One elementary music teacher's beliefs about musical ability: Connections to teaching practice and classroom culture

With the intent of improving the musical experiences and opportunities provided to students in school music programs, the purpose of this research was to explore one elementary music teacher's beliefs about the nature of musical ability and the ways in which these beliefs relate to actions and lived experiences in the classroom. The guiding research questions for this study were as follows: (1) What is the nature and extent of the beliefs about students' musical abilities and capabilities held by one elementary music teacher who believes all students have the capacity to be musical? (2) How do beliefs about musical abilities manifest themselves in this teacher's actions and decision-making in the classroom? (3) How do beliefs about musical abilities manifest themselves in this teacher's interactions with students and, more broadly, in the classroom culture she creates? (4) What is the relationship between this teacher's beliefs about musical ability and her beliefs about the purpose of music education, specifically of elementary general music?;This investigation was a case study of one elementary general music teacher, Deena Ridge, who believes all of her students are musical. Data were collected using ethnographic techniques for a period of over two months. Multiple sources of data included extensive classroom observations documented through fieldnotes and video footage, audio-recorded semi- structured interviews, teacher journal entries, teaching artifacts (e.g., lesson plans, assessment tools), and researcher memos. Data were coded and analyzed for emergent themes. Trustworthiness was enhanced through prolonged engagement in the field, collection of multiple data sources, participant member checks, and peer review of analysis.;Four themes emerged from the data: (1) Beliefs about musical ability, (2) Treating students as individuals, (3) Power of the learning environment, and (4) Encouraging lifelong engagement with music. The first theme focuses on Deena's core belief that all students have musical ability, her expectation that all students will develop some level of musical competence, and the factors to which she attributes observed differences in students' abilities. The second theme pertains to the ways in which Deena provides learning opportunities that are responsive to students as individuals in order to help them all achieve some level of musical success. The third theme involves Deena's belief that helping students to succeed musically depends on building a positive classroom environment and her practice of establishing an environment in which students feel safe, supported, and empowered. The final theme centers on Deena's larger goal of enabling all students to continue on to a lifetime of musical engagement by helping them become musically independent and providing them with positive and fulfilling musical experiences.;The findings of this study suggest that music educators' beliefs about students' musical abilities relate to their actions in the music classroom and interactions with students as well as to their beliefs about the purpose of music education. Music educators should reflect on these beliefs, the ways in which they relate to teaching practice, and the impact they may have on students' musical achievement and musical identity development. Additionally, music teacher educators should consider the role they might play in helping pre-service (as well as in-service) music teachers examine and possibly reshape their existing beliefs about music teaching and learning. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.