Justin J. West

he/him

Justin West headshot

Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning

Justin J. West, Ph.D., is associate professor of music and human learning in the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. West’s research focuses on how professional development interventions and policies shape music teacher practice and quality in the U.S. His quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods scholarship is published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, and Journal of Music Teacher Education. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, Texas Music Education Research, and the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Research and Publications Standing Committee at the American Choral Directors Association. His research has been supported at UT by fellowships to the Sandra E. New Endowed Professorship in Music Education and the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music Endowment as well as grants from the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors. In the Butler School, West teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral methods, music education foundations, and arts education law and policy. He is also music education field experience coordinator.

West was previously on the music education faculty at Louisiana State University. He holds degrees in music education from the University of North Texas (PhD), Columbia University (M.A.), and Lamar University (B.M.) as well as Texas teacher and principal certifications. A church musician (choir director, pianist, organist) for nearly 20 years, West is director of music at Calvary Episcopal Church in Bastrop.

MUS 210C 
Introduction to Music Education

MUS 356G 
Teaching Choir

MUS 393 
Qualitative Research in Music

MUS 393 
Law and Policy in Arts Education

 

West, J. J., & *Melton, A. N. (2024). How are conference clinics designed and delivered to facilitate music teacher professional development? Texas Music Education Research.  

West, J. J. (in press). National estimates and comparisons of alternatively and traditionally certified music teachers in the United States. Journal of Music Teacher Education. 

West, J. J., & Sanderson, D. N. (2024). Strengthening music teacher professional development: The P–12 music administrator’s role. Arts Education Policy Review

West, J. J. (2024). Professional development among music and non-music teachers in the United States: Comparative evidence from the 2017–2018 National Teacher and Principal Survey

 West, J. J. (2023). How to (re)build the secondary school choir program: Cues from a recent case study. Choral Journal, 63, 27–29.

Frey-Clark, M. L., Tucker, O. G., & West, J. J. A phenomenology of first-year music teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Research in Music Education

West, J. J., & Bowers, J. P. (2022). (Re)building the secondary school choir program: An organizational perspective. International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, 10, 19–44

West, J. J., & Bautista, A. (2022). Global perspectives on teacher professional development: Navigating the pandemic. International Journal for Research in Education, 46(1), 1–27.

West, J. J., Stanley, A. M., & Appova, A. K. (2022). Exogenous shocks and teachers’ motivation to learn: Pandemic and professional development in the United States. International Journal for Research in Education, 46(1), 261–308.

West, J. J., Stanley, A. M., Bowers, J. P., & Isbell, D. S. (2021). Attrition, (de)motivation, and "effective" music teacher professional development: An instrumental case study. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education.

West, J. J., & Bautista, A. (2021) Greater than the sum of its parts: Promoting systemness in music and arts teacher professional development. Arts Education Policy Review, 122(1), 54–64.

West, J. J. (2020). Is music teacher professional development becoming more effective? Evaluating practice and policy in the U.S., 1993–2012. Journal of Research in Music Education

West, J. J. (2020). Understanding the process of proximate change following music teachers’ participation in large-scale conferences: A grounded theory. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 225, 67–94. 

West, J. J. (2019). From the conference to the classroom: Elevating short-term professional development for lifelong learning. General Music Today, 31(1), 24–28.

West, J. J., & Frey-Clark, M. L. (2019). Traditional versus alternative pathways to certification: Assessing differences in music teacher self-efficacy. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 28(2), 98–111.

West, J. J. (2019). Social capital and music teacher professional development: Principle, policy, and practice. Arts Education Policy Review, 120(1), 33–44.

Contact Information

Campus location
MRH 2.204B

Teaching Areas

Music & Human Learning

Research Areas

Music Teacher Learning and Professional Development 

Arts Education Policy 

Music Program Building

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
University of North Texas

Master of Arts
Columbia University 

Bachelor of Music
Lamar University