Do You Have the Personality for Teaching Music?

David W. Snyder, Illinois State University

Originally published in the Choral Director.

Abstract

Six different classes of music education majors enrolled in a large Midwestern university were asked to take an online personality survey and then were tracked through graduation. Personality types, as determined by the Myers- Briggs Personality Type test, were then examined for how they related to choice of major and attrition within the music education degree program. The hope was to combine these findings with other research done on personality and get a snap shot of what personality types are drawn to teaching choir and further what types persist through graduation.