Teachers’ Perceptions of Professional Growth in a Context-Specific Professional Development Program for Urban Music Educators

• In Event: Students' and Teachers' Experiences in Music Education

Abstract

This nested case study explored the perceived impact of a year-long professional development (PD) program tailored to the intersection of in-service urban music educators’ content- and context-specific professional learning needs. Participants were a district-level arts administrator, a teacher-leader and PD facilitator, and three of the program’s participating teachers. Findings revealed elements teachers perceived as fostering their professional growth: teacher-initiated learning agendas, respect for teachers’ collective wisdom and opportunities for teacher leadership, collaborative interaction with colleagues teaching in comparable demographic contexts, images and visions of excellent teaching specific to urban contexts, and psychologically safe dialogic space for addressing teaching dilemmas with colleagues who shared knowledge of urban educational contexts. Practical implications for PD programming are discussed based on the findings.

Author

• Julia Shaw, Indiana University