Effective Music Teachers and Effective Music Teaching Today: A Systematic Review

Abstract

(1) Background: This systematic review focuses on identifying the main features of effective music teachers and teaching recently examined in the educational and psychological literature. It aims to identify how recent studies have discussed the promotion of effectiveness in the context of both preservice and in-service music teachers. (2) Methods: A search in the main scientific databases for educational research (Eric, Science Direct, WWS, Web of Science, JSTOR) was conducted using keywords associated with the topics of effective teachers and teaching in the field of music instruction. In the end, thirty-six papers were identified and analyzed. (3) Results: The main themes were related to various dimensions of music teaching and teachers: teachers’ personal characteristics (self-esteem, resilience, etc.) and personality traits; professional skills; cognitive and psychological aspects of teachers’ professional identity (self-efficacy, professional motivation, beliefs regarding teaching and learning music, etc.); training experiences (pre- and in-service); social competence and the interpersonal relationship between the teacher and the students. (4) Conclusions: These dimensions seem interrelated and contribute to simultaneously define the effective music teacher and effective teaching in music. Specific attention should be paid to the impact of learning contexts on teachers’ activities, leading to a contextualized definition of effective music teachers.