Journal of Research in Music

Education
http://jrm.sagepub.com

An Examination of District-Sponsored Beginning Music Teacher Mentor

Practices
Colleen M. Conway
Journal of Research in Music Education 2003; 51; 6
DOI: 10.2307/3345645

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6 JRME, VOLUME 51, NUMBER 1, 6-23
Thepurpose of this inquiry was to examine the beginning music teachermentorprac-
tices in 13 school districts in mid-Michigan. Data included beginning teacherinter-
views, teacher journals, focus-group meetings, mentor interviews, administrator
interviews, and theprincipal investigator'slog. Profilesof the teachersshow a lack of
consistency in the types of mentorprograms in the schools and varying degreesof
teachersatisfaction with theprograms. The lack of consistencyis discussedin relation
to the typeof school, the teaching responsibilityand classroomsetting, the typeof men-
tor assigned, and the degreeto which that mentorwas paid or trained. Teacherper-
ceptions of the value of the programare discussedin relation to the degreeand typeof
contact with the assigned mentor The contentof mentorinteractionsincluded admin-
istrative duties, classroom management, parent interaction, building and district
policies, and personal issues. The needfor music mentorsis discussed, and the article
concludeswith general suggestionsfor mentorpractices,including earlyidentification
of mentor, scheduling so mentors can observe, and opportunitiesfor mentors and
menteesto get to know each other.

Colleen M. Conway, Universityof Michigan

An Examination of
District-Sponsored
Beginning Music Teacher
Mentor Practices

The examination of beginning teacher mentor practices is a com-

mon strand of research in teacher education (Feiman-Nemser, 1993;
Gold, 1996; Gratch, 1998; Hawkey, 1997; Huffman & Leak, 1986;
Odell & Ferraro, 1992; Stewart, 1992; Wildman, Magliero, Niles, &
Niles, 1992). All these authors suggest that strong mentor relation-
ships contribute to the retention and success of beginning teachers.
Many of these studies provide suggestions for models of beginning
teacher mentoring programs. Based on these suggestions, there has
been a recent surge of "how-to" books and support materials that
offer suggestions for mentors and beginning teacher mentor pro-
grams (Boreen, Johnson, Niday, & Potts, 2000; Podsen & Denmark,
2000; Portner, 1998; Thies-Sprinthall & Reiman, 1997). This interest
in the treatment of beginning teachers is a result of recent policies in
many states that require school districts to provide some sort of men-

Colleen Conway is an assistant professor of music education in the School of Music,

Earl B. Moore Building, 1100 Baits Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; e-mail: conwaycm@
umich.edu. Copyright ? 2003 by MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

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 JRME 7

tor program for beginning teachers (Conway, 2001b; Conway,

Krueger, Robinson, Haack, & Smith, 2002; Haack & Smith, 2000).
Although mentor policy issues may be having an effect on the treat-
ment of beginning music teachers, only five studies located in the
music education literature have addressed beginning music teachers
and their mentors (DeLorenzo, 1992; Krueger, 1999, 2001;
Montague, 2000; Smith 1994). Participants in all five studies reported
that support from mentor teachers was helpful in the beginning years
of music teaching. Krueger (1999) concluded, based on her work,
that "a combination of district-supported mentorships, interactive
workshops for new teachers addressing issues selected by them, and
released time for observing experienced music teachers provided very
effective mentoring programs in the few districts that funded them"
(p. 11). Although the profession has begun to focus on beginning
music teachers (Madsen & Hancock, 2002; MENC 2000), we do not
have a strong research base from which to make decisions about
beginning music teachers. Thus, the purpose of the study reported
here was to examine the beginning music teacher mentor practices in
13 school districts in mid-Michigan. Research questions included: (a)
What types of district-sponsored mentor practices existed? (b) How
did teachers describe their relationships with mentors? (c) When and
why did teachers seek assistance from mentors? and (d) What were
the assigned mentors' and building administrators' perceptions con-
cerning the mentor practices?
METHOD

In ResearchingLived Experience,Van Manen (1998) states:

Researchers in professional domains such as education, nursing, medicine, law,

psychiatry, counseling, and psychology increasingly are becoming aware of the
importance of interpretive models that place human situatedness central and
are based on the belief that we can best understand human beings from the
experiential reality of their life worlds. (p. xi)

I believe researchers can best understand the mentor practices of

beginning music teachers by examining the "life world" of the begin-
ning music teacher. Thus, I designed a qualitative project that includ-
ed interviews with and observation of beginning teachers in their
teaching settings. The "life world" of the beginning music teacher
participating in a district-sponsored mentor program also included
district-assigned mentors and building administrators. I interacted
with these teachers for an extended time in an effort to be a part of
their "human situatedness" and to understand their "experiential
reality" in relation to mentor practices.

