The Music Specialist Among Generalists

Abstract

Music education leadership in public schools has often been the responsibility of a department chair or a district music supervisor. Nevertheless, budget constraints have forced districts to consolidate supervisory positions, frequently eliminating district chairs in music and the arts among other curricular areas. Without a strong advocate at the district table, the question of leadership must be addressed. The collaborative nature of elementary teaching in this era of accountability demands different skills of specialist teachers and different types of leadership. Music education as a profession needs to better understand what those skills and behaviors might be. This study investigated the leadership practice of elementary specialist teachers in a highly collaborative elementary school through the frame of “communities of practice.” It employed qualitative inquiry using a case study method for the purpose of capturing a rich picture of contextualized relationships that offers an important model for informal leadership in music education.