ABSTRACT The catalyst for this article stems from my reflections (Peter) on the efficacy of colla... more ABSTRACT The catalyst for this article stems from my reflections (Peter) on the efficacy of collaborative engagement I recently experienced with colleagues in my university and similar institutions in the United States (US) and New Zealand (NZ). Accordingly, I invited research scholars (Christina and Geoffrey) from Australia, (Vicki) from NZ and (Jenni and Rachel) from the US to reflect upon the connectedness, care and community they experienced from collaboration in research projects with me. The framework I chose for their sharing was the Harvard Visible Thinking Routine; ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ (2009). The purpose of this article is to highlight the potential outcomes of reflective practice as researchers in three countries share their perceptions and perspectives concerning their experiences of connectedness and community in confronting isolation and neo-liberal challenges that we encounter in our research endeavours. Each person shares their unique ontological experiences as researchers, including how these experiences transformed their views concerning the value they ascribe to collaboration in relation to their work. Finally, despite our diverse ontological perspectives and geographic separation, we highlight authentic sharing among scholars internationally as an invaluable practice to potentially alleviate the lived experiences of isolation and separation that research scholars may acknowledge in their work.
This article is based upon the premise that there are many veteran teachers who maintain positive... more This article is based upon the premise that there are many veteran teachers who maintain positive attitudes towards teaching throughout their careers. According to The Grant Study (Waldinger, 2015), positive attitudes towards life and work stem from close relationships and adaptive behaviours that people engage in throughout adult life. This article describes a study undertaken in Australia which revealed that, in line with Grant Study findings, positive veteran teachers (aged 40-70+ years) build and maintain supportive social connections among colleagues in their school and others outside school, plus spouse (or long-term partner) and close family, that contribute to their sense of emotional and physical wellbeing. In a highly relational career such as teaching, our article highlights the credibility positive veteran teachers ascribe to their social connections, including the derived benefits in terms of their teaching and their own wellbeing. We then discuss the implications of th...
An unexamined life is not worth living Socrates (470-399 BC) In this article I reveal transformat... more An unexamined life is not worth living Socrates (470-399 BC) In this article I reveal transformative experiences stemming from non-verbal communication in the context of active interviewing in narrative research. Drawing upon my recent experience interviewing positive veteran teachers about the relationships they believe vital in maintaining their passion and enthusiasm for teaching, I explore the unique nature of narrative research in fostering intra-personal transformation. The goal of the article is to highlight transformation as an outcome in narrative research, with particular focus upon non-verbal communication in active interviewing. The article is constructed to examine transformation in thinking and understanding within the relational nature of narrative research in education; to highlight the complexity of non-verbal communication in the context of narrative research; and, to consider the nature of personal reflective practice in examining one's ontological and epistem...
International Journal of Education and the Arts, 2019
The problem of attrition among early-career teachers has generated a substantial body of research... more The problem of attrition among early-career teachers has generated a substantial body of research. However, less research has been devoted to later-career teachers who survive and thrive. This article explores the career experiences of four later-career performing arts teachers who remain keen and committed to teaching. Informed by IJEA Vol. 20 No. 7 http://www.ijea.org/v20n7/ 2 seminal studies by Huberman (1989, 1993) and Day and Gu (2007, 2009) into teacher career trajectories, and using a phenomenological ‘lens’ of portraiture methodology, members of the research team undertook a series of in-depth interviews to gain insight into how these teachers maintain their positivity and commitment to teaching. Four key themes emerged: the fundamental influence of social networks, the ability to recognise and embrace one’s strengths, the importance of being adaptable in maintaining relevance and social responsibility, and understanding the difference one makes to the lives of students. Fin...
