Teaching Music: The First Year

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the novice music teacher case literature by studying the prevalent themes in the experiences of five first-year teachers. The teachers submitted periodic journal entries and were also interviewed at the beginning of their second semester of teaching. I analyzed transcripts using HyperResearch and submitted them to the participants for both descriptive and interpretive validity checks. Many themes emerged, but those with the highest frequency counts were: Students (behavior), Students (musical), Administrative, Students (personal), Self-evaluation (discipline), and Self-evaluation (personal). The five teachers had varying experiences, and all continued in those situations for the following year. Teacher educators must prepare novice teachers for the varying realities of their early experiences, and school administrators must offer effective support during this critical time.