The rural music teacher: An investigation of the relationship between socialization factors and career satisfaction using symbolic interaction theory.

Abstract

The findings from this study revealed that rural music teachers in this study understood the globalized tasks associated with music education. The music teachers in this study were not socialized to their position as music teacher in a specific rural school district. When the distance between the values of professional, occupational and cultural reference groups became too great, the music teacher had to compromise his/her personal vision and adopt the vision of one of the reference groups, use coping strategies or made strategic compromise in order to achieve the inner balance necessary to experience career satisfaction, or experience the types of frustrations that often lead to attrition.

The purpose of this study was to examine the professional, occupational and cultural socialization of selected rural music teachers in the states of Oklahoma and Nebraska. Experiences, reference groups and significant others were examined using elements of symbolic interaction theory to determine which factors were most important in order to experience career satisfaction. Fifty-four rural music teachers completed a quantitative survey. Data examined demographics, the choice of rural school district for employment, and types and sources of support. Ten individuals selected from survey respondents were interviewed to determine specific experiences and reference groups that affected socialization.