Competition is reported in the general education literature as having a largely detrimental impac... more Competition is reported in the general education literature as having a largely detrimental impact upon student engagement and long-term motivation, yet competition has long been an accepted part of the music education ensemble landscape. Adjudicated ensemble competitions and competition-festivals are commonplace in most Australian states, as opposed to large-scale cooperative events. Arguments advanced in support of competitive events revolve primarily around perceived extra-musical benefits framed from the director / conductor perspective. The student voice is rarely considered in assessments of the impact of participation. This study presents student feedback following participation in an alternative large-scale cooperative music ensemble festival. Students were surveyed immediately after the event, and key findings revealed enhanced enjoyment and motivation to continue and improve across all year levels and playing groups following the cooperative festival. These findings indicate the need for music educators to rethink the purpose of large-scale music ensemble events, understand the potential of cooperative events in promoting long-term musical engagement, and highlight the importance and value of acknowledging the student voice.
Post compulsory music education courses in Western Australia have undergone major curriculum refo... more Post compulsory music education courses in Western Australia have undergone major curriculum reform. Reform has included a shift from a prescriptive curriculum based upon the Western canon to a more embracing practical and creative one, due for full implementation in 2009. As the numbers of students undertaking elective post compulsory music in Western Australia has been traditionally low, education authorities anticipate that more students will elect to undertake the new course. However, given previous research into motivational issues associated with the transition to secondary school, low post compulsory enrohnent numbers may be reflective of retention issues arising from lower secondary class music, as much as the previous post compulsory course structure. Large numbers of students opt to discontinue music studies beyond their fust year in secondary school. This study examined the motivation of students to elect.to continue class music studies beyond their first year in secondar...
With many performing arts teachers succumbing to stress and burn-out and rates of attrition growi... more With many performing arts teachers succumbing to stress and burn-out and rates of attrition growing, it is critical to understand factors which enable some teachers to remain positive, committed and enthusiastic in their teaching. Interviews with four female veteran performing arts teachers revealed ways in which key complex and profound experiences of their careers had enriched their professional lives. Given the significant impact these positive veteran teachers continue to have on their colleagues and students, we advocate the importance of utilising the stability these teachers can provide in shepherding colleagues and beginning teachers through their own inevitable bumpy moments in their careers.
Teacher career trajectory studies have identified a small group of veteran teachers who remain po... more Teacher career trajectory studies have identified a small group of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching, while others become disenchanted or disengaged. These, and related studies suggest key characteristics of positive veteran teachers revolve around a strong sense of agency and professional identity including: 1) a continuing desire to experiment and embrace challenges; 2) high levels of personal comfort in their teaching roles; and 3) a willingness to take on leadership roles across a range of capacities and contexts, and in turn be affirmed in these roles. While studies describe these characteristics, there has been little attempt utilise them as the basis for constructs in the formal identification of these teachers, and in turn examine where these teachers are to be found in education systems. This article reports on a study in Australia which sought to utilise the characteristics to identify positive veteran teachers within a larger cohort, and exami...
Music is essential in developing the young brain, particularly skills relating to concentration, ... more Music is essential in developing the young brain, particularly skills relating to concentration, filtering, information retrieval, verbal competencies, mental visualisation, problem solving, empathy and personal expression. With the introduction of the Australian National Curriculum and its adoption as the basis of the Western Australian P-10 music syllabus, there is cause to reflect on the effectiveness of music provision within teacher education courses and pre-service generalist teachers’ abilities to deliver the new music syllabus. Accordingly, a mixed method study was conducted with first and fourth year Bachelor of Education primary students at a Western Australian university, to investigate students’ music experiences prior to and during the course. Fourth year graduating students were also asked to reflect on their self-efficacy to teach music based upon the course. For this article, selected data from 2013 and 2014 is presented as descriptive statistics along with interview...
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should k... more The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should know and do through each career stage. School leaders are complicit in promoting the Standards are met by all staff, including Professional Engagement (Standards Six and Seven). While the Standards emphasise content and pedagogical capacity building, we contend that teaching is a social enterprise. Although social capacity building is implied in the Professional Engagement domain through terms such as ‘collegiality, collaboration and dialogue’, we question the degree to which it is understood by school leaders. We ask this in light of influential studies by Waldinger (2010) and Vaillant (1977) which highlight the importance of workplace social connection in terms of job satisfaction and career longevity. Using an Appreciative Inquiry lens, we interviewed a number of positive school leaders about social capacity building among their staff against the Professional Engagement domain. While i...
