Exploring Relationships Between K–12 Music Educators’ Demographics, Perceptions of Intrapreneuring, and Motivation at Work

Abstract

Gifford Pinchot III coined the term intrapreneur to recognize “dreamers who do”: individuals who transform ideas into new endeavors within existing organizations. The purpose of this study was to gauge the salience of intrapreneuring for K–12 music teachers and examine how its attributes and behaviors relate to teachers’ workplace motivation and demographics. From a sampling frame of 1,351 public school music teachers in New York State, 576 teachers completed an online questionnaire for a response rate of 42.6%. Results showed statistically significant differences in teachers’ intrapreneurial orientation depending on teaching experience, level and specialization of teaching position, and school affluence. Higher levels of confidence in and contextual support for intrapreneuring predicted stronger teacher motivation. Respondents who self-identified as intrapreneurs facilitated collaborations between their students and guest musicians, piloted new approaches for teaching creativity and improvisation, and developed innovative curricula. While respondents generally felt autonomous, they did not feel they had adequate resources for launching new endeavors, and they perceived low levels of tolerance for risk and mistakes within their school organizations. Findings of this study may help isolate specific intrapreneurial attributes and organizational factors that could support teacher-driven pedagogy and reduce teacher demotivation and attrition.