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Music Education Research

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Community music activity in a refugee

camp – student music teachers'
practicum experiences
a
Brit Aagot Broeske-Danielsen
a
Music Pedagogy, Norges musikkhøgskole , Slemdalsveien 11,
Postboks 5190 Majorstua, Oslo , 0302 , Norway
Published online: 20 Jun 2013.

To cite this article: Brit Aagot Broeske-Danielsen (2013) Community music activity in a refugee
camp – student music teachers' practicum experiences, Music Education Research, 15:3, 304-316,
DOI: 10.1080/14613808.2013.781145

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2013.781145

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 Music Education Research, 2013
Vol. 15, No. 3, 304
316, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2013.781145

Community music activity in a refugee camp

practicum experiences

student music teachers’

Brit Aagot Broeske-Danielsen*

Music Pedagogy, Norges musikkhøgskole, Slemdalsveien 11, Postboks 5190 Majorstua, Oslo,
0302 Norway
(Received 14 March 2012; final version received 21 February 2013)
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This article reports on a study of student music teachers’ learning experiences

whilst practising their teaching skills in a community music project in a
Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. I will be discussing findings that relate
those experiences to the student teachers’ competence development as profes-
sional music teachers. In 2010, there were 16 participating student teachers that
varied across gender, musical genre and main instrument. Participating student
teachers’ reflective journals constitute the empirical data of the study. All the
student teachers considered the practicum as the most important learning
experience throughout their education. A strong personal involvement within
the practicum led to learning experiences that can be characterised as existential
for the student teachers. The lack of common language and challenges
contributed significantly to their understanding of the value of music and musical
communication as an integral part of music teaching. The student teachers also
reported seeing the value of their work as music teachers more clearly along with
experiencing a strengthened confirmation of their being suited for the teaching
profession.
Keywords: community music; refugees; practicum; professional competence;
professional identity

Introduction
In 2002, Norwegian music teachers started community music activities for children in
the Palestinian refugee camp Rashedie in South Lebanon. This has grown into a
larger music project in the refugee camp wherein local instructors now run music
activities and teach music as a permanent weekly activity. Since 2005, student music
teachers in the Norwegian Academy of Music have participated in a 12 days pre-
service training programme in Lebanon, hereafter called ‘the practicum’ (Zeichner
1990). The practicum takes place in the third year of a four-year music teacher
education programme, and intends to expand the student teachers’ scope for the
future labour market, along with making them aware of the value of community
music activities and music itself when working with vulnerable groups. In the
practicum the student teachers run different music activities in the camp for children
and adolescents aged from 7 to 20 years, and give concerts in the camp as well as in
various Lebanese schools. The music activities in the camp consist of instrumental
activities, dancing and playing music together in smaller or larger groups. All the

