The Informal Learning Approach (ILA) in music education emphasises self-directed learning, drawing on the informal practices of pop musicians (Green, 2008). This calls for a shift from instructing to facilitating. Thus, teachers should create a positive learning environment, encourage students, and promote democratic structures (Cremata, 2017; Gramm, 2023). However, empirical research shows that teachers' role in guiding creative processes often remains unclear. Some intervene without being asked (Fautley, 2004) or are too open (Mause, 2020) while others alternate between indifference and devaluation (Godau & Haenisch, 2022). Even though many welcome a supporting role, this may cause uncertainty, guilt or frustration if teaching interventions are ignored or rejected (Godau et al., 2025).
In the research project Musical Communities in the (Post-)Digital Age, a didactic design for self-directed songwriting was implemented and researched between October 2023 and April 2024 in thirteen classes in grades 9, 10 and 12 at six German schools (Godau et al., 2025; Weidner et al., 2025). The analysis of qualitative data (interviews, videography, participant observation) revealed a complex set of divergent roles for teachers, who must balance intimacy and distance as well as supportive and assessive practices.
What pedagogical attitude do teachers need in order to deal with these tensions productively? Our presentation discusses the empirical results against the background of relational pedagogical approaches. These include the Compassionate Music Teaching Framework, which places six qualities of compassion (trust, empathy, patience, inclusion, community, authentic connection) at the centre of teaching practice (Hendricks, 2022), as well as resonance pedagogy (Rosa & Endres, 2016), which describes school music lessons as a resonance space (Beljan, 2017). The results connect to European discourses on democracy education and social cohesion by showing how independent music-making in the classroom can serve as a basis for democratic action skills and pluralistic learning cultures.

As music teacher educators, we can actively promote the cultivation of democratic skills in higher education that are essential to educate tomorrow’s diverse learners. Aspects like agency, deliberation, and shared responsibility help develop teacher education courses not only fostering knowledge about democracy but rather instilling in future teachers an imminent experience of democratic principles (Spruce & Stanley, 2020). One example of such learning design is the regular course Fachdidaktik II in the secondary school music teacher training program in Innsbruck (Mozarteum University). Here, university students teach music lessons in teams in a middle school with diverse student population. Each team takes responsibility for one lesson a week, with three teams rotating over the course of a semester. All university students observe each other’s lessons, followed by a joint reflection with the two instructors. Before they start teaching, students develop a semester plan, think about their goals, pedagogical principles, classroom rules and procedures they want to implement as a team. The unique goal of this course is to not only implicitly lead students to co-teaching, but rather to explicitly convey and reflect on how to effectively work and teach as a team (Vangrieken 2015).

This paper examines retroactively the impact of working in teams during preparation, teaching and reflection on students’ thinking. Therefore, with students’ approval, three different types of written documents are examined using content analysis (Kuckartz & Rädiker 2022) in light of the framework from Gräsel et al. (2006) for cooperation. Whereas some students focus on other topics, others write in-depth about their experiences with team teaching, revealing a delicate balance of autonomy and trust (Achinstein 2002). We present findings that show how students’ thinking about collaboration evolved and strife to connect these to the promotion of democratic attitudes. Conclusively, we aim to show how to explicitly foster “team teaching” may enhance these principles.