The State of Music Education in Austrian Elementary Schools as Perceived by Elementary Classroom Teachers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the state of music education in Austrian elementary schools from the perspective of general elementary classroom teachers. Research questions focused on characteristics of elementary classroom teachers who do and do not teach music, their competencies in various school subjects and in music activities, their attitudes toward music and music education, their music practices in school, and the reasons elementary classroom teachers do not teach music. Based on a systematic school-based sampling design, questionnaires were sent to elementary classroom teachers in all nine federal states of Austria (N = 652).;The results illustrated that 86.7% of general elementary classroom teachers were responsible for teaching music. Those teachers who attended additional music courses in addition to their regular music classes in college were more likely to teach music than others. Findings indicated, that teachers' competence in music teaching was low when compared to other subjects they taught. Results also revealed that teachers with no music teaching responsibilities rated their competence highest in activities that were less concerned with active music making, specifically learning about music and listening to music. In contrast, teachers who taught music expressed highest competence in experiencing and playing rhythms, followed by singing and moving to music. Competence in playing classroom instruments was perceived as lowest in both teacher groups. Further analysis revealed that overall competence in music teaching relied heavily on competence in playing classroom instruments and singing, and served as a good predictor for teachers' music teaching responsibility.;Although teachers reported they liked to teach music and were able to convey the enjoyment of music to their students, they perceived they were only somewhat able to deliver the content of the music curriculum and were somewhat satisfied with how they teach music. Singing was the most frequently implemented music activity, followed by moving to music and listening to music. However, in higher grades, music activities focused more on notating music and learning about music, and less on music making.;Overall, the level of perceived competence in music activities consistently determined the amount of time spent on music activities.