Participants

Participants for the study included seven first-year music teachers

(three men and four women) who were starting their first full-time

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 Participant Type of School a Teaching Responsibilities Who Is Mentor?

Trish Large/urban 6th-, 7th-, 8th-grade band Vocal music teacher

Allison Large/urban K-3 general music (2 buildings) HS band teacher (had bee
student teaching co-op)
Elle Large/suburban 5th- to 8th-grade strings HS string teacher
Teri Large/suburban 6th- to 8th-grade band Band teacher (Grades 6-8
another building in the di
Tom Large/suburban 6th- to 8th-grade band Band teacher (Grades 6-8
another building in the di
Marie Large/suburban K-3 general music (2 buildings) Retired classroom teacher
working in county program
Mark Medium/rural Beginning elementary band, 6th- Band teacher (team situat
grade band, asst. HS band, asst. HS
marching band, jazz band
Doug Medium/rural 5th- to 12th-grade band HS choral teacher
Adam Small/rural 5th- to 12th-grade band Middle school English tea
Brian Small/rural Beginning elementary band, 6th- HS math teacher
grade band, 7th/8th-grade band,
HS marching band
Penny Small/rural 5th- to 12th-grade band Band teacher in nearby dis

James Small/rural Beginning elementary band, 6th- HS math teacher/

grade band, 7th/8th-grade band, HS former football coach
chorus, HS band, HS marching band
Joan Small/rural HS chorus; K-5 general music Elementary librarian

= 3,600 students = 1,200-3,600

Figure 1. Teacher profiles; a Large or more K-12; medium stud

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 JRME 9

public school music teaching position in September 1999 in school

districts in mid-Michigan (referred to from here on as 'Year 1 teach-
ers"). An additional six first-year music teachers (three men and
three women) were added to the study in fall 2000 (referred to from
here on as "Year 2 teachers"). Teachers from 1999-2000 continued
with the study during the second year of their teaching (referred to
as 'Year 1/second-year teachers"). Profiles of each teacher regarding
school and teaching schedule are included in Figure 1. Other par-
ticipants included the mentor teachers (n= 13) who were assigned to
the beginning music teachers and the building principal (n= 13) of
each beginning teacher.
All 13 of the beginning teachers participating in this study were
also participants in a broader phenomenological investigation of
issues facing beginning teachers (Conway, in progress). I have report-
ed elsewhere on the view of these teachers toward their preservice
preparation (Conway, 2002a), on the induction experiences of these
teachers (Conway, 2001a; Conway, 2002b), and on the challenges
faced by one elementary general music teacher (Conway & Garlock,
2002). However, the experiences of these beginning music teachers
regarding district-sponsored mentor practices have not been dis-
cussed.

Data Sources

Focus Groups, Observations, and Interviews

In August 1999, Year 1 teachers met for a focus-group discussion.

This meeting served as the starting point for data collection. The
focus group met again in November and in February to discuss
emerging issues in the mentorship experience. All Year 1 teachers
met again inJune to celebrate the end of the school year. These focus
group experiences were repeated with the Year 2 teachers. The Year
1/second-year teachers also participated in three focus groups dur-
ing 2000-2001 (August, November, February). These meetings were
separate from the Year 2 teachers. In June 2001, all 13 teachers met
for an end-of-the-year celebration.
The Year 1 teachers were interviewed in their school environments
once in the fall of 1999 and again in the spring of 2000. In the fall
interview, I observed the teachers as they taught one of their classes,
and then interviewed them for approximately 1 hour at the end of
the observation.
In the spring, I spent a complete day observing each of the seven
teachers. Interviews occurred throughout the day, between classes, at
lunch, and after school. During the spring visit, I also interviewed the
district-assigned mentor and the building principal. Mentor and
administrator interviews lasted approximately 40 minutes. I repeated
this process in 2000-2001 with the Year 2 teachers and the Year I/sec-
ond-year teachers. All mentors and administrators of the Year I/sec-
ond-year teachers were interviewed in the second year as well.