ABSTRACT Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic... more ABSTRACT Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic. Much research has focused on early-career teachers and is often reported from deficit positions, i.e. why they leave the profession. However, career trajectory studies have described a small cohort of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching. This article reports on the creation and piloting of an instrument designed to test whether this positive cohort can be empirically identified within a wider teaching population. Four constructs (experimentation, challenge, comfort and leadership) drawn from Huberman (1993), and Day and Gu (2007) formed the basis for an online pilot survey completed by 145 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported three of the four factors (experimentation, comfort, leadership), with challenge loading strongly with experimentation. Initial findings suggest the potential of the instrument in helping identifying positive veteran teachers within systems, as well as the voracity of the research approach. Examining and articulating how these veteran teachers maintain their positive outlook may prove valuable as many countries confront an ageing teaching workforce, increasing student numbers and difficulties in retaining experienced teachers, meaning those who remain will be expected to sustain their commitment for longer.
In this study I set out to investigate why many students drop out from elective instrument progra... more In this study I set out to investigate why many students drop out from elective instrument programmes, particularly in lower secondary school. I examined the values and beliefs a sample of students in their first year in secondary school attach to learning an instrument, and the impact of the instrument lesson upon these values and beliefs. Forty-eight year 8 students (aged 12–13) from the Perth metropolitan area participated in eight focus groups. The study found that, while participants had strong cognitive and affective reasons for learning, their competence beliefs were fragile, due in part to the dislocation associated with the transition into secondary school. Students revealed a need for a high level of positive reinforcement from their instrument teachers. The findings indicate that competence beliefs can be just as important as values in determining the future enrolment decisions of students of this age. The study concludes that it is important for instrument teachers to un...
ABSTRACT The catalyst for this article stems from my reflections (Peter) on the efficacy of colla... more ABSTRACT The catalyst for this article stems from my reflections (Peter) on the efficacy of collaborative engagement I recently experienced with colleagues in my university and similar institutions in the United States (US) and New Zealand (NZ). Accordingly, I invited research scholars (Christina and Geoffrey) from Australia, (Vicki) from NZ and (Jenni and Rachel) from the US to reflect upon the connectedness, care and community they experienced from collaboration in research projects with me. The framework I chose for their sharing was the Harvard Visible Thinking Routine; ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ (2009). The purpose of this article is to highlight the potential outcomes of reflective practice as researchers in three countries share their perceptions and perspectives concerning their experiences of connectedness and community in confronting isolation and neo-liberal challenges that we encounter in our research endeavours. Each person shares their unique ontological experiences as researchers, including how these experiences transformed their views concerning the value they ascribe to collaboration in relation to their work. Finally, despite our diverse ontological perspectives and geographic separation, we highlight authentic sharing among scholars internationally as an invaluable practice to potentially alleviate the lived experiences of isolation and separation that research scholars may acknowledge in their work.
This article is based upon the premise that there are many veteran teachers who maintain positive... more This article is based upon the premise that there are many veteran teachers who maintain positive attitudes towards teaching throughout their careers. According to The Grant Study (Waldinger, 2015), positive attitudes towards life and work stem from close relationships and adaptive behaviours that people engage in throughout adult life. This article describes a study undertaken in Australia which revealed that, in line with Grant Study findings, positive veteran teachers (aged 40-70+ years) build and maintain supportive social connections among colleagues in their school and others outside school, plus spouse (or long-term partner) and close family, that contribute to their sense of emotional and physical wellbeing. In a highly relational career such as teaching, our article highlights the credibility positive veteran teachers ascribe to their social connections, including the derived benefits in terms of their teaching and their own wellbeing. We then discuss the implications of th...
