The impact of supervised mentorship on music education master's degree students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of supervised mentorship in an authentic-context learning setting on music education graduate students' graduate school experiences. Participants were six current and former graduate music education majors who acted as supervised mentors to undergraduate students teaching instrumental music in an elementary school. We collected data via formal interviews and used classroom observations for triangulation. Each participant completed three interviews during the course of the academic year. We observed the participants teaching and mentoring multiple times and gave them feedback on their work with undergraduate teachers. We identified five emergent themes: pedagogical knowledge, psychological development, social development, educational experiences and identity development. Graduate students participating in supervised mentorship experienced positive growth in each of the five themes. Based on our findings, we developed a conceptual model that represents the impact of supervised mentorship on music education graduate students' graduate school experiences. In this model, we attempted to demonstrate the interconnectedness of multiple themes as well as possible outcomes. Several implications for these findings exist. Because a growing number of states within the USA require graduate degrees for continuing certification within three to five years of entry into the profession, perhaps programmes with supervised mentorship opportunities could offer more relevant, meaningful and enjoyable experiences for early career music educators.