Factors Impacting Elementary General Music Teachers’ Career Decisions: Systemic Issues of Student Race,Teacher Support,and Family

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may influence the projected career plans of elementary general music teachers. Survey participants (N = 972) completed a questionnaire designed to elicit responses about multiple factors and projected career plans in 1 year and in 5 years. The vast majority of participants planned to remain in their position the following year, yet a little under half of them planned on remaining in their positions in 5 years. The variables associated with teacher migration or attrition in 5 years were issues of teacher support (i.e., participation in a mentoring program and recognition in the form of teaching awards), student race, and family responsibilities (i.e., number of children at home). Movers were also more likely to have received a teaching award than those who intended to stay in their current positions or those who planned to leave the profession. Implications for the profession as well as for practice and future research are discussed.

Keywords

career decisions culturally responsive teaching diversity equity inclusion general music music teacher attrition music teacher retention

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abril

C. R.

(2013). Toward a more culturally responsive general music classroom. General Music Today, 27(1), 6–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371313478946

Bates

V. C.

(2011). Sustainable school music for poor, white, rural students. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 10(2), 100–127.

Bates

V. C.

(2019). Standing at the intersection of race and class in music education. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 18(1), 117–160. doi:10.22176/act18.1.117

Bernhard

H. C.

(2007) A survey of burnout among college music majors. College Student Journal, 41(2), 392–402.

Bond

V. L.

(2017). Culturally responsive education in music education: A literature review. Contributions to Music Education, 42, 153–180.

Bond

V. L.

Russell

J. A.

(2019). Music teacher educator perceptions of and engagement with culturally responsive education. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 221, 7–28.

Borg

Tuten

T. L.

(2016). Early versus later respondents in intranet-based, organizational surveys. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 4(2), 137–156.

Boyd

Grossman

Ing

Lankford

Loeb

Wycoff

(2011). The influence of school administrators on teacher retention decisions. American Educational Research Journal, 48(2), 303–333. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831210380788.

Bulgren

(2017). The career interests, choices, and self-efficacy of male elementary general music teachers. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/138602

10.

Cochran

W. G.

(2007). Sampling techniques. John Wiley & Sons.

11.

Conway

(2015). Beginning music teacher mentor practices: Reflections on the past and suggestions for the future. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 24(2), 88–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083713512837

12.

Corfield-Adams

(2012). A qualitative study of undergraduate instrumentalists teaching elementary general music education [UMI No. 1314803341] [Doctoral dissertation]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

13.

Doyle

(2012). Music teacher perceptions of issues and problems in urban elementary schools. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 194, 31–52. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.194.0031

14.

Doyle

J. L.

(2014). Cultural relevance in urban music education: A synthesis of the literature. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 32(2), 44–51. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123314521037

15.

Elpus

(2013). Is it the music or is it selection bias? A nationwide analysis of music and non-music students’ SAT scores. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(2), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429413485601

16.

Elpus

(2015). Music teacher licensure candidates in the United States: A demographic profile and analysis of licensure examination scores. Journal of Research in Music Education, 63(3), 314–335. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429415602470

17.

Elpus

Abril

C. R.

(2011). High school music ensemble students in the United States: A demographic profile. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59(2), 128–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429411405207

18.

Elpus

Abril

C. R.

(2019). Who enrolls in high school music? A national profile of US students, 2009–2013. Journal of Research in Music Education, 67(3), 323–338. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429419862837

19.

Fitzpatrick

K. R.

(2013). Motherhood and the high school band director: A case study. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (196), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.196.0007

20.

Fitzpatrick

K. R.

Henninger

J. C.

Taylor

D. M.

(2014). Access and retention of marginalized populations within undergraduate music education degree programs. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62(2), 105–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429414530760

21.

Gannerud

(2001). A gender perspective on the work and lives of women primary school teachers. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 45(1), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830020023393

22.

