Voices of Rural Music Teachers: Negotiating Professional and Proximal Communities in Rural Music Education

In this multiple case study, we interviewed seven music teachers who taught in rural settings across the southeastern United States to examine how they understand their roles and navigate their positions within both their local communities and broader professional networks. Our research questions were: How do these music teachers: (a) define their roles within their local, rural communities; (b) define their roles within the broader professional community; and (c) navigate tensions in the understanding of their roles within and between their local and larger professional communities? Using content analysis of interview transcripts and discussion board posts, we explored how these music teachers defined their roles within proximal rural communities and in their broader professional community as well as how they navigated tensions between these two communities. We found urbanormative assumptions to be pervasive throughout both proximal and professional music education communities and that music teachers struggled to reconcile these assumptions with ways to successfully support their students’ music-making. We suggest professional development for rural music teachers be reconceptualized: Instead of presentational content delivery, it should build an additional professional community—one designed around a commitment to challenging urbanormative assumptions in music education and exploring innovative alternatives.