Qualities of Impactful Mentors in Music Education: A Narrative Investigation of the Recollections of New Horizons Band Members

Abstract

For this research, the author interviewed 10 volunteers who were members of the Roeland Park New Horizons Band in order to discover how they would describe the role of an impactful music educator in their lives, based on their own personal experiences. The interviews were conducted virtually using Zoom technology in one-on-one interview sessions with each study participant. During these individual interviews the author asked participants specific, pre-determined questions about their personal perspectives regarding qualities of an impactful music educator in their lives. This naturalistic study on the individual perceptions of the concepts behind impactful teaching is primarily qualitative methodology, implementing the data collection method of observing participants' individual reactions and retellings of their specific memories. The primary research question to be answered throughout this study is: How do selected members of a New Horizons Band describe the role of a single impactful music educator recalled as a mentor from their earlier life? Ultimately, this project seeks to focus a discussion on the importance of the memories that students make and the learning that students take away from any given educational experience. As the research from this work will show, oftentimes educators influence students in ways that are not always academic in nature. The proof of this narrative lies in the “stories of experience” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990) gleaned from [or collected from] every participant featured in this project.