*Email: badanielsen@nmh.no
# 2013 Taylor & Francis
 Music Education Research 305

participating children and youths usually rehearse within each instrumental group
before playing together in a larger orchestra. In the orchestra, there are synthesisers,
microphones and sound systems, electric guitars, violins, guitars, saxophones, Orff-
instruments, drum-sets, hand drums, accordion and melodicas. The blend of
instruments, as well as the grand variety of musical skills among the participants,
create special challenges to the musical material. Musical arrangements using simple
rhythmic figures, two-tone melodies, riffs or ostinatos with varying rhythmic and
melodic complexity, contribute to the participants’ experience of performing a
meaningful musical part within the orchestra.1
For the participating student teachers, the Lebanese environment was quite
different and unknown compared to other practicum situations that they had pre-
viously partaken in during their education programme. The practicum is charac-
terised by the lack of common language between student teachers and children,
an unforeseen and complex teaching situation, and the large group of children of
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different ages and levels of experience of playing instruments. The teaching situations
varied from teaching one child individually to teaching and rehearsing with smaller
or larger groups of children playing different instruments, as well as interpreting
and making music. Furthermore, by learning music and dance from the participants
the student teachers are offered first-hand experiences of an unknown culture.
Based on a study of student music teachers’ experiences in the practicum in
Lebanon, I will in this article present and discuss some findings that relate those
experiences to their competence development as professional music teachers. The
research question for the study was: what do student music teachers learn within a
practicum in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, and in which ways do their
learning experiences relate to the student teachers’ development as professional
music teachers?
As a point of departure I consider the collegial community of music teachers to
be a profession. Professions can be defined as vocational fields wherein the members
of the profession, the professionals, serve ‘clients’ and society in the best way
possible, and according to pre-given standards of quality (Krejsler 2007; Molander
and Terum 2008). It is characteristic of all professionals to be certificated to manage
or administer a specific kind of knowledge on the basis of theoretical knowledge
gained through specialised education (Grimen 2008; Molander and Terum 2008).
Teachers constitutes a profession because of their specialised competence to teach
and create learning spaces within a particular social system which they control (Dale
2001; Krejsler 2007, 2008). When educating professional teachers the intention is to
qualify the learner for the profession in the best way possible, through a combination
of the educational programme and vocational training (Grimen 2008). Further use of
the term ‘profession’ will in this article refer to perspectives on educating
professionals. A central issue for educating professionals is related to developing
professional competence.
Donald Schön (1987) introduced the terms ‘artistry’ and ‘reflection-in-action’ to
characterise professional competence. According to Schön (1987), technical ration-
ality, meaning when actions are based on systematic scientific knowledge, is not
sufficient to meet the challenges of the ‘swampy zones of practice’ (Schön 1987, 3).
Through artistry the practitioner makes new sense of uncertain, unique or conflictual
situations, and rethinks them in ways that go beyond available rules, facts, theories
and operations. Indeterminate situations force the practitioner to respond and to
 306 B.A. Broeske-Danielsen

find solutions on-the-spot. In this way ‘thinking serves to reshape what we do while
we are doing it’, which Schön expresses through the term ‘reflection-in-action’ (1987,
26). Such reflection occurs in the midst of action without interrupting it. What
distinguishes reflection-in-action from other kinds of reflection is its immediate
significance for action. Although reflection-on-action is different from reflection-in-
action, it may indirectly shape our future action as it is a reflection on our past
reflection-in-action. Different levels of reflection play important roles in the
acquisition of artistry (Schön 1987).
Dale (1998) connects three different levels of reflection on necessary professional
competence to three corresponding contexts of practice, each of which requires
different degrees of the need to act (Dale 1998, 2001; Lauvås and Handal 2000). The
first context of practice designates teachers’ performance in the actual teaching
situation and their competence to communicate with students along with their ability
to take immediate and continuing decisions (Competence 1 is referred to as ‘C1’
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hereafter). The second context of practice designates teachers’ communication skills,

cooperation between colleagues, and their competence in planning and evaluating
the teaching and learning process. The purpose in the second context of practice is to
enact reasonable teaching, and to develop the ability to renew their teaching methods
(Dale 1998; Competence 2, hereafter ‘C2’). The third context of practice is defined as
professional teachers’ abilities to propose, discuss and defend arguments, and to
discuss and legitimate terms and beliefs. Competence 3 (hereafter ‘C3’; Dale 1998)
designates teachers’ critical thinking and reflection, their competence to investigate
and analyse terms, and their participation in argumentative dialogues. The context
and focus are directed towards ethical justification based on values (Lauvås and
Handal 2000).When competence related to the three different contexts of practice is
continuously integrated, it constitutes a teacher’s holistic competence, although,
according to Dale (1998, 2001), it is the third level of competence that justifies the
term ‘professional teacher’.
The term ‘holistic competence’ is also central in the perspectives presented by
Illeris (2009), although his understanding of the term is somewhat different from
Dale’s. Illeris claims that competence should be considered as a holistic term that
integrates all it takes to handle a given situation or context. As Dale starts with
different competences that together constitute holistic competence, Illeris’ point of
departure is holistic competence. Illeris claims that whilst the term ‘qualification’
moves from single elements towards a more holistic understanding, the term
‘competence’ moves from a holistic perspective to the different concrete qualifica-
tions that are needed, such as the kind of person needed to solve a task or handle a
specific job. Competence includes the potential to act adequately in future,
unforeseen situations. Competence cannot be produced, but must be developed by
learners themselves. The term, thereby, refers to qualified persons in the wider
meaning of their not only being able to handle specific skills and routines in a
vocational area but also to their use of knowledge in relation to demanding,
unpredictable and uncertain situations. In this way persons considerations and
attitudes, as well as their capability to put personal potentials into use, are included
in the term ‘competence’ (Illeris 2009).
In the social theory of learning professional competence is closely related to
identity, because it plays an important role in motivating communities of practice
within specific vocational areas (Wenger 1998). According to Wenger learning
 Music Education Research 307

