A Comparison of Contracted and Ideal Music Education Faculty Workload

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare contractual and ideal teaching, research, and service workload data for tenured and tenure-track music education faculty working at National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)-accredited institutions that offered undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in music education. More specifically, two research questions informed this study: (1) What are the contracted and ideal teaching, research, and service workloads for tenured and tenure-track music education faculty according to institution: type (private/public); enrollment; mission (liberal arts, research or teaching/comprehensive); and community (rural, suburban or urban)? And (2), how do these compare? The researchers developed a two-page, 14-item questionnaire, the Music Education Workload Questionnaire (MEWQ) to explore these questions. The 88 completed questionnaires (32.6% return rate) highlighted that contractual teaching, research, and service responsibilities differ little between tenured and tenure-track music education faculty, and that workloads generally involve about 74% teaching, 14% research, and 12% service. In addition, respondents felt that the ideal workload would involve 63% teaching, 22% research, and 15% service. The ideal workload trend of less teaching and more research and service held true regardless of school type, enrollment, mission, or community.