Staying in tune and keeping positive: Redefining music teacher practices for online learning in Australia

Dawn Joseph
Deakin University, Australia
Bradley Merrick
The University of Melbourne, Australia

Teaching music during the pandemic has been challenging, time consuming, and stressful due to several lockdowns in Australia. This article focuses on initial findings from a national project (Reimaging the future: Music teaching and learning, and ICT in blended environments in Australia) that investigated music teachers' perspectives regarding how the shift to online teaching using ICT, impacted teachers' wellbeing from the start of the pandemic. A range of Australian peak music organisations were invited to participate in the project, covering all states and territories and a range of educational settings. Using a qualitative approach (online Qualtrics survey, N=105, March-April 2021), thematic analysis was employed to analyse and code the data. The findings highlight two overarching themes (adaptive teaching and balancing wellbeing) and four emergent themes (resources, confidence and competence, social connections, and leisure activities). Responses illuminate how teachers redefined their practice and how their experiences impacted wellbeing. Recommendations advocating ongoing research to ensure teachers 'stay in tune and keep positive' within the profession are made. Conclusions highlight the need for Australian policy makers, media, and educational jurisdictions to support teachers and adopt a positive stance in a post-COVID, normal environment.
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Authors: Dr Dawn Joseph is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia). She teaches in undergraduate and postgraduate programs in the School of Education. She serves on international and national editorial boards of refereed journals. Her national and international program of research and scholarship includes teacher education, music education, community music, African music, cultural diversity, and ageing and well-being in the Arts. Dawn has been twice Chair of the Australian Society for Music Education (Victorian Chapter), and has served on the National Committee of this peak association. She currently serves as a committee member of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6320-900X Email: dawn.joseph@deakin.edu.au Dr Brad Merrick is a Senior Lecturer (Music and the Arts Education) in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Brad completed his PhD in Music Education at the University of New South Wales. He is a Past National President of the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME), immediate past Chair of the International Society for Music Education - (Music in Schools and Teacher Education) commission, and currently serves as a member of the ISME Board and as the Deputy President of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education. He is actively involved in undertaking research into teacher education, music technology, motivation, and advocacy. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0409-4994M Email: brad.merrick@unimelb.edu.au Please cite as: Joseph, D. & Merrick. B. (2022). Staying in tune and keeping positive: Redefining music teacher practices for online learning in Australia. Issues in Educational Research, 32(4), 1441-1466. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/joseph.pdf