changes who we are, and should, therefore, be regarded as an experience of identity.

Educational issues should primarily address identity and participation in commu-
nities of practice. Secondly, they should concern knowledge and skills (Wenger 1998).
Heggen (2008) points out the importance of perspectives on identity when thinking
about professional development, because it concerns the whole person as well as their
place in a social context. Focusing on professionals’ identity, knowledge, attitudes
and values is more important than developing the skills and routines in the
vocational field. Educating professionals will then really be about developing their
identity with a vocation and a profession, and developing identity as a professional in
the field (Heggen 2008).

Methodology
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This article reports on an empirical study with a qualitative approach. In order to

throw light on the research question, reflective journals were chosen as means of
collecting information. In these journals, the participating student teachers’
reflections on their experiences of the practicum and on the practicum as a whole
comes forward.

Participants and data collection

The empirical data of the present study were collected from 16 student music
teachers who participated in the Lebanon practicum in the year 2010. They all took
part in a four-year music teacher education programme at the Norwegian Academy
of Music and varied across gender, musical genre and main instrument. The books
for writing the journals were handed out at their departure from Norway along with
instructions that consisted of open questions. There were no explicit demands about
finishing the journals during the practicum. However, they were expected to submit
the journals as an assignment within three weeks after the practicum. Fourteen
student teachers completed this task and 13 gave their consent to make their journals
available for the study.

The process of analysis

I drew up an inductive, comparative analysis of the journals, which started with open
coding (Merriam 2009). My attempt to sort the coded material into Dale’s (1998)
three levels of professional competence was insufficient, as the student teachers’
experiences could at the same time be related to more than one level of competence.
As Merriam (2009) points out, using categories established by another theory is
difficult as it tends to hinder the generation of new categories that are not designed
for the purpose, and thereby must be re-specified. I then turned from this deductive
strategy to an abductive one (Alvesson and Skoldberg 2000) in which deductive and
inductive perspectives complete each other. This was carried out by constructing
categories that reflected what I found in the data (Kvale and Brinkman 2009;
Merriam 2009), and then by connecting these categories to Dale’s (1998) three levels.
Using Dale in this way revealed interesting perspectives according to the relation
between the three levels of competence and the three contexts of practice.
 308 B.A. Broeske-Danielsen

To ensure the accuracy of meaning, the analysis was first carried out in
Norwegian and thereby the examples used in this article were translated into English.