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10 CONWAY

Written Documents

Each of the 13 teachers was encouraged to keep ajournal of begin-

ning teaching experiences. One of the Year 1 teachers recorded two
to three handwritten pages about each day of her first 2 years of
teaching. Three of the Year 2 teachers kept weekly journals about
their experiences.
One of the Year 2 teachers communicated with her mentor sever-
al times weekly by e-mail. In early October, they (the teacher and her
mentor) began to copy all e-mail communication to me. This result-
ed in approximately 30 pages of e-mail mentor/mentee interactions.
In addition, I kept a log of all interactions with participants includ-
ing phone conversations, e-mails, informal conversations, and dis-
cussions during focus-group meetings.

Trustworthiness/Triangulation

The primary techniques used to address the trustworthiness

(validity) of this study were data collection triangulation, member
checks, and attention to investigator expertise (Patton, 1990;
Seidman, 1991). The variety of data-collection measures described
above constitute data triangulation for this study. Member check-
ing refers to the verification of information with research partici-
pants. In this study, beginning teachers reviewed the findings and
discussion sections of the study to correct any information in the
profiles or the supporting evidence. I relied on what I knew about
beginning teachers throughout this project. I had enough back-
ground in the content area and association with the participants to
be empathetic in my approach to the interview and to establish the
necessary rapport.

Analysis

Interview transcripts from all participants, focus group transcripts,

observation field notes, teacher journals, and my personal research
log were all reviewed and coded. The research questions guided this
coding process, as did my knowledge of previous mentor practices
research. The findings are organized into five thematic categories.
Codes that led to the category are included in parentheses that fol-
low them. Categories include lack of consistency across school dis-
tricts (what was provided, selection of mentors, pay, training),
teacher perceptions of value (degree of contact, type of interaction,
value of interaction), content of mentor interactions (administrative
duties, classroom management, parent interactions, building and
district policies, personal issues, and lack of curricular questions),
the need for music mentors for music teachers, and suggestions for
music mentor practices (early identification of mentor, observation,
and early rapport experiences).

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 JRME 11

RESULTS

Each category is described below with supporting material from

the data. A discussion of these findings is included with the descrip-
tion and supporting evidence. The reader is encouraged to remem-
ber that although the findings of this type of study may not be gen-
eralizable to all beginning music teacher populations, the experi-
ences of these teachers and their mentors may be transferable
(Bogdan & Biklen, 1998) to other similar beginning music teacher
settings.

Lack of Consistency across School Districts

The state of Michigan requires that all school districts provide

mentors for beginning teachers:

Section 1526. For the first 3 years of his or her employment in classroom teach-
ing, a teacher shall be assigned by the school in which he or she teaches to 1 or
more master teachers, or college professors or retired master teachers, who
shall act as mentor or mentors to the teacher. (Michigan Department of
Education, 1994, p. 32)

However, there was no consistency in the interpretation of the

Michigan law represented in this data. The teacher profiles in Figure
1 represent a vast spectrum of mentor practices, including teachers
who were provided nonmusic mentors from out of the district (Tom
and Marie); teachers who were provided nonmusic mentors from the
district (Adam,James, Brian, andJoan), teachers who were provided
with music mentors from the district (Trish, Allison, Mark, Elle, Teri,
Doug), and a teacher who was provided a music mentor from outside
the district (Penny). A profile drawn from the data of the program
for each participant will further describe this diversity. The profiles
also highlight inconsistency in paying and training the mentors.

Type of School
There seems to be a connection between the size and type of the
school and the level of commitment on the part of the district to
train and pay the mentors. In the four large suburban districts, all
mentors were paid and trained. In the seven rural districts, mentors
were paid and trained in three of the districts. In the two urban dis-
tricts the mentors were not paid or trained. Several mentors and
principals commented on this issue: "Our district just does not have
the resources like the suburban schools do to provide training or pay
for mentors" (rural school mentor); "This district has a very strong
teachers union. Teachers are provided with many excellent pro-
grams" (suburban school principal); "We have so many things to fix
out here that the mentor program is just not a priority" (urban
school mentor).

