Date Awarded

1994

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate part-time music faculty in higher education in Virginia. Part-timers are a significant part of music programs in Virginia where they make up fifty-three percent of the music faculty and outnumber the music full-timers. The results of this study suggest that perhaps the discipline of music may use more part-timers than any other discipline.;While the body of literature on part-timers in general is small, scholars such as Howard P. Tuckman, Judith M. Gappa and David W. Leslie have begun significant research and reporting. The literature on part-time music faculty, however, is virtually non-existent, and this study was an attempt to add to the literature on part-timers in general, and to begin a body of knowledge on music part-timers.;The population for this study included department chairpersons and music part-timers from twelve of Virginia's senior institutions of higher education. Questionnaires were used to gather data from chairpersons and questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data from music part-timers.;The study presented findings in response to eight specific research questions dealing with music part-timers in Virginia as the following topics were researched: who they are; their employment profiles; how they fall into Gappa and Leslie's taxonomy; their level of satisfaction with their involvement; when and why they are employed, and what external forces affect their employment; how much of the teaching in Virginia's institutions they do; what courses they teach; how fiscal pressures affect their use; employment policies and practices; differences in their treatment based on the classification of institution in which they teach (Carnegie Typology); whether their teaching is viewed to be inferior to that done by their full-time colleagues; and differences between this study and the national study done by Gappa and Leslie in 1990-91.;The study led to implications for change in such areas as: (1) better communication with administrators--especially with the chairpersons, (2) a breakdown of the barriers between part-timers and full-timers, (3) more equitable salaries, (4) benefits available--especially health insurance, (5) inclusion of part-timers in institutional and departmental governance, (6) job security, (7) adequate orientation programs, (8) consistent monitoring and evaluation, (9) appointments made with careful consideration as early as possible through written contracts, and (10) adequate support services and development opportunities.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-07r3-7304

Rights

© The Author

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