentiments related to teaching music. They call for further metaphorical studies that inquire into music education praxes and highlight the advancement of music education in rural ‘places.’

Author

• Janet Spring, University of Toronto