Tales of change: effective professional development in the light of educational systems reforms in Austria and England

Abstract

The authors of this article each present the current situation of their respective educational systems regarding music teacher education, schools and professional development: all of which have undergone massive changes in the last decades. In the UK, this lead to a shift of teacher education away from universities toward school-based training and an orientation toward accountability and performance. In Austria, teacher education that had formerly been divided into two—academic courses for secondary education, and a nonacademic teacher training program in primary education—became streamlined and integrated into all academic BA-MA based programs at universities and pedagogical colleges. The authors trace the ramifications of these changes in the provision of professional development programs for music and arts teachers that mirror these organizational changes. They criticize the artificial divide that exists between learners in formal education and post-college lifelong learning, and propose a change in mindset: one in which tertiary education students are seen as continuing their lifelong learning path. They present current frameworks for effective in-service professional development as they have been discussed in international literature. An overview of research then allows them to highlight five different forms of effective in-service programs that have recently been implemented in music teacher professional development around the world. These five forms are discussed and linked to current developments in both countries before the article closes with recommendations for policy, which reflect the differences in political situation and educational contexts in both countries and their implications for future development of lifelong learning.