Health Risks Faced by Public School Band Directors
Woolery, Danielle N.; Woolery, Jesse A.
Texas Music Education Research, p47-57 2013
Public school band directors face many work-related hazards in their grueling, yet rewarding job. As a school year progresses, directors are expected to work long hours, while trying to balance professional and personal responsibilities. A band director whose career spans multiple decades can potentially face a number of serious medical problems. Some members of the profession develop debilitating maladies, or worse, die as a result of career-related health problems. The purpose of this study was to determine health risks associated with being a career band director and possible ways to prevent these health problems. The results of this study will hopefully provide the band director community some research-based information that can help improve their quality and length of life. Research questions included the following: (1) What health problems are associated with the profession of band directing?; (2) What are the demographics of band directors at greatest risk for premature death?; and (3) What are some ways band directors can avoid career-related health risks? To examine health risks faced by band directors, a pilot study of local instrumental educators was conducted. A researcher-designed questionnaire was sent to urban, suburban, and rural secondary band directors in the North Texas area via Survey Monkey. The majority of the participants were members of the Texas Music Educators Association Region II. The return rate of the survey was 31% (requested respondents N = 348, actual respondents N = 108). A total of 30.6% of participants indicated that they knew a band director that had died prematurely or unexpectedly. In the current study there was a considerably higher rate of male band director deaths than female band director deaths, which is logical since there are more men in the profession than women. The results of the survey allowed for first-hand opinions from band directors on what health issues they attributed to band directing. [Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Texas Music Educators Association (San Antonio, TX, Feb 2013).]