Music Teacher Educators’ Perceptions of Gender and Parenthood Equity in the Workplace

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of music teacher educators regarding their gender and parenthood equity in the profession. Music teacher educators (N = 179) from institutions across the United States accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) completed a researcher-designed questionnaire adapted from Baughman (2021) and Fischer-Croneis (2016). Findings highlight equity issues in music teacher education similar to those from investigations on women band and choir directors, particularly regarding gender stereotyping and/or discrimination. In addition, inequity (both perceptions and experiences) of MTEs who were parents emerged—particularly for mothers—supporting previous research and writings on parenting, scholarship, and tenure. The findings of our study inspired several implications for music teacher educators, which we will discuss.

Keywords

equity gender music education music teacher education parenting

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