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12 CONWAY

The result that schools with more money are able to provide more
to new teachers is not surprising. However, it is something the pro-
fession needs to reflect upon. In Michigan, the state music organiza-
tions are beginning to look for ways to support new teachers in urban
and rural schools who are not given appropriate mentor and induc-
tion experiences through the district.

Teaching Responsibilities and Classroom Setting

Much of the research literature on beginning music teachers sug-
gests that a specific challenge for new teachers is that they are often
assigned to more difficult teaching loads and more difficult classes
(Feiman-Nemser, 1993; Gold, 1996; Odell & Ferraro, 1992). The data
from the teacher profiles in Figure 1 suggest that the very nature of
being a music teacher includes planning for multiple grade levels
and possibly very diverse content areas. Joan sees children from 10
different grade levels each week; Mark, Doug, Adam, Brian, Penny,
and James see children at 8 different grade levels; Marie sees chil-
dren at 6 different grade levels; Allison, Elle, and Tom see children
at 4 different levels; and Trish and Teri, at 3 different levels.
Four of the teachers stay in one school building all day. Eight of
the teachers are in two buildings each day, and one is in three dif-
ferent school buildings each day. Of the three teachers working in
elementary music, Marie travels from classroom to classroom on a
cart, Allison is on a cart for some classes and on the stage in the cafe-
torium for others, and Joan teaches on the floor in the cafeteria.
These settings are not ideal for instruction.
For the 10 teachers working in secondary music, responsibilities
beyond classroom teaching include football games, parades, basket-
ball games, in some cases women's sports events, solo and ensemble
festivals at the junior high and high school levels, band and orches-
tra festivals at junior high and high school levels, musicals, gradua-
tion ceremonies, and many community events. All of the secondary
teachers traveled somewhere with their ensembles as part of a short
field trip or an extended band/orchestra/choir tour. These are
tremendous responsibilities for any teacher, but particularly for a
beginning teacher.
Michigan certifies music teachers to teach music K-12. What this
means is that many of these beginning teachers are teaching outside
their prepared content area (e.g., band, orchestra, or choir). James
and Brian were teaching high school choral music, although neither
one had ever sung in a choir before accepting his teaching position.
Brian was also teaching Grade 6 general music, not an area he had
been prepared to teach in preservice education.
These findings are consistent with previous studies (Conway &
Garlock, 2002; Delorenzo, 1992; Krueger, 1999, 2001) that suggest
that some of the issues faced by beginning music teachers are music-
specific issues and may be different from issues faced by the general
classroom teacher. It is important for the music education profession

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 JRME 13

to educate mentors and administrators about the inherently chal-

lenging teaching-schedule and classroom-context issues faced by
music teachers.

Assignment of Mentors

These profiles suggest that many administrators had tried to secure

appropriate mentors for music teachers. All of the beginning teachers
were provided with an experienced mentor. Seven of them were pro-
vided with music teacher mentors. Of the six who did not have music
mentors, one was assigned to a mentor who was married to a music
teacher (James's mentor). However, the criteria for choosing a men-
tor varied greatly: "We have had a big turnover with music teachers in
the program. We really want to support Penny so she will stay.
However, she is the only instrumental music teacher in the district.
Who can we provide her with? We decided to allow her to choose a
mentor from outside the district so that she could have someone who
would be useful for her" (Penny's principal). In Allison's case, her
principal had initially assigned her to the building custodian.
Although Allison worked to change this assignment so that she could
have the high school band director in her district as her mentor, her
principal thought his initial choice was logical: "I wanted to provide
Allison with someone who knew the building but also understood
music. Our building custodian plays drum set in a band so I thought
he could be a real help to Allison" (Allison's principal).

Payment and Training

Seven of the mentors had received formal training and recom-

mendations for the mentor process. However, all of the mentors sug-
gested that training would be valued: "I would have liked to have had
some more guidance regarding my role" (mentor interview); "It was
not really clear what the expectations of the mentor program were.
Some sort of training may have helped that" (mentor interview).
Mentors and mentees expressed concern regarding what the mentor
program was supposed to be in the settings that had no training: "I'm
not really sure what he was supposed to help me with" (first-year
teacher interview); "We really did not know what we were supposed
to do" (mentor interview). The same seven mentors who were
trained for the mentor program were also paid for their services.
Several of the other mentors were unaware that mentors were paid in
other districts: "I guess I should ask about that. I never realized men-
tors were paid in other districts" (mentor interview).
Michigan's State Education Department is developing more for-
mal Standards for Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentor Programs
(Michigan Education Department, 2000). The data from this study
suggest that there is a strong need for state and local policy in these
13 districts to assist the districts and administrators in the consistent
design, implementation, and evaluation of beginning teacher men-

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 . . .. . . .