The roles of researcher and teacher

My own participation in the practicum could be considered to challenge the analysis.
As a lecturer of music education and teaching methods at the Norwegian Academy
of Music, I took part in the music project in Lebanon for the first time in 2010 to
supervise the student teachers’ processes of reflection. As I did neither know the
arena nor was in any way connected to the context as a music teacher, I did not
function as a regular supervisor in the practicum. During my participation in the
practicum I did not enter the role as a researcher, as the study and research question
was not clear in forehand. In addition, the choice of using the student teachers’
reflective journals as empirical material in my study was made after returning from
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Lebanon. In this way the need of negotiating the ethical issues of being both a
teacher and a researcher was reduced. Nevertheless, I regard my participation in the
practicum as valuable for arriving at a deeper understanding of the student teachers’
constructions of meaning. Qualitative research is dependent on subjectivity and
interaction, and its most important question is to what extent the researcher
identifies the closeness of the material, and considers it throughout the process of
analysis (Merriam 2009). I have tried to be aware of and pay attention to my own
connection to the material through continuous comparison of findings in the
journals, and by critically questioning my own interpretations (Kvale and Brinkmann
2009).

Findings
The student teachers reported few learning outcomes that they thought they could
not have achieved in other pre-service projects. Nonetheless, they thought that the
exercise had been highly valuable and significant for them, describing it as the most
important learning experience throughout their education programme. A closer look
at the material suggests that this apparent paradox is connected to a notion of
‘learning’ that does not include becoming aware of the ways in which one’s existing
knowledge and skills can be useful in new ways and situations.
The findings are sorted into four categories named ‘teaching strategies’,
‘preconceptions’, ‘cooperating with colleagues’ and ‘justifications’. All the student
teachers gave statements that were possible to sort into these categories, though the
extent to which this was possible varied. During the practicum the student teachers
acted in all the three contexts of practice, although the C3 context is not a concrete
context in time or space, as it can take place in discussions with other students and
teachers from the academy, during the teaching process as well as on their own.
Whilst the student teachers were writing their reflective journals, in which they were
asked to describe, reflect and analyse their experiences, it became clear that they
already ‘were’ in C3 context, since, as Dale (1998) points out, presentation of terms
for the first two contexts belongs to the C3 context. Nevertheless, the student
teachers’ experiences were rooted in one context, for example C1, but they could,
nonetheless, lead to significant development of competence in planning (C2), or in
negotiations of meaning by exploring and utilising theoretical concepts. Hence the
 Music Education Research 309

students could challenge their own arguments, beliefs and justifications (C3). In these
ways I have connected the three contexts of practice to each other during the process
of analysis. Table 1 illustrates the three levels of competence and their corresponding
contexts of practice, each of which requires different degrees of the need to act.

Table 1. Three competence levels and the related contexts of practice.

Level of
reflection Professional competence Context of practice

C3 Competence in investigating and analysing terms, Ethical justifications

participating in argumentative dialogues based on values
C2 Competence in planning and evaluating the teaching Cooperating between
and learning process colleagues
C1 Competence in communicating with students, Performing in the
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taking immediate and continuing decisions teaching situation

Teaching strategies
Lack of common language between student teachers and children was experienced as
a challenge in the practicum. Nevertheless, it seemed like the student teachers were
surprised that the teaching process worked well despite the language barrier:

The language barrier was less prominent than I expected. There are many factors in
music that can be communicated through demonstrating and playing together. (Student
teacher B)

I have to be very active with non-verbal communication. Clear body language and
making use of imitation is a productive approach [. . .] I will definitely bring forward this
experience in my further work in Norway [. . .] Less talking and more activity is a good
model in many learning and teaching situations. (Student teacher C)

Experiences regarding lack of common language led to immediate adjustments in the

ways student teachers taught. They had to include clear body language, use of
imitation, demonstration and playing with and for the children as a part of their
teaching strategies, all to a larger extent than before. Experiences in the C1 context
led to adjustment, just as, in the very same context, the student teachers reshaped
their teaching strategies while they taught, which had immediate significance for
their further actions. Through reflection-in-action the student teachers made new
sense out of uncertain and unique situations, and invented on-the-spot experiments
(Schön 1987).
Experiences regarding the lack of a common language contributed further to a
more nuanced understanding of the need for language in general. It seems that the
student teachers recognised and appreciated nonverbal communication as a powerful
tool; and, even when there is no language barrier, this lack can lead to an improved
understanding of body language and musical communication as an integral part of
teaching strategies. In addition to new or increased C1, this part of the student
teachers’ experiences can be related to the C2 context since it refers to the student
teachers’ evaluation of their teaching. It can also be related to the C3 context as these
experiences led to developing the student teachers’ reflections and ideas about
 310 B.A. Broeske-Danielsen

teaching strategies, and to their recognition of the value of body language and
musical communication.

