The Reported Self-Care Practices of Music Educators

The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to examine personal and professional self-care practices reported by K-12 music teachers while also exploring the relationships between self-care and age, gender, years of experience, and several other contextual variables. The research team designed an instrument, based on a previous measure created by psychologists, to examine self-care behaviors. A sample of 337 music educators completed the instrument. We found very few meaningful relationships between self-care and demographic or contextual variables, although some patterns in common self-care practices were identified. Across both personal and professional domains, teachers reported a high level of activity in maintaining interpersonal relationships. Within the professional domain, participants reported activities most often that pertained to professional development. The least reported behaviors within the personal domain pertained to promotive habits for physical well-being such as taking time off when ill, regularly exercising, or healthful eating.