Re-envisioning music teacher education: An investigation into curricular change at two undergraduate music education programs in the U.S.

Abstract

The coursework requirements for an undergraduate music education degree in the U.S. have remained relatively unchanged since the early twentieth-century. In light of the changing milieu of the twenty-first century music learner, some scholars and researchers have suggested redesigning particular components of the music education degree. A few universities in the U.S. have reacted by implementing changes to their undergraduate music education curricula. The purpose of this research was to investigate two established music education degree programs in the U.S. where the faculty had redesigned their curricula, while extracting similarities and differences among them. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and observations. Lewin’s (1947) Change Theory was used as the framework guiding the investigation. There were four main themes extracted from these data: (1) faculty- directed process, (2) tension, (3) impetus, and (4) outcomes. Implications for the field of music education and suggestions for policy are provided in conclusion.