Assistant Professor of Music and Human Learning
Justin J. West, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches children’s musical development, qualitative methods, and law and policy in arts education. Prior to his UT appointment, he was assistant professor of music education at LSU, where he received the 2021 Rising Faculty Research Award, a university-wide recognition of “faculty at the rank of assistant professor who have outstanding records of scholarship and published research.”
Dr. West is a scholar of music teacher professional development, using qualitative (case study, grounded theory, policy analysis), quantitative (analysis of federal survey data), and mixed methods to understand how schools, districts, and the officials administering them, shape teacher learning. His articles are published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, General Music Today, Choral Journal, International Journal for Research in Choral Singing, and Journal of Music Teacher Education. He has since 2019 facilitated the Professional Development for Music Teachers working group in the Society for Music Teacher Education. In 2022, he was co-editor of an International Journal for Research in Education special issue on professional development during the pandemic, which appeared in English and Arabic. He has also written or presented on teacher self-efficacy, arts education policy, teacher social capital, and secondary school choir program building. Dr. West is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. An active professional development provider, he is currently piloting an intensive coaching program for a group of Texas music teachers in 2023–2024.
Dr. West earned a Ph.D. in music education, with cognates in educational research and administration, from the University of North Texas and an M.A. in music and music education from Columbia University. A native Texan, he earned a B.M. in choral music education, magna cum laude, from Lamar University in Beaumont before returning to Houston (his hometown) to teach high school choir, AP Music Theory, and piano. He also holds Texas principal and teacher certifications. A lifelong church musician (choir director, pianist, organist), Dr. West is director of music at Calvary Episcopal Church in Bastrop.
MUS 354C
Musical Development of Children I
MUS 354D
Musical Development of Children II
MUS 393
Qualitative Research in Music
MUS 393
Law and Policy in Arts Education
West, J. J. (2023). Professional development among music and non-music teachers in the United States: Comparative evidence from the 2017–2018 National Teacher and Principal Survey. Journal of Research in Music Education.
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
Email address
justin.
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