Experiences of First-Year Music Teachers in Hawai‘i During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges, Adaptability, and Implications for Future Music Teaching

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges to delivering music content through distance learning, adding to what is often already a stressful and challenging time for first-year educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of six first-year music teachers who began teaching in Hawai‘i during the COVID-19 pandemic. I interviewed participants twice during the summer after their first year of teaching and collected background information and teaching artifacts. Despite the year’s challenges, the teachers maintained their commitment to teaching. They did note that they felt underprepared for this experience by their undergraduate education and lack of prior teaching experience. Themes suggested the importance of teacher mentors and professional networks for the novice teachers, and that these teachers could have benefited from ongoing support from their preservice teacher education programs. In addition, the experiences of these teachers highlight the importance of adaptability in learning for both students and teachers.