Pedagogical Context Knowledge: Insights From a Week in the Life of Itinerant Urban Music Educators

• In Event: Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: Music Education SIG: Music Education Pedagogy

Abstract

This case study explored the specialized knowledge base upon which effective urban music educators rely to navigate the urban landscape. Participants were two itinerant urban choral teachers employed by a children’s choir organization to teach in 10-14 demographically contrasting classrooms each week. Data generated over the course of a week in each of the teachers’ lives provided insight into their knowledge of and pedagogical response to multiple, varied urban settings. Participants relied upon pedagogical context knowledge and personal practical knowledge to design relevant instruction for particular learners situated within specific classroom contexts. Implications for practice and for teacher education contradict the notion that effective urban music education can be reduced to a prescriptive method or set of predefined teacher attributes.

Author

• Julia Shaw, The Ohio State University