Participant Degree of Contact 'Iype of Contact

Trish Weekly fine arts team meetings Lunch conversations
Allison Weekly meetings and e-mail After school/weekend
meetings, dinners, convers
Elle Every day (team teachers) Informal discussions,
some lunches/dinners
Teri E-mail several times per week E-mail, after-school meetin
Meetings about twice per month
Tom No real contact Mentor observed a few tim
with no real interaction
Marie No real contact Mentor observed a few tim
with no real interaction
Mark Every day (team teachers) Informal discussions,
some lunches/dinners
Doug Every morning at HS together Information conversations
Adam A few informal conversations Hallway conversations, one
Brian Required to meet 30 times After-school meetings
Penny A few conversations Phone conversations, one
James A few informal conversations Hall conversations, 1-2 ev
Joan Weekly meetings Lunches together, informa

Figure 2. Degrees of contact between beginning teachers and mentors.

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 JRME 15
tor programs. Several of the administrators interviewed in the study
discussed the lack of funding and the vague requirements of the pro-
gram: "The state just came down from above and told us 'you will
have a mentor program.' But without money to support it we just can-
not provide what the state is asking" (principal interview); "It has
never really been clear to me what the state requirements are regard-
ing mentoring" (another principal interview). Conway, Krueger,
Robinson, Haack, and Smith (2002) provide a national policy over-
view and a comprehensive discussion of the policy issues associated
with beginning music teacher induction and mentoring.

Teacher Perceptions of Value

There was variation in the degree and type of contact between

mentors and mentees. Figure 2 gives a profile of the degree of con-
tact of the 13 teachers. It also shows the perception of the mentee
regarding the value of the mentor relationship. I have represented
this perception with "yes," "somewhat," or "no" based on the inter-
view data.
The degree of contact between mentors and mentees appears to
be related to the requirements of the mentor program (Brian, Joan,
Teri), the proximity of the mentor (Trish, Doug, Elle, Mark), or the
existence of a previously established relationship (Allison). Brian,
Joan, and Teri and their mentors were required to meet regularly.
The mentors were paid for the meetings, and they all met. Trish and
her mentor were on the same teaching team and the team met each
Friday for lunch. Doug and his mentor taught in neighboring rooms
at the high school every morning. Elle and Mark were in team teach-
ing situations. Allison had a previously established relationship with
her mentor, so they also met regularly. Overall, when the district-
sponsored program required interaction, teachers met. When teach-
ers were teaching in classrooms close to one another, they were more
apt to meet. Although Allison's district did not require meetings and
she and her mentor were not in the same school building, Allison
and her mentor had a previously established relationship that led to
more frequent mentor interaction.
The teachers who had music mentors all suggested that their men-
tor relationships were somewhat valuable or valuable. In Trish's case,
her mentor was a music teacher, but was vocal instead of instrumental
so the relationship was perceived as only somewhat valuable. Allison
stated, "My mentor really saved me this year. I don't know what I
would have done without him." Although Elle and her mentor were
team teachers, she sometimes wished that she could have a mentor
outside the music department: "I really would have liked to get to
know some other teachers. My mentor was really great, but I think I
would have liked to have gotten to know someone else. We were going
to get to know one another anyway."Teri's mentor had the exact same
position as she in another middle school in the district. He was a vet-
eran teacher and was able to provide her with a great deal of support:
"I consider these two my 'model mentor team"' (researcher's log).

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16 CONWAY

In his examination of the interactions of four music mentor/

mentee pairs in Oregon, Montague (2000) suggested that the men-
tor/mentee relationship is a complex situational context. Due to the
situational nature of the mentor relationship it may be difficult to
make concrete suggestions for creating a successful mentor relation-
ship. Every mentor/mentee pair is different. However, data from the
study described in this paper does support that there must be some
sort of interaction between the mentor and the mentee. Pairs who
were required to meet met more often. In addition, music mentors
were perceived by beginning music teachers as more valuable than
nonmusic mentors.