Preconceptions
This encounter with a completely new culture in a rather extreme situation offered
important experiences for the student teachers. Before they left for Lebanon they
learned about the situation there, including the situation of the Palestinians in the
refugee camps, and about the music project through video material, conversations
and articles. They also heard about the practicum from other students that had
participated in previous years. Student teachers reported some initial preconceptions
about what the children and the teaching would be like in the refugee camp, which
led them to expect the children to be sad and despairing, to such an extent their
experiences could well influence the teaching context. So the student teachers were
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surprised when they met smiling children who were highly motivated about playing
music, and found that the teaching situations were above all lively and joyful. In these
ways the student teachers’ preconceptions were challenged. Meeting a new culture
also led to increased appreciation and respect for the differences of others and other
cultures:

This project made us more reflective and better human beings, better prepared for
teaching, with less prejudices, better prepared for a multicultural classroom. (Student
teacher D)

I consider it as an advantage for every music teacher to get the possibility to work in an
unknown cultural environment. There are multicultural students in many schools in
Norway as well, and I think that meeting different cultures gives us a better frame of
reference for understanding pupils. [. . .] At least I think differently about this now than
before participating in the practicum (Student teacher C)

During the practicum in Lebanon the student teachers experienced being different. It
seems that this experience contributed to a deeper understanding of challenges
related to religion and culture, which in turn encouraged them to reflect on their
actions and adjust their considerations and patterns of action. Their preconceptions
were challenged by their experiences, which contributed to self-reflection, as well as
to reflection on their beliefs, and arguments in relation to multicultural perspectives.
In other words, experiences in the C1 context contributed to changes in the student
teachers’ beliefs and prejudices, which can be linked to C3.

Cooperating with colleagues

Teaching together with the other student teachers contributed to increased awareness
of competence, as they experienced and acknowledged both themselves and the
others as competent music teachers:

It strikes me that I have actually learned quite a lot in my three years in the Academy,
and that I now have competence that I don‘t really know when I acquired. It becomes
clear that the subjects’ pedagogy and didactics, as well as pre-service training have given
us something. I am also surprised to see how competent my fellow student teacher
colleagues have become. (Student teacher D)
 Music Education Research 311

This student teacher’s competence was confirmed and experienced by the

competence of their peers, and accords with what several student teachers reported.
It has been interesting to notice their reflections over time on their growing
competence without fully understanding where or when it was gained. It seems
that observing and cooperating with student teacher colleagues worked like a
mirror for seeing themselves in the teaching situation, whilst the practicum
appeared to be an arena to demonstrate their competence more explicitly as it
was brought forward and applied, leading to increased awareness of competence.
Student teachers thought that participation in the practicum had positive impact
on their self-confidence as teachers and in their personal lives. This further
increased their motivation for music teaching in this specific situation and for
music teaching in general as well.
There were meetings every night with all the student teachers and the three
teachers from the academy, when the focus was primarily directed towards evaluating
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the teaching process. All the student teachers commented that the evaluation
meetings contributed to significant reflection and learning:

I learned a lot from the evaluation meetings in the evenings as we could present our own
views on our own and others’ efforts during the day, and got to discuss different
challenges we had experienced with all the other students and the teachers. (Student
teacher B)

I consider the gathering at the hotel immediately after returning from the camp, to talk
about what we had done and how it went and got to reflect about this, as a good thing.
I think we should have spent more time doing this. (Student teacher E)

These meetings contributed to developing C3 as the student teachers themselves were

active in reflecting, analysing and discussing, not only experiences from the actual
teaching situation but also theory and their own beliefs and values. Acting in the C2
context led to better understanding of the importance of acting well in that context,
for instance, their acknowledgement of the importance of good planning. At the
same time, this can be related to C3, as the student teachers started to analyse and
discuss teaching and learning processes.

