Reflexive biography as a method of a musical and pedagogical research

The article concerns the specifics of musical pedagogical education. In particular, the author describes the reflexive biography as one of the methods of students’ research activity. Writing the final qualification paper is an important stage of training the Bachelor of Music Education. Conducting research encourages students’ active and independent work. According to UNESCO, the research activity is the main teaching technique of modern professional education. Teachers of higher education face an issue of finding motivating methods, which could stimulate student’s academic research and reveal the learner’s personality. Unlike other types of study, writing the final year project promotes critical thinking and reflectivity. Reflexive thought is trigged by a certain incentive. It presupposes self-awareness questions that are meaningful for the student. Discussing a research subject with graduating learners, we propose introspective analysis which could facilitate reflexive consideration of the academic task. If answered honestly, the following questions will both improve the idea of reflection regarding the teacher-musician’s research activity and will lead to important speculation on the final qualification paper. The self-interview can include several questions: What problems of musical pedagogics and methods of music teaching concern me as a person? Am I confident in my current research skills, what abilities would I need to develop to write a successful scientific paper? What makes me doubt most of all? What prevents me from beginning my project? What first step should I take to accomplish the desired result? Am I responsible for my success? What grade would I like to obtain? What positive changes will happen in my life, if the project subject and its key objectives are significant for me and the writing process is eventually successful? Will the final academic paper help me to enrich my knowledge as a musician, teacher and person? Conclusion. The experience of supervising the student’s final paper with the help of interactive methods has demonstrated that research competencies gained upon graduation from a higher education institution can be further applied in a wide range of professional fields. Thus, future teachers of music show high level of motivation to pursue professional education. They successfully undergo the qualification procedure; create original methodical guidelines; present scientific reports at conferences.