A Narrative of Two Preservice Music Teachers with Visual Impairment

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to re-story the student teaching experience of two preservice music education majors who are visually impaired or blind. While music education scholars have devoted attention to P-12 students with disabilities, research with preservice music teachers with impairments is seemingly nonexistent. Using a transformative paradigm and social model of disability as lenses, we retell participants' experiences across three commonplaces of narrative inquiry: sociality, temporality, and place. Participants told their student teaching stories through various field texts, including interviews, journals, emails, and informal conversations. Three particular issues were highlighted strongly within their narratives: accessible music, reliance on others, and individuals' attitudes. Issues of what constitutes effective teaching, teacher identity construction, and preparedness for working with individuals with disabilities also emerged. Multiple avenues are suggested for practice, research, and policy in music, teacher education, and teachers with disabilities.