Justifications
Student teachers said that the practicum contributed to making them feel proud of
their own education, motivated them for their future profession, and confirmed that
they were suited for the vocation they had chosen:

In many ways this project legitimated my whole education program. (Student teacher F)

I am exceptionally proud of having this education, and now I see that I am where
I should be regarding choice of profession. (Student teacher D)

I was confirmed why I want to be a music teacher in moments like this, and that is great.
[. . .] You rarely see this range of motivation for and engagement in playing music in
working with children in Norway. [. . .] To me, there is no better reward than the
confirmation you get through seeing children having a good time playing music.
(Student teacher A)
 312 B.A. Broeske-Danielsen

The children’s motivation and joy in playing and learning music was central in
motivating the student teachers. The fact that the children are refugees and part of a
vulnerable group contributed to and reinforced the student teachers’ feeling of
making a difference and doing something important, which in turn led to the
confirmation and legitimation of their choice of vocation. This also legitimated the
student teachers’ education as they now saw the value of their own education more
clearly.
Furthermore, experiences in the practicum made the student teachers address the
value of working with community music activities and with music itself. They
thought that music has value for developing children’s identities, building pride in
their own culture, and contributing to personal development and integrity.
Furthermore, they reported that playing music met a need for personal expression
whilst offering the children possibilities to learn about and express their own feelings
through music, as well as giving them a feeling for ‘the now’ and forgetting about
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time and space. The student teachers also considered rehearsing and experiencing
improvement as valuable for the children in the camp. It seems that the practicum
offered a great range of possibilities for reflection on the value of community music
activities. Whilst the student teachers emphasised different aspects, all of them
commented that working with vulnerable groups contributed to increased reflection
and consciousness of the value of music. Their work with the children (C1 context)
led to reflection on the value of music (C3). The following quote summarises their
responses:

This has been a crucial pre-service training with regard to my future professional work,
and the most important learning experience during my education. [. . .] I have developed
and enlightened my views on music, humans and teaching in general. It may not have
changed radically, but it has certainly become clearer and more reflective. I now see
more clearly how important music pedagogy is, and I feel more confident that my future
professional work will be meaningful and valuable. (Student teacher B)

Experiences in the practicum forced the student teachers to reflect on their own
choices and possibilities within the music teaching vocation, on their competence
in teaching and on the value of music. The student teachers’ sense of being suited
for the vocation of music teaching was confirmed in the sense that they felt more
motivated about entering the profession. Furthermore, reflection on and con-
firmation of their own competence was a part of making their tacit knowledge
explicit
students reflected and started to think through terms and concepts, and
developed C3.

Discussion
My focus has been directed towards how student teachers’ experiences of this
practicum contribute to their development of professional competence as music
teachers. My findings suggest that all the student teachers benefited positively from
participating in the practicum in Lebanon, which seemed to afford a variety of
learning experiences. Connecting Dale’s (1998) perspectives on professional compe-
tence with the findings in my study shows that the practicum contributes to increased
competence in relation to all three contexts of practice. Of particular interest is how
 Music Education Research 313

it contributes to increasing the student teachers’ competence in the third context of

