School music teacher wellbeing: A systematic review

Han Meng and Jason Goopy
Edith Cowan University, Australia

School music teachers experience unique workload demands that affect their wellbeing, though they are under-represented in research. A recent alarm has been raised for the health of professional musicians, many of whom teach in schools as part of their portfolio careers. To support teacher wellbeing, it is increasingly recognised that contextualised solutions are needed, and music teachers could benefit from distinctive support mechanisms. This systematic review used the PRISMA guidelines and aimed to synthesise and evaluate current knowledge on levels of music teacher wellbeing worldwide, factors influencing their wellbeing, recommended support strategies, and the effectiveness of researched interventions. A comprehensive search was conducted across nine databases for articles, book chapters, books, reviews, and reports written in English with no date range. A total of 33 sources were comprehensively analysed out of 1071 sources retrieved and imported into Covidence. We found that music teacher wellbeing is at risk, with several sources reporting wellbeing levels below other global studies. Personal and professional self-care is advocated as the most effective and immediate strategy that music teachers can employ daily to manage their wellbeing and flourishing. Systemic reform can assist music teacher wellbeing by recognising and alleviating unique workload pressures, establishing formal inter-school support networks, and valuing the contribution of music teachers to education. No known study has evaluated the impact of any proposed support strategy or intervention to support music teacher wellbeing, highlighting an urgent need for future evaluation research.
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Authors: Ms Han Meng (corresponding author)is a PhD candidate in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. She completed a Master of Music at The University of Queensland. Han's doctoral research investigates the wellbeing of educators delivering music in Australian primary schools, support strategies, and the implications for initial teacher education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6283-3214 Email: hanm@our.ecu.edu.au Dr Jason Goopy is a Senior Lecturer in Music Education at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia and a Fulbright Scholar. His research examines how music education positively transforms lives at the intersection of music, education, and psychology using arts-based and mixed-method approaches. He focuses on how learning music supports identities and wellbeing. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8766-1458 Email: j.goopy@ecu.edu.au Please cite as: Meng, H. & Goopy, J. (2026). School music teacher wellbeing: A systematic review. Issues in Educational Research, 36(2), 582-598. http://www.iier.org.au/iier36/meng.pdf