Mapping the cultural elements that support and inhibit music teachers’ sociomusical identities in Chile

Abstract

Sociomusical identities determine the social positions of individuals based on traditions and historical backgrounds, deriving from the reciprocal interchange of cultural elements within social groups. This study aimed to identify the cultural elements that support and inhibit the sociomusical identities of music teachers in Chile. Because the country is exceptionally long and narrow, it was possible to examine the distinctive features of the sociomusical identities of teachers in its four geographical zones. Thirty school music teachers took part in semi-structured interviews, in which they shared their professional stories in terms of their social position and transcultural processes. The researchers took a humanistic standpoint, employing a multiple-case study design in which boundaries of time, space, and place formed the basis of the analysis of teachers’ stories. The findings reveal that sociomusical identities are supported and inhibited by elements of the national education system. Furthermore, music teaching is informed by music teachers’ personal interests, which in turn reflect their sociomusical identities resulting from their pedagogical knowledge, teaching experience, and the environmental conditions of their particular milieu. The implications are that country-wide generalizations about music pedagogy should be avoided, as each geographical zone has its own particular issues.