Opus (Jul 2019)
Music Teaching in Basic Education Schools: A Study of Working Conditions and Professional Fulfilment of Music Teachers
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a research project aimed to investigate the working conditions faced by basic education music teachers and how these conditions can affect their professional fulfilment. The research is based on assumptions regarding teaching as a profession, teaching career attractiveness, and concepts of working conditions for teachers. The research used a survey to collect data through a self-administered questionnaire given to twenty basic education music teachers in schools located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The results allowed us to construct a profile of the participants, to describe the scope of the teacher’s job and the conditions to carry out this job and to analyse the teacher’s professional fulfilment. The paper concludes by calling attention to the need to strengthen the sense of professional community if we endeavor to increase the attractiveness of a career in basic education music teaching.
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