Valerie Peters - Further Perspective


(Valerie Peters) #1

Preparing for Change and Uncertainty

This reaction paper discusses how university faculty members in higher education respond to change, especially change that embraces technology. The resistance to change, situated in the “independent entrepreneur” professorial model that continues to exist in most music education doctoral programs and most university faculties, is discussed. A collaborative model with faculty working together to prepare undergraduate students for the complexity of music teaching in the 21st century is proposed. Attitudes and core beliefs about technology integration are discussed as well as the difficulty of coming to a common understanding of how technological changes might orient teacher certification around the world. Finally, preparing future teachers for an uncertain future is proposed as a professional teacher education competency, a way for teachers to take charge of their own continued professional development and a way for them to initiate and sustain changes in their own local contexts.