Informal Learning and teacher education students: Changing perceptions towards and educational paradigm shift

Abstract

This qualitative study is aimed at investigating the effects of teacher education students’ introduction to Informal Learning in a conservatoire setting, their perceptions of their preparation and willingness to use it in their career as music teachers, and their changing attitudes during training relating to this approach. The research compared the aims of the Musical Futures program (Musical Futures, n.d.), university lecturers and relevant professionals with students’ perspectives after immersion in a new pedagogy. This study, conducted in order to discover more about Informal Learning pedagogy at a tertiary level, revealed the varying effects of, as well as responses and attitudes towards Informal Learning from students studying music education at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. It demonstrates the issues arising from introducing an approach to teacher education students that challenges conventional conceptions of the classroom. It also shows the effects that students’ practicum school context, personal experience, teaching style and personal values have on their reception of, engagement with and future use of the approach.