Gardner

R. D.

(2010). Should I stay or should I go? Factors that influence the retention, turnover, and attrition of K–12 music teachers in the United States. Arts Education Policy Review, 111(3), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632910903458896

23.

Groulx

T. J.

(2015). Perceptions of course value and issues of specialization in undergraduate music teacher education curricula. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 25(2), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083714564874

24.

Guarino

C. M.

Santibanez

Daley

G. A.

(2006). Teacher recruitment and retention: A review of the recent empirical literature. Review of Educational Research, 76(2), 173–208. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543076002173

25.

Hagedorn

L. S.

(2000). Conceptualizing faculty job satisfaction: Components, theories, and outcomes. New Directions for Institutional Research, 27(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.10501

26.

Hamann

Ebie

(2009). Students’ perceptions of university method class preparation for teaching across music disciplines. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 27(2), 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123308330045

27.

Hancock

C. B.

(2008). Music teachers at risk for attrition and migration: An analysis of the 1999–2000 schools and staffing survey. Journal of Research in Music Education, 56(2), 130–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429408321635

28.

Hess

(2018). Troubling whiteness: Music education and the “messiness” of equity work. International Journal of Music Education, 36(2), 128–144. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761417703781

29.

Heston

M. L.

Dedrick

Raschke

Whitehead

(1996). Job satisfaction and stress among band directors. Journal of Research in Music Education, 44(4), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345444

30.

Krueger

P. J.

(2000). Beginning music teachers: Will they leave the profession? Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 19(1), 22–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/875512330001900105

31.

Kuebel

C. R.

(2017). Key elements of preparation and transition for an instrumental major teaching elementary general music. Visions of Research in Music Education, 30, 1–19.

32.

Kuebel

C. R.

(2019). Preparedness of instrumental music majors teaching elementary general music. Journal of Research in Music Education, 67(3), 304–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429419850110

33.

Lander

Alter

Servilio

(2008) Students’ challenging behavior and teachers’ job satisfaction. Beyond Behavior, 18(1), 26–33.

34.

Lind

V. R.

McKoy

C. L.

(2016). Culturally responsive teaching in music education: From understanding to application. Routledge.

35.

Lorah

J. A.

Sanders

E. A.

Morrison

S. J.

(2014). The relationship between English language learner status and music ensemble participation. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62(3), 234–244.

36.

Luekens

M. T.

Lyter

D. M.

Fox

E. E.

Chandler

(2004). Teacher attrition and mobility: Results from the teacher follow-up survey, 2000–01 (NCES 2004–301). Government Printing Office.

37.

Marvel

Lyter

D. M.

Peltola

Strizek

G. A.

Morton

B. A.

Rowland

(2006). Teacher attrition and mobility: Results from the 2004-05 teacher follow-up survey (NCES 2007-307). Government Printing Office.

38.

Matthews

W. K.

Koner

(2017). A survey of elementary and secondary music educators’ professional background, teaching responsibilities and job satisfaction in the United States, Research & Issues in Music Education, 13(1), Article 2. http://ir.stthomas.edu/rime/vol13/iss1/2

39.

McLain

B. P.

(2005). Environmental support and music teacher burnout. Bulletin for the Council for Research in Music Education, 164, 71–84.

40.

Meyers

L. S.

Gamst

Guarino

A. J.

(2006). Applied Multivariate Research: Design and Interpretation. SAGE.

41.

Moreau

M. P.

Osgood

Halsall

(2007). Making sense of the glass ceiling in schools: An exploration of women teachers’ discourses. Gender and Education, 19(2), 237–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540250601166092

42.

Morrow

S. L.

Connor

N. P.

(2011). Voice amplification as a means of reducing vocal load for elementary music teachers. Journal of Voice, 25(4), 441–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2010.04.003

43.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Public elementary and secondary schools by type and size of school: 2016. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_216.40.asp

44.

Owens

(2020). Unequal opportunity: School and neighborhood segregation in the USA. Race and Social Problems, 12(1), 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-019-09274-z

45.

