Negotiating Music Teacher Identity in China: Capital, Structure, and Career Divergence

• In Event: Transnational Journeys: Identity, Power, and Commitment in Teaching

Abstract

This study investigates why music teacher education students in China, despite receiving identical teacher training, diverge in their long-term careers. Using longitudinal interviews with eight individuals over ten years and drawing on Bourdieu’s theory and identity research, it reveals how capital configurations, habitus, and institutional expectations interact. The findings challenge linear models of teacher socialization and call for more flexible, identity-responsive approaches in music teacher education.

Author

• NUO HAN, 北京师范大学