An unexamined life is not worth living Socrates (470-399 BC) In this article I reveal transformat... more An unexamined life is not worth living Socrates (470-399 BC) In this article I reveal transformative experiences stemming from non-verbal communication in the context of active interviewing in narrative research. Drawing upon my recent experience interviewing positive veteran teachers about the relationships they believe vital in maintaining their passion and enthusiasm for teaching, I explore the unique nature of narrative research in fostering intra-personal transformation. The goal of the article is to highlight transformation as an outcome in narrative research, with particular focus upon non-verbal communication in active interviewing. The article is constructed to examine transformation in thinking and understanding within the relational nature of narrative research in education; to highlight the complexity of non-verbal communication in the context of narrative research; and, to consider the nature of personal reflective practice in examining one's ontological and epistem...
International Journal of Education and the Arts, 2019
The problem of attrition among early-career teachers has generated a substantial body of research... more The problem of attrition among early-career teachers has generated a substantial body of research. However, less research has been devoted to later-career teachers who survive and thrive. This article explores the career experiences of four later-career performing arts teachers who remain keen and committed to teaching. Informed by IJEA Vol. 20 No. 7 http://www.ijea.org/v20n7/ 2 seminal studies by Huberman (1989, 1993) and Day and Gu (2007, 2009) into teacher career trajectories, and using a phenomenological ‘lens’ of portraiture methodology, members of the research team undertook a series of in-depth interviews to gain insight into how these teachers maintain their positivity and commitment to teaching. Four key themes emerged: the fundamental influence of social networks, the ability to recognise and embrace one’s strengths, the importance of being adaptable in maintaining relevance and social responsibility, and understanding the difference one makes to the lives of students. Fin...
Competition is reported in the general education literature as having a largely detrimental impac... more Competition is reported in the general education literature as having a largely detrimental impact upon student engagement and long-term motivation, yet competition has long been an accepted part of the music education ensemble landscape. Adjudicated ensemble competitions and competition-festivals are commonplace in most Australian states, as opposed to large-scale cooperative events. Arguments advanced in support of competitive events revolve primarily around perceived extra-musical benefits framed from the director / conductor perspective. The student voice is rarely considered in assessments of the impact of participation. This study presents student feedback following participation in an alternative large-scale cooperative music ensemble festival. Students were surveyed immediately after the event, and key findings revealed enhanced enjoyment and motivation to continue and improve across all year levels and playing groups following the cooperative festival. These findings indicate the need for music educators to rethink the purpose of large-scale music ensemble events, understand the potential of cooperative events in promoting long-term musical engagement, and highlight the importance and value of acknowledging the student voice.
Post compulsory music education courses in Western Australia have undergone major curriculum refo... more Post compulsory music education courses in Western Australia have undergone major curriculum reform. Reform has included a shift from a prescriptive curriculum based upon the Western canon to a more embracing practical and creative one, due for full implementation in 2009. As the numbers of students undertaking elective post compulsory music in Western Australia has been traditionally low, education authorities anticipate that more students will elect to undertake the new course. However, given previous research into motivational issues associated with the transition to secondary school, low post compulsory enrohnent numbers may be reflective of retention issues arising from lower secondary class music, as much as the previous post compulsory course structure. Large numbers of students opt to discontinue music studies beyond their fust year in secondary school. This study examined the motivation of students to elect.to continue class music studies beyond their first year in secondar...
With many performing arts teachers succumbing to stress and burn-out and rates of attrition growi... more With many performing arts teachers succumbing to stress and burn-out and rates of attrition growing, it is critical to understand factors which enable some teachers to remain positive, committed and enthusiastic in their teaching. Interviews with four female veteran performing arts teachers revealed ways in which key complex and profound experiences of their careers had enriched their professional lives. Given the significant impact these positive veteran teachers continue to have on their colleagues and students, we advocate the importance of utilising the stability these teachers can provide in shepherding colleagues and beginning teachers through their own inevitable bumpy moments in their careers.
