Music Teachers’ Job Satisfaction During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the nature of the music teacher’s job. The aim of the study is to determine music teachers’ job satisfaction on four study scales – emotional well-being, social involvement, self-expression and achievement orientation. The following research questions were raised: RQ1: At what level do music teachers assess each of the study scales that describe job satisfaction? RQ2: Is there a statistically significant correlation between music teachers’ job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic and their emotional well-being, social involvement, self-expression and achievement orientation? RQ3: Is there a statistically significant difference in the levels of job satisfaction between music teachers who work only in comprehensive schools and those who have additional work in other music-related educational institutions? A questionnaire was created to achieve the study aim, in which the respondents (N = 73) had to assess the importance of various factors that affect the music teacher’s job satisfaction on a Likert scale from one to four points. The study involved music teachers working in comprehensive schools and other educational institutions where music is acquired. The study results were reflected in four scales: (1) emotional well-being scale, (2) social involvement scale, (3) self-expression scale, and (4) achievement orientation scale. The study revealed that the respondents rated all job satisfaction scales at a moderate level. Music teachers’ job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic is most affected by the inability to control school activities and the lack of positive emotions in daily life. The results do not show a significant difference in job satisfaction levels during the COVID-19 pandemic between music teachers who work only at comprehensive schools and those who have additional work in other music-related schools.