Characteristics of Music Teachers’ Professional Identity

The study focuses on the unique features of music teachers' professional identity. The theoretical framework is based on J. Marcia's identity status theory and L.B. Shneider's approach, which considers professionally differentiating features as markers of belonging to a community. The research hypothesis is that the professional identity of a music teacher is constructed through a system of specific professionally differentiating features: command of specific terminology, use of a specific professional lexicon, values and norms, professional myths, perceptions of alma mater, one's teachers and professional predecessors, professionally important qualities, professional skills and abilities, as well as professional superstitions. A specialized questionnaire was used as the method, aimed at identifying the specifics of professional terminology, jargon, values, norms, professional myths, the role of alma mater and the teacher, professionally important qualities, and rituals. The sample consisted of 52 teachers from the South Ural State Institute of Arts named after P.I. Tchaikovsky, representing all educational levels. The study revealed a complex, multicomponent structure of the professional identity of music teachers, formed at the intersection of three key roles: the craftsman (bearer of technique and school), the artist-interpreter (working with artistic images), and the psychologist-motivator (building personal contact with the student). A strong axiological foundation for the profession was identified, with humanistic and educational values dominating. Distinct professional markers were also discovered: specific terminology, developed professional jargon, veneration of alma mater and the teacher, a regional pantheon of "professional heroes," and a set of professional rituals. Thus, the scientific novelty of the work lies in the comprehensive empirical study and verification of the structure of the music teachers' professional identity through a system of professionally differentiating features, revealing its specificity as a synthesis of pedagogical, artistic-creative, and socio-psychological elements.