PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY OF A MUSIC TEACHER AS AN INTEGRATIVE FACTOR IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Relevance of the study: The professional development of a music teacher involves not only the improvement of pedagogical and performance skills but also the continuous reconsideration of one’s place in the profession, professional roles, and directions for further growth. The specificity of music teaching lies in the combination of two professional domains – music performance and pedagogy – which raises the issue of their coordination within the teacher’s professional identity. At the same time, the ways in which the relationship between these components is associated with the professional development of music teachers remain insufficiently conceptualized.

Aim of the study: To theoretically substantiate the professional identity of a music teacher as an integrative factor in professional development and to theoretically model the interaction between the pedagogical and music performance components of professional identity.

Research methods: Theoretical analysis of scholarly literature on professional identity, comparison of conceptual approaches to its understanding, generalization of theoretical propositions concerning the professional development of music teachers, and theoretical modelling.

Results: The professional identity of a music teacher is defined as a dynamic system of self-perceptions as a subject of music teaching activity, reflecting awareness of professional affiliation, roles, values, competencies, and development prospects. Its dual structure is substantiated, comprising music performance and pedagogical components corresponding to the professional positions of “I am a musician” and “I am a teacher.” Three configurations of their relationship are distinguished: dominance of the music performance component, dominance of the pedagogical component, and their integration. Integration is conceptualized not as an equal expression of both components but as their coordination within a coherent professional self – “I am a music teacher.” Meaning-orientational, reflective-evaluative, integrative-coordinating, and regulatory-transformative mechanisms are identified through which professional identity is associated with the interpretation of professional experience, the determination of self-development priorities, and changes in professional activity.

Conclusions: The professional identity of a music teacher can be regarded as an integrative factor in professional development that facilitates the coordination of the music performance and pedagogical components of the professional self and connects accumulated experience with current professional self-definition and orientations for further development. The relationship between these components is dynamic and may change according to the stage of the professional career and current professional tasks. The results of theoretical modelling provide a basis for further empirical research into the structure of music teachers’ professional identity and its relationship with their professional development.