When teachers and school staff work together, it inevitably involves issues of power, influence, diplomacy, and cooperation; this has been termed “micropolitics,” and the ability to read situations with micropolitics in mind has been identified as “micropolitical literacy.” The purpose of this year-long case study was to explore one beginning music teacher’s micropolitical literacy development with explicit connections to the framework put forth by Kelchtermans and Ballet. The research questions were (1) How does the participant describe their micropolitical understanding? (2) How does the participant describe their micropolitical strategies? and (3) How does the participant feel about their micropolitical literacy? Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts suggested themes aligned with the theoretical framework’s aspects of know (understanding), do (strategies), and feel (experiential). The participant’s knowledge development focused on power dynamics, structures, and relationships. Strategies included gaining clout and reframing situations. Furthermore, the participant’s experience of micropolitical literacy development was fraught with negative emotions and uncertainty. Overall, literacy development was stymied by systemic challenges in the district.
BallS. J. (1987). The micro-politics of the school: Towards a theory of school organization. Methuen.
2.
BallantyneJ.RetellJ. (2020). Teaching careers: Exploring links between well-being, burnout, self-efficacy and praxis shock. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 2255. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02255
3.
BlaséJ. (Ed.). (1991). The politics of life in schools: Power, conflict, and cooperation. Sage.
4.
BlaséJ. (1997). The micro-politics of teaching. In BiddleB. J.GoodT. L.GoodsonI. F. (Eds.), International handbook of teachers and teaching (pp. 939–970). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
5.
Bridwell-MitchellE. N.CoocN. (2016). The ties that bind: How social capital is forged and forfeited in teacher communities. Educational Researcher, 45(1), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16632191
6.
BrinkmannS.KvaleS. (2014). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. Sage.
7.
BrykA.SchneiderB. (2004). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. Russell Sage Foundation.
8.
ChristensenE. (2013). Micropolitical staffroom stories: Beginning health and physical education teachers’ experiences of the staffroom. Teaching and Teacher Education, 30, 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.11.001
9.
ConwayC.HibbardS. (2018). Music teachers’ lives and the micropolitical landscape of schools. Research Studies in Music Education, 40(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103x18765461
10.
ConwayC.Micheel-MaysC.Micheel-MaysL. (2005). A narrative study of student teaching and the first year of teaching: Common issues and struggles. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 165, 65–77.
11.
ConwayC.RawlingsJ. (2015). Three beginning music teachers’ understandings and self perceptions of micropolitical literacy. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 204, 27–45.
12.
ConwayC.RawlingsJ.HibbardS. (2017). Music teachers’ descriptions of their workplaces in relation to micropolitics. Music Education Research, 20(3), 305–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2017.1366436
13.
ConwayC. M. (2012). Ten years later: Teachers reflect on “Perceptions of beginning teachers, their mentors, and administrator regarding preservice music teacher preparation.”Journal of Research in Music Education, 60(3), 324–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429412453601
14.
CortesioJ. A. (2021). An examination of K-12 music educators’ skills with micropolitical literacy in relationship to job satisfaction (Publication No. 28410442) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Iowa]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
15.
CurryM.JaxonK.RussellJ. L.CallahanM. A.BicaisJ. (2008). Examining the practice of beginning teachers’ micropolitical literacy within professional inquiry communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(3), 660–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.10.007
16.
DeMatthewsD. E.KnightD. S.ShinJ. (2022). The principal-teacher churn: Understanding the relationship between leadership turnover and teacher attrition. Educational Administration Quarterly, 58(1), 76–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X211051974
17.
El HelouM.NabhaniM.BahousR. (2016). Teachers’ views on causes leading to their burnout. School Leadership & Management, 36(5), 551–567. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2016.1247051
18.
FusarelliL. D. (2002). Tightly coupled policy in loosely coupled systems: Institutional capacity and organizational change. Journal of Educational Administration, 40(6), 561–575.
19.
Gaztambide-FernandezR. A. (2011). Musicking in the city: Reconceptualizing urban music education as cultural practice. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 10(1), 15–46.
HarrisD. M. (2012). Postscript: Urban schools, accountability, and equity: Insights regarding NCLB and reform. Education and Urban Society, 44(2), 203–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124511431571
23.
HoyleE. (1982). Micro-politics of educational organisations. Educational Management and Administration, 10(2), 87–98.
24.
