Isolation at the workplace: the case of music teachers in the Spanish primary education system

Abstract

This study aims to establish whether music teachers feel isolated at the workplace or not because only one music teacher is part of teaching staff in a primary school by reasons linked to the limited school budget. A nonexperimental quantitative research design was utilised in this study because two psychological scales have been applied, considering a random cluster sample, which is understood as a probability sampling because the number of participants has representativeness in the Spanish primary education system. Results demonstrate that music teachers work alone at schools, such that they have limited chances for interacting with other music educators at the workplace. In conclusion, job isolation is the turning point for understanding the motivational status of music teachers, at least in Spain. Given these findings, some practical implications are proposed herein.