Music teachers professional competences: From a theoretical framework to a concrete proposal

This article delves into different theoretical aspects in relation to the professional competences of music teachers and presents a proposal of the competences desired for their professional practice. Firstly, it provides a conceptual approach and describes different theoretical perspectives about professional competences. Secondly, theoretical proposals and empirical studies that have been considered relevant in relation to the professional competences of music teachers are reviewed. Thirdly, the main results of two studies that are part of a larger research that analysed the professional profile of Primary and Secondary Education music teachers are presented. These studies were designed to identify the desirable competences for Primary and Secondary Education music teachers, and collect the opinions of a sample of Catalan music teachers about competences needed for a successful practice, respectively. The article ends with a reflection on the strengths and limitations of the competence approach as a perspective to define the professional profile of teachers.