A Narrative Study of Professional Artistry in Selected Thai Music Teachers

Abstract

The research question of the study is, çHow is music teachers’ professional artistry in Thai societypolished and expressed? There are three objectives: 1) to study music teachers’ professional artistry inThai society by observing the teaching and learning process and relationship between teachers and students,2) to study the relationship of music teachers’ professional artistry, teachers’ identification, andteachers’ experience.The Narrative Approach was employed to explore the three stories of three music teachers; Prof.PoonpitAmatayakul, DussadeeBuntasnakul, and Assoc. Prof. PichitChaisalee. Semi-structured interview,nonparticipant/participant observation and document review were employed for collecting research data.The research result found that family, music teachers, friends, and musical experience are importantelements influencing music and teacher identification. Professional artistry as a music teacher wasdeveloped by teaching experience. Music and teacher identity are the basis of professional artistry. Allparticipants used 4 dimensions of professional artistry; the art of teaching, problem-solving, communicating,and living. They expressed the professional artistry by employing oral tradition approach, developingartistic creativity, focusing on individual differences, developing and keeping faith, and teachingsocial skills