The Educational Significance of an Elementary School Teachers' Experiences Coordinating Morning Educational Activities (Morning Music Concert) Based on Arts and Culture Education: An Arts-Based Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry

Objectives The purposes of this study were to specify the reflections, growth and educational significance experienced by an elementary school teacher in charge of arts education in the non-regular curriculum as they attempt to theorize their practice as a “teacher-researcher” while coordinating a morning music concert. Methods For this objective, the study employed arts-based research, autobiographical narrative inquiry and the AAR cycle and model, which represent the cycle of “Anticipation-Action-Reflection” as proposed in the OECD Learning Compass 2030. The “I” who appears as both the researcher and the narrative voice applied the autobiographical narrative inquiry method to share experiences of coordinating morning educational activities based on arts and culture education. Through the storytelling process, field texts were collected and then interpreted and analyzed by focusing on the three-dimensional narrative inquiry spaces-temporality, sociality and place. This process of re-telling and re-living the experiences led to the formation of meanings. Results To guide the student council members who organized the morning music concert and the students who participated as performers, the researcher, living and working in the school context which is the dimension of narrative inquiry spaces, re-engaged with these experiences from the perspective of an amateur vocalist, attempting both research and stage performance. In doing so, the researcher, as a “teacher-researcher,” sought to theorize practice by retelling these experiences, and through interpretation and analysis, derived the following educational meanings: friendship among peers, crossover from familiar to unfamiliar domains, balance between cultural centripetal and centrifugal forces and convergence represented by generative AI. These findings encapsulate the study's outcomes and address the personal, practical and social dimensions posed by the research puzzle, demonstrating the researcher's efforts to ensure validity. Conclusions This study addresses the lack of prior research on morning music concerts, which have recently gained attention in the educational field. It explores the reflections and experiences of a teacher-researcher responsible for arts education in the non-regular curriculum, who goes beyond the traditional role of a school teacher to actively engage in arts and culture education. Additionally, the study discusses its significance and limitations.