Date

8-20-2026

Department

School of Music

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education (PhD)

Chair

Nathan Street

Keywords

music education, career decisions, personal factors, professional factors, recruitment, retention

Disciplines

Education | Music

Abstract

A growing shortage of music educators leaves school districts with the unfortunate options of cutting music education programs or placing un- or under-qualified staff in those positions. There is a gap in the literature on the personal, professional, and external factors that influence music educators’ career decisions. This qualitative, constructivist grounded theory study addresses the gap in the literature by examining music educators’ perspectives on their career decisions. This study employed focus groups, interviews, and journal prompts to gather data from 26 music educators in the U.S. A theory grounded in the data suggests that personal, professional, and external factors contribute to music educators’ career decisions in a continuous cycle of learning and teaching. This study may have significant implications for the recruitment and retention of music educators.

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