practice, and to the continuous relation and interdependence between competences
in the three contexts.
As the student teachers do not know in advance what kind of strategies would
work in what for them was a new context, they had to act on the basis of everything
they have previously learned in other arenas. In this way the student teachers’
experiences from one context contributed to reconstructed and increased competence
in the very same context, as for instance, when experiences of the teaching process
(C1 context) led to increased or reconstructed competence in teaching (C1). Through
experimenting and reflection-in-action they were able to explore and reconstruct
their competence, and test it in this particular situation (Schön 1987). This
was enabled by an expanded space for action and a diminished degree of the need
to act in teaching situations (Dale 1998; Schön 1987). Furthermore, although the
practicum in Lebanon is characterised by a pressing need to act due to the almost
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completely unknown, unforeseen and unpredictable context, the degree of the need
to act is at the same time diminished due to the high number of student teachers
teaching together. The student teachers had different tasks and roles in the teaching
situation, and these different roles were demanding to the extent that various degrees
required a need to act. Hence, the practicum contributed significantly to increasing
the student teachers’ competence with reflection-in-action, as the space for action
was widened and the degree of the need to act was diminished, which, therefore,
helped them to observe, analyse and reflect in the midst of the teaching situation.
Furthermore, I find the impact the practicum has on developing the student
teachers’ C3 especially interesting. Analysing, discussing, reflecting and participat-
ing in argumentative dialogues takes place when professionals are free from the
need to act (Dale 1998). As the student teachers developed competence in thinking
in and about their teaching, a new kind of consciousness was developed. They
gained competence in directing their attention towards their own thinking, because
the type of reflexive consciousness that was required gave the student teachers rich
opportunities to participate in argumentative dialogues during the practicum, as
well as through working with their reflective journals. Hence, the students
developed C3.
But it is not only the time to analyse and reflect during evaluation meetings, or in
other contexts outside the actual teaching situation, that contributed to the
development of C3. My findings also suggest that the student teachers’ experiences
in the C1 context are crucial to their strong motivation to analyse, discuss and reflect
on theory, values, beliefs and ideas through exploring, enacting and developing their
C3. This increased motivation was a direct result of the particular context of the
refugee camp in which the practicum took place, which was completely new to the
student teachers. Hence, they had to act on the basis of all their previous competence.
Only then, as the unknown became familiar, could they consider what they knew,
and then reflected on this knowledge in new ways and through new lenses. By
identifying unspoken conditions, and by reflecting on and assessing them, new
understanding can be achieved (Lauvås and Handal 2000). The particular context
contributed to the student teachers’ reflection-in-action as well as to their reflection-
on-action, as this experience highlighted the need to reflect on different levels (Schön
1987). The unique context that the student teachers met, along with the feeling of
doing something that matters to others, was important for the student teachers, and
 314 B.A. Broeske-Danielsen

made it impossible for them to continue unaffected. This can be described as

discontinuous and existential experiences, which have similarities to Bollnow’s (1976)
term ‘meeting’. A meeting in this understanding constitutes a decisive, existential and
paramount experience, which demands personal involvement and forces the
individual to reorient as the existence is affected. It further seemed as these kind
of existential learning experiences in turn motivated the student teachers’ develop-
ment of C3. Relations between student teachers and children became significant for
the student teachers’ personal and professional development, because it led to
increased engagement and interest in discussing, analysing and reflecting on the
teaching process, their relations to the children, their own development as music
teachers; and, more generally because it stimulated reflections on music education,
teaching methods, and the value of music and teaching music. The student teachers
reported that they could see the value of their future profession more clearly, and
that they came to a richer understanding of the importance of community music
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activities and music itself for vulnerable groups and other groups of students later in
their future profession.
Time is an important factor in motivating the student teachers to explore, act and
develop their C3. Staying together for 12 days without other tasks or demands
contributes to intense opportunities for discussion and reflection and, thereby,
connects the three levels of competence to one other. The student teachers had time
and space to reflect, discuss and challenge their own preconceptions and beliefs, both
during the evaluation meetings as well as in different informal arenas. Furthermore,
the timing of the practicum in the student teachers’ third year meant that they
already had various experiences and competences. Consequently they can connect
experiences from different practicum and vocational arenas, reconstruct them, put
them to use and lend them particular significance in this new context. This has
similarities to perspectives on competence that have been presented by Illeris (2009),
who points out that competence involves the ability to act adequately in future,
unforeseen situations. In the practicum in Lebanon student teachers’ potentials are
acted on, and become significant and useful in a new, unknown situation, based on
previous experiences both in their education programme and in other practicum
fields.
Finally, I want to point out how the practicum in Lebanon contributed to the
student teachers’ development of their professional identity, as they started seeing
themselves as competent music teachers. During the practicum they began to
acknowledge their own competence as music teachers, as well as that of their peers,
both in the teaching process as well as in the evaluation meetings which they
considered to be grounded in equal conversation between peers. According to
Wenger (1998) identity involves belonging to a community of practice through
‘engagement’, ‘imagination’ and ‘alignment’. The practicum in Lebanon stimulates
student teachers’ commitment to teaching, and develops their ability to relate with
children through teaching music. Furthermore, participating in the practicum helps
them to expand their knowledge of the world, as they explore who they are, who they
are not and who they can become. From this perspective identity is something that is
to be created (Wenger 1998) through self-consciousness and exploration. Wenger’s
concept of ‘alignment’ implies competence to understand and act in the world
according to consequences that reach beyond extant boundaries. This idea, when
combined with Wenger’s concepts of ‘engagement’ and ‘imagination’ (1998) can
 Music Education Research 315