CONTENT OF BEGINNING MUSIC TEACHERAND MENTOR

INTERACTIONS

Administrative Duties

The most often coded theme in the data regarding mentor and
beginning teacher content were questions about administrative
issues. The beginning teachers working with secondary ensembles
(particularly marching band) suggested that this area was the great-
est challenge they faced in their new position: "I spend most of my
time on the administrative stuff associated with my job. I asked my
mentor a lot of questions about all of that" (Mark); "We give our
band director a one-period release time to deal with the administra-
tive duties. There are so many things that she must keep track of'
(Penny's principal).
Budgets, fund-raising, tours, weekend events, etc. take sophisticat-
ed skill in time management and administrative organization. All of
the beginning teachers suggested that they were unprepared for
these tasks. A successful mentor for a beginning music teacher must
be able to provide support in this area.

Classroom Management

The literature on beginning teachers in general education cites

classroom management as a key area of concern for beginning
teachers. Music teachers asked many questions in this content area as
well: "I asked my mentor to help me with what to do with discipline.
She did not always know what to tell me, but it was good to talk about
it" (Brian); "We talked a lot about discipline and management. It
seems like this is an even bigger issue in music classes because the
classes are often very large and the students are holding noisemak-
ers" (Brian's mentor); "I know he needed a lot of help with manage-
ment. All of our new teachers do. I was glad to be able to provide an
experienced mentor to help him with the issues of large classes"
(Doug's principal).
This result would suggest that an important criterion for a mentor
might be that the mentor be available to observe in the classroom of

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 JRME 17

the mentee. For useful classroom management discussions to be a

part of the relationship, mentors and mentees must understand the
context of the classroom of the mentee.

Parent Interactions

Many of the beginning teachers talked to their mentors about

issues concerning interactions with parents. This theme may be more
prevalent in beginning music teachers since they typically see many
more students per week than a typical classroom teacher: "I had quite
a few problems with parents in the beginning of the year. The
Booster Group just had some real outspoken parents. My mentor
gave me some good advice regarding dealing with those parents"
(Penny); "Dealing with the parent group was one of the hardest
things in the beginning. My mentor helped me a lot with suggestions
for how to approach parents" (James).

Building and District Policies

Many of the mentor questions concerned building and district poli-

cies. Those beginning teachers who did not have assigned mentors
within their buildings stated that they found someone else (often a
secretary) within the building to assist them with their many ques-
tions. "I tried to make sure to keep my new teacher updated on all the
things going on in the building. He seemed to have a lot of questions
about assemblies, and conference days and things like that" (Brian's
mentor); "The secretaries really knew me. I felt pretty stupid, but Ijust
went to them for everything. How do I do this? When do I do that?"
(Penny); "I think it is quite important for a new teacher to have an
assigned mentor in the building. Someone needs to help them get set-
tled with building issues" (Mark's principal). Although this issue is
faced by all beginning teachers, when one considers that the majority
of the 13 teachers in the study were in at least two buildings per week,
this issue is a greater problem than with nontraveling teachers.

Personal Issues

In some cases beginning teachers talked to their mentors about

personal issues that were not directly related to school: "It was good
for me to have someone to talk to about my car troubles, my rent,
stuff like that" (Allison); "We really became friends. We spent a good
portion of our mentor time just talking about other non-school-relat-
ed things" (Trish). Although all beginning teachers discuss isolation
as a beginning teacher concern, the fact that these music teachers
were usually the only music teacher in the building and often the
only music teacher in the district makes having someone to talk to a
very important issue for beginning music teachers.
The content of mentor interactions documented in this study is
consistent with areas of concern for beginning music teachers docu-

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18 CONWAY

mented in previous music education literature (Delorenzo, 1992;

Krueger, 1999, 2001; Montague, 2000; Smith, 1994). However, the
next section on curricular questions has not been previously
addressed.

