Perspective Consciousness and Cultural Relevancy: Partnership Considerations for the Re-Conceptualization of Music Teacher Preparation

Strong school-university partnerships yield effective music teachers. However, music teacher preparation curriculum has undergone little reform over the years, resulting in a homogeneous P–12 curriculum. Encouraging preservice music teachers to consider cultural and pedagogical differences holds promise for changing music teacher preparation and preservice music teachers’ views regarding content and contextually relevant practice. In this article, an international collaborative course is presented as one model to help preservice teachers confront previously held attitudes regarding music education, develop flexible cultural competency, and become more open to curricular innovation. Recommendations for policy that would enact an international partnership agenda for music teacher preparation to meet these aims are provided.