Teaching music in K-12

an investigation based on Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy

Abstract

This paper presents initial results of a PhD research in progress, which aims to investigate the music teachers’ senses of their teaching work in public K-12 education (Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School) in the State of Paraíba (Brazil). The methodology is based on the principles of (auto)biographical research, with data collection through narrative interviews. Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy and his reflections on the meaning of life constitute the theoretical reference for the analysis of the participants' narratives. The initial results show contradictory perspectives associated with Music teaching in K-12 education. Teaching Music can be seen either as an activity that enables personal fulfillment through self-transcendence or as an occupation empty of meaning. These different meanings are related to the participants’ personal educational paths and their expectations regarding professional performance in the field of Music.