Parsad

Spiegelman

(2012). Arts education in public elementary and secondary schools: 1999–2000 and 2009–10 (Report NCES 2012–014). Retrieved from US National Center for Education Statistics, Department of Education website: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012014rev.pdf

46.

Powell

S. R.

(2020). Outside in the music teaching machine: Remembrances of marginalization. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 223, 26–41. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.223.0026

47.

Rickels

D. A.

Brewer

W. D.

Councill

K. H.

Fredrickson

W. E.

Hairston

Perry

D. L.

Porter

A. M.

Schmidt

(2013). Career influences of music education audition candidates. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 115–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429412474896

48.

Robinson

K. M.

(2006). White teacher, students of color: Culturally responsive pedagogy for elementary general music in communities of color. In Frierson-Campbell

(Ed.), Teaching music in the urban classroom: A guide to survival, success, and reform (Vol. 1, pp. 35–53). MENC/Rowman & Littlefield Education.

49.

Robinson

(2010). From the band room to the general music classroom: Why instrumentalists choose to teach general music. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 185, 33–48. https://doi.org/10.2307/41110364

50.

Robison

(2017). Male elementary general music teachers: A phenomenological study. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 26(2), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083715622019

51.

Robison

Williams

Hoffman

Eros

(2020). Music teacher recruitment of precollegiate and marginalized populations: A review of the literature. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 38(2), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123319884989

52.

Russell

J. A.

(2007). Career decisions of string music educators: Factors associated with retention, migration, and attrition. (UMI No. AAT 3273719) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

53.

Russell

J. A.

(2008). A discriminant analysis of the factors associated with the career plans of string music educators. Journal of Research in Music Education, 56(3), 204–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429408326762

54.

Russell

J. A.

(2012). The short and long-term career plans of secondary music educators: Characteristics of stayers, movers, and leavers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 191, 61–80.

55.

Russell

J. A.

(2018). Statistics in music education research. Oxford University Press.

56.

Salvador

Corbett

(2016). “But I never thought I’d teach the little kids”: Secondary teachers and early-grades music instruction. Music Educators Journal, 103(1), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432116655199

57.

Saporito

Sohoni

(2007). Mapping educational inequality: Concentrations of poverty among poor and minority students in public schools. Social Forces, 85(3), 1227–1253.

58.

Scafidi

Sjoquist

D. L.

Stinebrickner

T. R.

(2007). Race, poverty, and teacher mobility. Economics of Education Review, 26(2), 145–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2005.08.006

59.

Scheaffer

R. L.

Mendelhall

Ott

(1995). Elementary survey sampling (5th Ed.). Duxbury Press.

60.

Scheib

J. W.

(2004). Why band directors leave: From the mouths of maestros. Music Educators Journal, 91(1), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.2307/3400106

61.

Shaw

J. T.

(2016). Pedagogical context knowledge: Revelations from a week in the life of itinerant urban music educators. Music Education Research, 20(2), 184–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2016.1238062

62.

Shoho

A. R.

Martin

N. K.

(1999). A comparison of alienation among alternatively and traditionally certified teachers [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

63.

Shouldice

H. N.

(2013). Trading Hindemith for “hugs, high-fives, and handshakes”: One preservice music teacher’s decision to teach elementary general music. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 195, 41–57. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.195.0041

64.

Shouldice

H. N.

(2017). “I love knowing that what I’m doing has purpose”: Male instrumentalists who choose to teach elementary general music. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 27(1), 48–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083717699622

65.

Sindberg

Lipscomb

S. D.

(2005). Professional isolation and the public school music teacher. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 166, 43–56.

66.

Sutcher

Darling-Hammond

Carver-Thomas

(2016). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the US. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/productfiles/A_Coming_Crisis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf

67.

Vandenberg

R. J.

Barnes-Nelson

(1999). Turnover intentions: Examining their functionalities. Human Relations, 52(10), 1313–1336. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872679905201005