Resumen de Music education incontext: the construction of the teacher's identity within cross-disciplinary collaboration in the arts

Graça Mota, Jorge Alexandre Costa, Anabela Leite

• This study was part of a research project that examined innovative practices in a primary school with an integrated arts curriculum. While the school started an expansion of its curriculum, a music teacher was hired to become part of the arts learning area. Her commitment to the overall project determines that she works in collaboration with the other arts teachers, namely, Visual Arts and Drama. Baring in mind a theoretical background that traces the lines of a liberating, autonomy promoting, and collaborative education, the development of the identity process of the music teacher was analyzed through her diary, field notes, and other observational data, gathered by the research team. Findings indicate that, while significant gains were brought about by cross-disciplinary collaboration, some problems remain to solve, concerning the role of specific musical skills development. The implications for music education research are suggested, with reference to the relationship between music skills development and integrated an projects