Music service teachers’ life histories in the United Kingdom with implications for practice

Abstract

Music service teachers’ biographies and occupational stages are discussed in this article. The life histories of 28 instrumental and vocal teachers, aged between 22 and 60 years, are explored. These individuals work for a Local Education Authority music service in the United Kingdom. Their occupation entails travelling between various state primary and secondary schools to provide specialist instrumental and vocal tuition. Respondents participated in the inquiry between October 2002 and March 2004. In the context of this study, life histories are purposefully co-constructed narratives without the commitment to an objective past. Instead, the foci are storytellers’ perspectives. The analytic induction of these multiple histories reveals a five-tier qualitative model of shared biographical phases; that is, stark transformations in the teachers’ perspectives across time. Storytellers’ notions of career, and their critical phases, signal the need for greater collaboration between music services and schools, and between music services and higher education providers. Pre-service and in-service training are also questioned, as is the career structure of music service teachers. Suggestions are made for future policy and practice.