Influences on String Teachers’ Career Decisions

The purpose of this descriptive survey study was to examine influences on string teachers’ career decisions. We surveyed K-12 school string teachers (N = 338) who were members of the American String Teachers Association (33.8% response rate). We found that string teachers were most influenced to continue playing their primary instruments as pre-college students by seventeen individual items representing six categories: music, identity, “flow” experiences, feelings of success and recognition, emotional responses, and social connections. The item that least influenced this decision was, “It was important to my parents.” Results indicate a strong connection between choosing to become a string teacher and the opportunity to influence students and to continue music making. In general, job-related reasons and influence of others did not influence the career choice of string educators. The majority of respondents indicated their career decision was not influenced by the fear of not being able to make a living as a performer.