Curricular Questions

Very few of the beginning teachers stated that they spoke to men-
tors about curricular issues. As I began to analyze my data and was
seeing that curricular questions were not a part of the mentor/
mentee interactions, I asked several of the beginning teachers about
this issue specifically in follow-up interviews. The beginning teachers
who did not have music mentors responded that they really could
not talk to their mentor about music since their mentor did not
know: "She does not know anything about music, so it was not even
something I thought about talking about" (Brian). The teachers who
did have music mentors suggested that the other themes in this cat-
egory (administrative duties, classroom management, etc.) seemed
so much more pressing that they just never got around to reflecting
on curricular issues: "I have to deal with what is staring me in the face
right now. The bus requests, the fund-raising, the parent calls-they
all need to be dealt with right now. As far as what I actually teach, I
can survive if I pick up the score and go read it with the kids. It's all
about survival right now" (Penny).
I am concerned that mere survival during the first year of teaching
will not encourage the growth into reflective teaching practice that is
so desperately needed in education. Early in their teaching careers,
beginning teachers need to be asking curricular questions and inter-
acting with experienced music mentors in meaningful ways.
However, the current configuration of beginning music teacher posi-
tions makes this growth nearly impossible. In one of the districts in
the study, the instrumental music teacher is scheduled to teach only
four periods in a five-period day because the district has recognized
that the administrative duties of the position are so vast. This may be
the kind of flexibility that is needed for beginning music teachers to
have the time to develop. However, without a music mentor to assist
them, even music teachers who are given the necessary time may not
develop to their full potential.
Music Mentors for Music Teachers

I have chosen to include this issue as a category in itself because it

was the one theme that was found in all data (first-year teacher, men-
tor and principal interviews, focus-group tapes, first-year teacher
journals, and my research log). It does seem from this data that the
perceived level of satisfaction with the mentor interactions did relate
to whether the mentor was a music teacher. All seven teachers who
had music mentors felt that their mentor interactions were at least
somewhat valuable.

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 JRME 19

All participants suggested that music teachers need music men-

tors. Examples include: "Wejust did not have anyone who was really
appropriate as a mentor for him. There are no other music teachers.
I guess we should consider something else though because I do think
a music mentor would be good" (principal); "I am so glad that I had
a music mentor. I don't think anyone else would really have under-
stood what I am facing" (Trish).
Even in the nonmusic mentor relationships that were perceived by
teachers, mentors, principals, and myself as successful, participants
suggested the need for music mentors: "He and I really got along
well. But, there was not much I could do for him in terms of his
teaching. I don't know anything about music" (Brian's mentor).
Several participants suggested that beginning music teachers need
music teacher mentors and building mentors: "I think music teach-
ers need a music mentor and a building mentor. I guess I'm dream-
ing that that could happen" (Elle in focus-group conversation); "It
was hard for me when I was not in the building. I think a building
mentor would have helped her too" (Teri's mentor); "As I'm talking
with you I'm beginning to think that maybe music teachers need two
mentors" (principal).

SUGGESTIONS FOR MUSIC MENTOR PRACTICES

Early Identification of Mentor

In several instances mentors were not assigned or identified until

well into September. All the participants suggested that it is in those
first few days and weeks of school that beginning teachers need the
most help: "It took a while before I knew who my mentor would be.
This was kind of a problem because most of my questions were about
the first day" (Joan). "I had some serious classroom management
issues at band camp in the summer. Who was supposed to help me
with that?" (James).

Scheduling So Mentors Can Observe

Many participants suggested that mentors need to be available to

observe beginning teachers in their setting: "We really could not talk
too much about my classroom because she was always teaching when
I was and could never come and see me" (Doug); "There really does
need to be some way to work it out so the mentors can be available
to observe the teachers while they are teaching. It is just really hard
to schedule" (principal); "It would have been easier to talk about cur-
ricular things if I had been able to observe him teaching" (Brian's
mentor).
Several of the beginning teachers suggested that my presence in
their classroom on the days I observed as part of data collection was
valuable to their professional growth: "I wish my mentor could do
more of what you did while you were here today" (Marie). If music

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20 CONWAY

mentors could serve in this classroom assistance role, teachers

believe that would be useful.