contribute to an understanding of how the practicum in Lebanon, seen as a

community of practice, provides good opportunities for student teachers to develop
their personal and professional identity.

Concluding remarks
The aim of this article has been to present and discuss student music teachers’
experiences of a practicum in a refugee camp in Lebanon in relation to the
development of professional competence as a music teacher. I have found that
participation in the practicum gave the student teachers opportunities to reflect-
in-action because of the felt need to reconstruct their competence to fit this unique
and rather extreme context. I have also found that participation in, and experiences
of, the practicum are crucial for motivating student teachers to reflect at different
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levels, and above all to explore their C3. Finally, I have found that the practicum has
been important for the student teachers’ development of their personal and
professional identity.
I suggest that the findings presented here stress the importance to focus on the
relations between different practicum fields in the education programme together
with music teachers’ competence to work in a wide range of professional arenas.
Considering different practicum arenas in relation to each other can contribute to
exploring to what extent the competence achieved in one arena can become sig-
nificant in another. In the present study, it seems that the student teachers have
attained a high degree of value in the practicum due to their experiences within it.
These experiences significantly developed their earlier experiences of a range of
learning situations and practicum arenas in the Academy, as well as their experiences
outside it as pupils, teachers and musicians. Because music teachers have to operate
in different vocational arenas, it is crucial to equip them with the ability to
reconstruct their competence, and to recognise its potential as an important part of
their professional competence as music teachers. Such insights call for further studies
of the connection between different arenas in the education programme, and for
thinking about how competence gained in one arena can be valuable in another. The
term ‘competency nomad’ (Krejsler 2007, 2008), which entails service-oriented
persons knowing how to move across arenas wherein their services are in demand,
can expand our perspectives on what constitutes a music teachers’ professional
competence.
The practicum in Lebanon offers the student teachers unique experiences that are
important for both their personal and professional development. The student
teachers’ reflections on the value of teaching music as well as on the value of music
itself, alongside the value of themselves as music teachers are central. It is important
to create practicum settings during student teachers’ education programme that they
find personally significant, which can be understood as discontinuous and existential
learning experiences (Bollnow 1976). Personal involvement is decisive for existential
learning experiences, and is a central factor in developing professional competence.
Hence, it becomes crucial for a music teacher to invest personal involvement in
teaching situations, since such an attitude can motivate teachers towards their work
and to their further development as professional music teachers.
 316 B.A. Broeske-Danielsen

Note
1. For more information about the musical material, see Storsve, Westby, and Ruud (2010).

Notes on contributor
Brit Aagot Broeske-Danielsen is Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Norwegian
Academy of Music, Norway.

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