Factors Influencing Secondary String Students’ String Teaching Career Choices

The purpose of this research was to investigate factors influencing the decisions of high school string students planning to major in music teaching in college. High school string students (N = 246) from 14 schools in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho indicated their interest in pursuing a music teaching major and rated 15 factors believed to contribute to teaching interest. Data were evaluated using a multiple regression analysis. The dependent variable was Teaching Interest. The independent variables were the 15 interest factors. Three variables (conducting, teachers’ contracts of 9-10 months without summer teaching, and teachers’ pay) accounted for approximately 23 percent of the variance contributing to students’ interest in a teaching major. The process of conducting, a teacher's contract, and surprisingly teacher pay contribute positively to students’ decisions to major in string teaching. Perhaps more emphasis should be placed on these 3 variables when recruiting students to the field of string teaching.