ERIC Number: EJ1457106
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Feb
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1057-0837
EISSN: EISSN-1945-0079
"Nobody Told Me": First-Generation Music Educators' Soundtracks to Navigating the Academy
Journal of Music Teacher Education, v34 n2 p55-71 2025
First-generation college students (FGCSs) are the first in their families to receive a baccalaureate degree. As a result, they face multiple sociological, familial, and cultural challenges as they navigate their college and professional environments. The purpose of this study is to explore the cognitive "soundtracks" that FGCSs create to navigate the music academy, university culture, and their first few years of teaching. We conducted an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis with five first-generation music educators who successfully completed a bachelor's degree in music education. We present the findings as individual soundtracks curated under a playlist titled "Nobody Told Me," representing participants' collective lived experiences. Findings suggest that FGCSs struggle with access to material resources, navigating hidden curricula, familial and cultural pressures, and an overarching fear of failure. Based on these findings, we present recommendations for programmatic changes and mentorship for music education programs and schools of music to better support FGCSs.
Descriptors: Music Education, Music Teachers, First Generation College Students, Hidden Curriculum, Navigation, Family Influence, Access to Information, Psychological Patterns, Academic Failure, Fear, Music Activities, Musical Composition, Mentors, Student Recruitment, Academic Persistence, School Holding Power
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A