Investigating the preservice music teachers' burnout states among their instruments

Students admitted to undergraduate music teacher education programs within faculties of education in Turkey are enrolled in a curriculum that includes courses in three main areas: professional teaching knowledge, general culture, and subject-specific field education. One of the key subject-specific courses within this program is the individual instrument course. Proficiency in individual instrument performance, which is closely connected to other courses in the curriculum, holds particular significance as it may influence students' overall success in their field of study. This study aims to examine the burnout levels of music teacher candidates toward individual instrument lessons in relation to various variables and to explore the underlying causes of both instrument-related and course-specific burnout. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed, and the study was conducted with 274 undergraduate students enrolled in music education departments at 16 faculties of education across Turkey. The qualitative dimension of the research included both focus group and individual interviews. In the quantitative phase, data analysis was carried out using SPSS, LISREL, and Jamovi statistical software, while the qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis. Findings revealed that burnout levels in individual instrument lessons significantly differed according to gender, instrument type, and amount of practice time. Students who practiced regularly reported lower levels of burnout. The qualitative results further indicated that burnout in individual instrument lessons was shaped primarily by instructors' approaches, students' personal expectations, and their perceptions of their course experiences.