HoyleE. (1986). The politics of school management. Hodder and Stoughton.
25.
HolmeJ. J.JabbarH.GermainE.DinningJ. (2018). Rethinking teacher turnover: Longitudinal measures of instability in schools. Educational Researcher, 47(1), 62–75. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17735813
26.
IannacconeL. (1975). Education policy systems: A study guide for educational administrators. Nova University Press.
27.
JokikokkoK.UittoM.DeketelaereA.EstolaE. (2017). A beginning teacher in emotionally intensive micropolitical situations. International Journal of Educational Research, 81, 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.11.001
28.
JosephP. B.EfronS. (1993). Moral choices/moral conflicts: Teachers’ self-perceptions. Journal of Moral Education, 22(3), 201–220.
29.
KelchtermansG. (2005). Teachers’ emotions in educational reforms: Self-understanding, vulnerable commitment and micropolitical literacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(8), 995–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.009
30.
KelchtermansG.BalletK. (2002a). Micropolitical literacy: Reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(8), 755–767.
31.
KelchtermansG.BalletK. (2002b). The micropolitics of teacher induction. A narrative-biographical study on teacher socialization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 105–120.
32.
KennedyM. M. (2016). How does professional development improve teaching?Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 945–980. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315626800
33.
KingM. B.NewmannF. M. (2001). Building school capacity through professional development: Conceptual and empirical considerations. International Journal of Educational Management, 15(2), 86–94. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540110383818
34.
KvaleS. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Sage.
35.
LincolnY. S.GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
36.
MajorM. L. (2013). How they decide: A case study examining the decision-making process for keeping or cutting music in a k–12 public school district. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429412474313
37.
McMurrerJ. (2008). Instructional time in elementary schools: A closer look at changes for specific subjects. Arts Education Policy Review, 109(6), 23–28. https://doi.org/10.3200/AEPR.109.6.23-28
38.
MerriamS. (1988). Case study research in education: A qualitative approach. Jossey-Bass.
SaldañaJ. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). Sage.
44.
SalvadorK.AllegoodK. (2014). Access to music education with regard to race in two urban areas. Arts Education Policy Review, 115(3), 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2014.914389
45.
SantoroD. A. (2011). Good teaching in difficult times: Demoralization in the pursuit of good work. American Journal of Education, 118(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1086/662010
46.
ScheibJ. W. (2003). Role stress in the professional life of the school music teacher: A collective case study. Journal of Research in Music Education, 51(2), 124–136. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345846
47.
ScheibJ. W. (2006). Tension in the life of the school music teacher: A conflict of ideologies. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 24(2), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233060240020101
48.
SchultzJ. R. (2006). Nice but not necessary? Educational leaders’ stories of the arts in an era of accountability (UMI No. 1147184711) [Doctoral dissertation, Stephen F. Austin State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.
49.
ShawJ. T. (2018). Alleviating praxis shock: Induction policy and programming for urban music educators. Arts Education Policy Review, 119(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2016.1185655
ShawR. D. (2018). The vulnerability of urban elementary school arts programs: A case study. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65(4), 393–415. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429417739855
52.
ShawR. D. (2020). Instructional expertise and micropolitics: The social networks of instrumental music teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 68(3), 328–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429420920634
ShawR. D. (2020). Instructional expertise and micropolitics: The social networks of instrumental music teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 68(3), 328–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429420920634
55.
SindbergL. (2011). Alone all together—The conundrum of music teacher isolation and connectedness. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 189, 7–22. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.189.0007
56.
SindbergL.LipscombS. D. (2005). Professional isolation and the public school music teacher. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 166, 43–56.
57.
SindbergL. K. (2013). Perceptions and perspectives of music teachers in urban settings: Isolation, conversation and collaboration. Music Education Research, 16(4), 387–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2013.848849
58.
StakeR. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage.
59.
StringhamD. A.SnellA. H. (2019). “CONSIDERABLE STRESS and MISERY”: A first-year music teacher’s experiences. Research Studies in Music Education, 41(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X18773100
60.
VanSlyke-BriggsK. (2010). The nurturing teacher: Managing the stress of caring. Rowman & Littlefield.
61.
WeickK. E. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled Systems. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391875
62.
YurkofskyM. (2022). Environmental, technical, and representational uncertainty: A framework for making sense of the hidden complexity of educational change. Educational Researcher, 51(6), 399–410. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221078590
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
