Music in academic-professional education in teacher certification degrees: 20 years of research

Abstract

This study analyses academic theses and dissertations produced over the last twenty years with the objective of understanding the place of music within the context of academic-professional education in Teacher Certification programs. Thirty-three research projects defended in Brazilian graduate programs were mapped and organized into two groups: the first consists of eighteen projects addressing continuing education and the second includes fifteen projects on academic-professional education. We described and analysed the following aspects in both groups: themes, objectives, theoretical references, methodological procedures, and results. The second group received more detailed analysis demonstrating that the themes most studied refer to course structure, student identity, teaching processes, and the place of music in pedagogy; forty percent of the researchers adopted the case study methodology; the discourse on pedagogy and music education is addressed by both national and foreign authors; educational legislation is mentioned in most projects; graduate programs in education produce more research on the subject in question than music programs; the amount of time assigned to courses is insufficient for specific learnings in musical; partnerships between general education teachers and specialist teachers have become an alternative for graduates. For forthcoming investigations, on the one hand, we draw attention to the need for in loco studies in all regions of Brazil, and, on the other hand, the inclusion of common children's music in the training of teachers.