Becoming a music teacher: Korean music student teachers’ perceptions of their student teaching experience

Student teaching is the culminating field experience in a teacher preparation programme. The purpose of the study was to explore Korean music student teachers’ perceptions of their student teaching experience. To collect data for this study, in-depth interviews, observation, and documents were used. The results of this study showed that during student teaching, participants had authentic teaching experiences, but needed closer collaboration between the university and the teaching context. Korean music student teachers also felt that a community of student teachers helped them grow as professional music teachers; hence student teacher peers may be another important resource for successful student teaching. Finally, they focused on reflective teaching, but specific ideas and strategies to improve their teaching skills were rather vague. Suggestions for future research on music student teaching are provided.