The Generalist Primary Teacher of Music: a Problem of Confidence

Abstract

Why don't more primary teachers teach music? This article describes a study of forty non-specialist primary B.Ed. students over their year-long professional music course. Initially, most students have little confidence in their ability to teach music. As the course progresses, a smaller proportion of students who lack confidence teach music during school experience. A cycle has developed in which student teachers worried about music do not learn to teach it because teachers with similar worries often do not teach it. The author argues that students who lack confidence in music need more encouragement from all those involved in their professional preparation if they are to break out of this cycle.