"Wellness Starts with Me" : Choir Teacher Wellness Experiences and Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of choir teachers in a Collaborative Teacher Study Group (CTSG) as they met to discuss wellness in music education and collaborated to include principles and strategies of wellness in their teaching amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Research questions included (1) How did CTSG members describe their perceptions and experiences of wellness in music education? (2) How did CTSG experiences impact participants’ professional practice? (3) How did CTSG experiences impact participants’ perceptions and expectations of wellness in music education? This instrumental case study examined the case of one CTSG comprised of five choral music educators. As the COVID-19 pandemic affected nearly every aspect of teacher and student wellness, the context of COVID-19 was of special interest. I began data collection with two preliminary interviews in July, wherein participants shared their teaching histories, philosophies, and styles, discussed the impacts of COVID-19 on their teaching and personal lives, and suggested wellness discussion topics for CTSG meetings. The CTSG then met virtually for seven meetings during the months of August and September of 2020. Participants completed weekly check-ins through November and took part in one final interview in November of 2020. Participants shared a desire for wellness resources, displayed eagerness to implement wellness plans for self and students, and perceived a toll on their mental health due to the ever-present uncertainty of teaching conditions during COVID-19. The CTSG served as a place of community, commiseration, and collaboration, as participants studied wellness topics such as self-care, boundaries, emotional endurance, social and emotional learning, mindfulness, physical wellness, and music as wellness. Teachers workshopped and collaborated on policies, classroom expectations, lesson plans, and personal wellness plans which they then implemented in their classrooms and personal lives.