Opportunities for Getting to Know One Another

The teachers who had opportunities for getting to know one
another outside of the mentor relationship felt that these more social
opportunities helped the mentor relationship: "We had team meet-
ings every Friday, so we got to know each other early on" (Trish); "We
team-teach all day so mentoring just sort of comes out of that"
(Mark's mentor); "They teach together all day long, so I think men-
toring is just an outgrowth of what they do" (Elle's principal).
The teachers who had previously established relationships with
their mentors suggested that this helped them to focus on important
issues early on: "We already knew each other from my student teach-
ing semester so we did not need to get to know each other" (Allison).
Several teachers suggested that the mentor program in their district
needed to include more opportunity for just getting to know one
another: "We needed to have some sort of beginning of the year
lunch or something so we could just get to know one another"
(Adam).
One of the criteria for mentor programs should be that mentors
and mentees have some informal opportunities to get to know one
another. In addition, this type of meeting might help to establish
clearer expectations about what the mentor and mentee relationship
could be.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This examination of 13 district-sponsored mentor practices reveals

a lack of consistency in the types of mentor programs in the schools
and varying degrees of teacher satisfaction with the programs.
Variations in program offerings seem to be connected to the type of
school, the teaching responsibility and classroom setting, the type of
mentor assigned, and the degree to which that mentor was paid or
trained. Teacher perceptions of the value of the program appear to
be connected with the degree and type of contact with the assigned
mentor. The content of mentor interactions included: administrative
duties, classroom management, parent interaction, building and dis-
trict policies, and personal issues. The need for music mentors is dis-
cussed because there was little mentor/mentee interaction dealing
with curricular issues.
General suggestions for mentor practices provided by the various
participants (teachers, mentors, administrators, and the researcher)
include: early identification of mentor, scheduling so mentors can
observe, and opportunities for getting to know one another in men-
tor/mentee relationships.
Although many of the issues that surfaced in this study go beyond
the scope of providing for the beginning music teacher (i.e., lack of

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 JRME 21

consistency in state provided programs), music educators and music

education researchers need to continue to work to have a voice in
policy decisions and reform efforts that will affect the teaching and
learning of music. University music teacher educators must work in
conjunction with K-12 music educators and with state music organi-
zations to advocate for appropriate mentor programs for beginning
music teachers. It may be that school districts cannot provide for the
music-specific needs of the beginning music teacher. Programs
designed and implemented by state music organizations may be the
answer to providing content support. However, these programs
should be designed based on research on beginning teachers and
notjust on the wisdom of leaders of state music organizations.
Music teacher education often bears the brunt of attacks regard-
ing lack of preparation for teaching. However, the problem areas
identified in this study (administrative duties, classroom manage-
ment, parent interactions, and district policies) are areas of begin-
ning teacher concern that cannot be mastered until arrival in a spe-
cific teaching context. Thus, the profession must work to provide
support for music teachers once they are employed. Support for
beginning teachers is not just a technique for addressing first-year
survival and teacher retention. If beginning teachers are to be able to
implement innovative teaching approaches learned in teacher prepa-
ration programs, they are going to need assistance in grappling with
the messy issues in school change and curriculum reform (Conway,
Krueger, Robinson, Haack, & Smith, 2002).
If music education researchers can create a solid research base
dealing with beginning music teachers, we may be able to provide
administrators and policy-makers with evidence of the needs of music
teachers. To have this research base, beginning music teacher prac-
tices need to be examined in other settings. Many of the teachers in
this study had what I would consider mentor experiences with other
music teachers who were not part of the district-sponsored program.
An examination of these informal mentor interactions may provide
useful information for the profession. There are other beginning
music teacher issues which need to be explored in research.
Beginning teacher induction programs, in-service experiences, con-
tinuing university relationships, perceptions of university prepara-
tion, administrator perceptions, and the specific (band, orchestra,
choral, general) beginning teacher concerns are all areas for future
inquiry. Most formal mentor programs are aimed at first-year teach-
ers. We as a profession need to explore the experiences of music
teachers throughout their careers.
Music education researchers have not explored the culture of
music education and how that interacts with the long-term career of
the public school music educator. Ripe for research are questions
such as: Who are the long-term career teachers? How do they
describe their careers? What would long-term career teachers change
about the profession? Who leaves the profession and why? Who
enters the profession and why? What does it feel like to be a music

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22 CONWAY

educator? What are the issues associated with career identity and the
music educator? What professional development experiences are
most useful for teachers?
As local and national education reform policy issues are imple-
mented, we must have a research base from which to offer sugges-
tions for the improvement of in-service as well as preservice music
teacher education. Then, we must make our voices heard in the pol-
icy arena.

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Submitted May 28, 2002; accepted November 11, 2002.

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