John W. Scheib

Role Stress in the Professional Life of the School Music Teacher: A Collective Case Study

The theoretical framework of this article is based on the description of occupational role stress by Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, and Snoek (1964) and Beehr (1987). The present study is an examination of six role stressors: role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, underutilization of skills, resource inadequacy, and nonparticipation. One midwestern high schools music department in the United States, consisting of four music teachers, served as the study s focus. Data were collected as field notes from observations, transcripts from interviews, and document analysis. While role ambiguity and nonparticipation issues were not of great concern among the participants, issues related to role conflicts, role overloads, underutilization of skills, and resource inadequacy were substantial. The burden of tedious administrative responsibilities (underutilization of skills), the constant need for music education advocacy (role overload), conflicts between personal and professional roles (role conflict), and tension created by scheduling conflicts due to the increasingly busy schedules of students (resource inadequacy) were among the most significant stressors.

Policy Implications for Teacher Retention: Meeting the Needs of the Dual Identities of Arts Educators

n 2004, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released evidence that points to arts and music teachers possibly being greatest at risk for leaving their current teaching positions.1 In classifying teachers as stayers, movers, or leavers, the NCES found arts and music teachers to be the highest of all assignment areas2 of teachers who left a current teaching position for another position (that is, movers),3 and a tight fourth place behind teachers of math, social studies, and special education for teachers who left the profession entirely (that is, leavers).4 Out of the 11.5 percent of arts and music teachers who moved to another position in 2000–01, the great majority (69.8 percent) reported leaving for the “opportunity for a better teaching assignment” (16), whereas only 47 percent of the next closest assignment field (social studies) reported similar motives, and the highest percentage of responses by the arts and music teacher leavers also reported that a more favorable occupation or job awaited them elsewhere.5 In addition to these rather startling statistics, the research literature points to a profession that has a history of burnout, job dissatisfaction, and teacher attrition.6 Local school districts throughout the country are searching for solutions to the teacher shortage, however, most of these solutions focus on the recruitment of teachers to replace those who leave. These solutions range from signing bonuses and low-interest home mortgage loans for new teachers to alternative and emergency teacher licensing programs. Proponents of alternative licensing often blame traditional approaches for the teacher shortage. Some even state that traditional teacher licensing programs should be replaced in favor of providing teaching opportunities for people who want to start a second career or parents who have raised children.

Lindy's Story: One Student's Experience in Middle School Band

What doeschool music mean to schoolchildren? If they were to describe their experience using their own words and understandings, what would they say? We as a profession often discuss the important attributes of music instruction in the lives of children -but do children see school music as we do? Do they understand school music to be an activity that encourages human expression, develops artistic sensitivity, and engages intellectual activity?2 If our students believe school music to be something drastically different from what we as music teachers intend it to be, we need to take a serious look at our practices as music teachers and as a profession at large. In the end, our beliefs and practices need to align in an effort to impart to our students what we believe music is. Several studies have been done on the effect of school music instruction on the self-concept of students,3 as well as on student perceptions of school music experiences,4 but few researchers have undertaken an in-depth inquiry of individual students to attempt to understand their possibly unique perceptions of school music. The purpose of this study was to look closely at one students experience and perspective in a middle school band program in an attempt to see the program from the students point of view.

Takadimi: A Rhythm System for All Ages.

. / I&dquo; . / / ’ . ’ ’; . , . l l .. N~,~ ’~h~~~~’v~~~t~ty may be the spice of life, too much variety can just be perplexing. The presence of so n~:a~~ ~~~fer~~~r~~~~~aches to music-literacy instruction and the inability of the profession to agree on a cq~~~ rh~~~~;~y~tem may unnecessarily confuse our students. One elementary teacher might use the tr§j9~UEal Koêkiffisyllables (ta ti-ti) while another in the same school system uses an Orff-Schulwerk approach (e.g., &dquo;watermelon,&dquo; &dquo;apple&dquo;). The secondary ensemble directors may use the counting system (1-e-&-a), and so their students must learn two or more unrelated systems. A recent national survey of vocal music educators reveals that some teachers use a combination of approaches within the same classroom.l Results indicate that 57 percent of those who teach at both the elementary and secondary levels prefer the counting system, but 58 percent regularly use both the Kodaly and counting approaches. Those who teach only at the middle and high school level prefer counting more strongly (71 percent), but many (41 percent) still use both approaches. While no current data exists about instrumental teachers’ preferences, it is probably safe to say that most band and orchestra directors use counting.

Empowering Preservice Music Teachers Through the Dialogue-Centered Methods Class:

The front-loaded lecture can be a dangerous thing. It creates passivity among students and disengages them in the teaching learning process. Many teachers believe frontal lecturing to be the most efficient way to deliver content—the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, these teachers do not view course content as an inquiry; rather they see content as an established body of knowledge solely possessed by the teacher. In contrast, arguably some of the greatest educational thinkers of our time view the classroom and course content quite differently. As well, understandings developed through learning theory and best practice related research also are at odds with this traditional model. Through the use of problem-posing, student-led debates, small group cooperative learning projects, journaling, field experiences, peer teachings, and portfolio assessment, a methods class can be transformed into an empowering vehicle for student learning as well as help students foster a greater sense of ownership in their future profession.

Tension in the Life of the School Music Teacher: A Conflict of Ideologies

School music teaching can be a stressful occupation. The research literature shows a profession that has a history of burnout, teacher attrition, and job dissatisfaction. In fact, studies have shown school music to be among the most stressful occupations in teaching (Hodge, Jupp, & Taylor, 1994). Among the list of reasons, low salary (Nimmo, 1986; Scheib, 2004), lack of adequate funding for school music programs (Gordon, 2000; Krueger, 2000), overwhelming teaching loads (DeLorenzo, 1992; Hamann, Daugherty, & Mills, 1987; Heston, Dedrick, Raschke, & Whitehead, 1996; Krueger, 2000; Nimmo, 1986; Scheib, 2003), and unsupportive administration (Madsen & Hancock, 2002; Nimmo, 1986; Scheib, 2004) seem to top the list. Research shows that teachers’ beliefs and expectations that are incongruent with the resulting reality of the job can be at the heart of stressful working conditions (Scheib, 2003). The question then remains: What creates this disparity between teachers’ expectations and the reality of the educational institutions in which they work? The combination of lack of funding and resources, overwhelming teaching loads, and inconsistent administrative support could point toward a systemic problem rooted in the educational philosophy of those who make decisions affecting salary, workloads, and working conditions. Perhaps the issue is deeper, involving differing ideologies between music teachers and their administrative counterparts. To make sense of this possible ideological difference between music teachers and school administrators, the following discussion is framed by an understanding of teacher expectations and administrator behavior as being influenced by specific ideologies that have developed through curriculum reform in the American educational system over the past century. It is the intent of this article to view the job dissatisfaction of music teachers through this lens in an effort to bring greater clarity to what might be behind one of the sources of stress for music teachers.

Enhancing interaction between university & public school music teachers: the designand impact of a local needs assessment project.

University faculty have the awesome responsibility of overseeing the placement and supervision of music education student teachers. Familiarity with public school music programs and their instructors is an essential component of this responsibility. As new faculty members at a large midwestern university music education program, it was necessary for us to become familiar with the nature of music instruction in local school systems. In doing so, we confirmed a need for enhanced communication between the schools and the university. Initiating dialogues with school music teachers was important in better guiding the placement of music student teachers in the field and also for becoming familiar with the particular needs of these local school music programs. What developed from this need for enhanced communication was an assessment study to initiate conversations with practicing music teachers and to observe them in their teaching environments.