“How Can I Get Better?” - An Instrumental Case Study of Three Experienced Music Teachers and Their Journey to Expertise

Oct 15, 2026

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Study examines the career experiences of three veteran music teachers using expertise theory, focusing on how participants interpret success in music education. An instrumental case study design employed interviews and multi-level coding to derive themes. Findings emphasize early-career struggles, perseverance supported by mentors, problem solving, and adaptation to new challenges. Success is defined as continuously student-centered teaching while sustaining program enrollment, with participants reflecting later-phase expertise through innovation. Implications are discussed for preparation programs and teachers in training and practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Contributions to Music Education

Theoretical Framework

Expertise Theory

Contributions to Music Education Vol. 46 (2021), pp. 225-244. racHel sorenson Florida State University “How Can I Get Better?”: An Instrumental Case Study of Three Experienced Music Teachers and Their Journey to Expertise The purpose of this study was to examine the career experiences of three music teachers through the lens of expertise theory . An additional purpose was to discover how the participants viewed success in the field of music education . Using an instrumental case study design, three experienced music teachers—who served as the case—were interviewed about these topics . Expertise theory, as well as the concept of grit, provided the theoretical framework for this project . Through a multi-level process of coding, several themes were derived from the interview transcripts . Themes included common early career strugglesand perseverance through a reliance on mentors, a focus on problem solving, and adapting to new and challenging experiences . In addition, participants defined success as being student-centered at all times and maintaining program enrollment . Finally, the participants seemed to embody the last phase of expertise theory by being innovators in their field . Implications for music teacher preparation programs, pre-service music teachers, and inservice teachers are discussed . Keywords: expertise, grit, mentor, music teacher preparation, veteran teachers Introduction Current trends in education indicate that 40–50% of novice teachers leave the profession within the first five years (Ingersoll, 2012) . Researchers have documented that music teachers face rates of attrition similar to their non-music counterparts (Hancock, 2016), and the content-specific challenges that contribute to music teacher turnover (e.g., large class sizes, instrument inventory, budgeting) are numerous and well-documented (Bell-Robertson, 2015; Conway, 2001, 2006; DeLorenzo, 1992; Gardner, 2010; Hancock, 2008; Krueger, 2000) . Contributions to Music Education Although music teachers face a host of challenges that are specific to the field, there remains a large population of experienced music teachers who have acquired expertise over the course of many years. Examining how teachers develop expertise is something that can inform music teacher educators and in-service teachers about important issues regarding retention and success in music education across the span ofa career. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the career experiences of three music teachers through the lens of expertise theory (Ericsson & Charness, 1994) . An additional purpose was to discover how the participants viewed success in the field of music education. The following research questions guided this study: (1) How do music teachers describe the challenges they have faced throughout their careers?; (2) How do they describe overcoming those challenges?; and (3) How do expert music teachers describe success? Theoretical Framework Expertise Theory. The idea that expertise in a given field is not bestowed by nature—but rather, can be developed—has gained traction over the years. According to Ericsson et al. (1993), deliberate practice is the key ingredient for expertise in a given domain. Deliberate practice is defined as “a highly structured activity”wherein “specific tasks are invented to overcome weaknesses”(p. 368) . Researchers have suggested that it takes roughly 10 years—or 10,000 hours—of deliberate practice to obtain expertise in a given field (Ericsson et al., 1993), with the keyword being deliberate. Although the 10 year mark is a commonly used benchmark to designate the amount of time required to acquire expertise, time alone does not seem to guarantee expertise. In other words,“extended experience” alone does not lead to expertise, but rather extended experience combined with intense, deliberate efforts at improvement (Ericsson et al., 1993) . A large amount of practice alone does not lead to expertise

FAQs

What is the study’s main purpose regarding music teachers’ careers?

The study examines the career experiences of three music teachers through expertise theory and investigates how they view success in music education.

How were the research themes developed in the study?

The study used an instrumental case study design with interviews, followed by multi-level coding of the interview transcripts to derive themes.

How does the study describe success among expert music teachers?

Participants defined success as being student-centered at all times and maintaining program enrollment.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