Why (not) be a music teacher? Exploring pre-service music teachers’ sources of concern regarding their future profession

Abstract

There is a global shortage of music teachers, and this deficit is continually growing. While there is a considerable body of research on the sources of concern, attrition, stress and burnout for practising teachers, studies investigating the perspective of pre-service music teachers instead are comparatively rarer. This gap in the literature is problematic, considering its relevance to the development of teacher education programmes and the prevention of discouragement and unrealistic expectations among teachers-to-be. Based on the case of pre-service music teachers from a Swedish university, this research investigates the challenging aspects of the profession through qualitative means. While the results cannot be directly extrapolated to other contexts, the insights gained in this case study expand the theoretical knowledge in the field by identifying seven main categories as sources of concern, of which the aspects that are typically inherent to the profession were dominant (e.g. assessing students, teaching groups of students, etc.). Moreover, the findings reveal differences among the views of pre-service and in-service music teachers that may influence career development. Finally, I provide implications to prevent discouragement among pre-service music teachers based on the results of the case under study.