Teacher career trajectory studies have identified a small group of veteran teachers who remain po... more Teacher career trajectory studies have identified a small group of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching, while others become disenchanted or disengaged. These, and related studies suggest key characteristics of positive veteran teachers revolve around a strong sense of agency and professional identity including: 1) a continuing desire to experiment and embrace challenges; 2) high levels of personal comfort in their teaching roles; and 3) a willingness to take on leadership roles across a range of capacities and contexts, and in turn be affirmed in these roles. While studies describe these characteristics, there has been little attempt utilise them as the basis for constructs in the formal identification of these teachers, and in turn examine where these teachers are to be found in education systems. This article reports on a study in Australia which sought to utilise the characteristics to identify positive veteran teachers within a larger cohort, and exami...
Music is essential in developing the young brain, particularly skills relating to concentration, ... more Music is essential in developing the young brain, particularly skills relating to concentration, filtering, information retrieval, verbal competencies, mental visualisation, problem solving, empathy and personal expression. With the introduction of the Australian National Curriculum and its adoption as the basis of the Western Australian P-10 music syllabus, there is cause to reflect on the effectiveness of music provision within teacher education courses and pre-service generalist teachers’ abilities to deliver the new music syllabus. Accordingly, a mixed method study was conducted with first and fourth year Bachelor of Education primary students at a Western Australian university, to investigate students’ music experiences prior to and during the course. Fourth year graduating students were also asked to reflect on their self-efficacy to teach music based upon the course. For this article, selected data from 2013 and 2014 is presented as descriptive statistics along with interview...
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should k... more The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should know and do through each career stage. School leaders are complicit in promoting the Standards are met by all staff, including Professional Engagement (Standards Six and Seven). While the Standards emphasise content and pedagogical capacity building, we contend that teaching is a social enterprise. Although social capacity building is implied in the Professional Engagement domain through terms such as ‘collegiality, collaboration and dialogue’, we question the degree to which it is understood by school leaders. We ask this in light of influential studies by Waldinger (2010) and Vaillant (1977) which highlight the importance of workplace social connection in terms of job satisfaction and career longevity. Using an Appreciative Inquiry lens, we interviewed a number of positive school leaders about social capacity building among their staff against the Professional Engagement domain. While i...
ABSTRACT Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic... more ABSTRACT Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic. Much research has focused on early-career teachers and is often reported from deficit positions, i.e. why they leave the profession. However, career trajectory studies have described a small cohort of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching. This article reports on the creation and piloting of an instrument designed to test whether this positive cohort can be empirically identified within a wider teaching population. Four constructs (experimentation, challenge, comfort and leadership) drawn from Huberman (1993), and Day and Gu (2007) formed the basis for an online pilot survey completed by 145 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported three of the four factors (experimentation, comfort, leadership), with challenge loading strongly with experimentation. Initial findings suggest the potential of the instrument in helping identifying positive veteran teachers within systems, as well as the voracity of the research approach. Examining and articulating how these veteran teachers maintain their positive outlook may prove valuable as many countries confront an ageing teaching workforce, increasing student numbers and difficulties in retaining experienced teachers, meaning those who remain will be expected to sustain their commitment for longer.
In this study I set out to investigate why many students drop out from elective instrument progra... more In this study I set out to investigate why many students drop out from elective instrument programmes, particularly in lower secondary school. I examined the values and beliefs a sample of students in their first year in secondary school attach to learning an instrument, and the impact of the instrument lesson upon these values and beliefs. Forty-eight year 8 students (aged 12–13) from the Perth metropolitan area participated in eight focus groups. The study found that, while participants had strong cognitive and affective reasons for learning, their competence beliefs were fragile, due in part to the dislocation associated with the transition into secondary school. Students revealed a need for a high level of positive reinforcement from their instrument teachers. The findings indicate that competence beliefs can be just as important as values in determining the future enrolment decisions of students of this age. The study concludes that it is important for instrument teachers to un...
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