PROFILE AND BELIEFS OF SELF-EFFICACY OF CONDUCTORS OF MUSICAL GROUPS IN BASIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Musical groups represent a relevant and well-developed activity in basic education schools in Brazil, requiring teachers to perform the function of conductors. Understanding who these professionals are and how they perceive their capabilities is fundamental for the area of music education. The main objective of this article was to characterize the sociodemographic and professional profile of teachers who act as conductors of musical groups in basic education schools in Brazil and to analyze the level of their Self-Efficacy Beliefs (CAE) in five dimensions: D1 - teaching music, D2 - managing student behavior, D3 - motivating students, D4 - considering student diversity,  and D5 - dealing with changes and challenges. A quantitative approach was used, through an online intersectional survey with the snowball collection technique. 147 teachers/conductors from all regions of the country participated. The instrument included profile questions and the Music Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (EAPM), adapted from Cereser (2011). The results indicate a mostly male profile (68%), with a mean age of 38 years, with men being significantly younger than women. The sample had a high level of education (91.2% with undergraduate and 40.8% with graduate studies), higher than the national average of teachers. As for the CAE, the conductors presented medium to high levels in all dimensions, with higher averages in "teaching music" (D1; M=4.39) and "motivating students" (D3; M=4.36), and the lowest mean in "dealing with changes and challenges" (D5; M=4.12), the latter associated with contextual difficulties such as inadequate infrastructure and teaching material. It is concluded that the conductors of school musical groups in Brazil form a group with a specific profile, with a high level of education and that, despite perceiving themselves as self-effective in most of their attributions, they face contextual challenges that impact their beliefs in the ability to deal with changes.