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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occupational aspirations and expectations of students majoring in music education in Mexico. Participants (N = 83) included the entire population of music education majors enrolled at the National School of Music at the National Autonomous University of Mexico during the 2002 academic year. Questionnaires were administered by one of the researchers, with a return rate of 92%.

The analysis of occupational aspirations and expectations revealed some disparities in the types of occupations subjects preferred and expected. The majority of students indicated they aspired to a combination of occupations however most students indicated they expected to be engaged in performance. Teaching was among the least aspired occupations with less than 9% of respondents indicating they would prefer to teach exclusively. This is an alarming finding when one considers that the population under investigation was comprised of music education majors. Within the context of this study one would expect students’ aspirations and expectations to be similar since it is generally accepted that a music education major would naturally aspire and expect to be engaged in teaching.

Although this study is among the first to investigate the occupational aspirations and expectations of music education majors in Mexico, the data does provide baseline information for subsequent investigations. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

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