How do I join the ‘professionals’ club? Instrumental music teachers’ aspirations for and perceptions of their role

Smethurst-Evans, H. J. (2026) How do I join the ‘professionals’ club? Instrumental music teachers’ aspirations for and perceptions of their role. EdD thesis, University of Reading. doi: 10.48683/1926.00131061

Abstract/Summary

Instrumental and vocal teachers (IVTs) in England play a central role in music education, yet their professionalism and status remain contested and unevenly recognised. Existing research has often assumed IVTs’ professionalism or focused narrowly on qualifications, overlooking the fragmented structures, inconsistent regulation and cultural narratives that shape how professionalism is defined, enacted and valued within the Field. This study addresses that gap by examining how IVTs conceptualise professionalism, how institutional and societal contexts shape professional status, and how teachers’ own training histories and experiences inform the standards they apply to themselves and others. The research adopted a mixed-methods design. A national online survey generated 294 responses, of which 287 were confirmed IVTs and included in the final analysis. The survey captured demographic characteristics, employment patterns and perceptions of professionalism, with Likert-scale responses analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square tests of independence, with exact tests applied where required. From the survey sample, 22 participants were purposively selected for follow-up interviews conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Interview data were transcribed and thematically analysed using Braun and Clarke’s framework. The analysis was informed by Bourdieu’s concepts of Habitus, Field and Capital, alongside classical, practical and postmodern theories of professionalism. The findings show that IVTs’ professionalism is not secured through a single pathway but is negotiated through the uneven distribution and conditional convertibility of Cultural, Social, Economic and Symbolic Capital across employment contexts. Employed IVTs benefit from greater institutional recognition, while self-employed IVTs rely more heavily on reputation, networks and client trust. Across the dataset, experience was consistently valued as central to professionalism, often outweighing formal qualifications, yet the absence of shared entry routes and regulatory frameworks contributed to instability in standards, recognition and pay. Societal norms, including the feminisation of the workforce, further constrained Symbolic Capital and reinforced perceptions of marginal professional status. The study demonstrates that IVT professionalism is shaped not only by external structures but by Habitus, through which teachers internalise what is possible and legitimate within their position in the Field. By integrating national survey data with in-depth qualitative accounts and a Bourdieusian analytical framework (see Söderman et al., 2016; Stahl et al., 2017), this study offers an original and empirically grounded account of how professionalism is constructed, contested and sustained in instrumental and vocal teaching. It demonstrates that professionalism in this Field is relational and context-dependent rather than fixed or uniformly regulated, with recognition contingent on the alignment between individual Capitals and the institutional or market contexts in which they are deployed.

Item Type	Thesis (EdD)
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/131061
Identification Number/DOI	10.48683/1926.00131061
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > Institute of Education
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