What’s in a match? The relationship between student and teacher demographic matching and elective music persistence

The purpose of this study was to examine music student and teacher demographic matching effects on continued enrollment in music. We analyzed linked administrative longitudinal data from the Kentucky Center for Statistics to examine the extent to which race and sex demographic matching between secondary music students and teachers predicted higher likelihood of elective music persistence. We drew data on five consecutive cohorts of students from 6th grade to postsecondary enrollment beginning in academic year 2011–2012 (N = 259,210) and analyzed longitudinal data using multilevel modeling. Results indicated positive demographic matching effects for sex, but only among female students: female students with female music teachers were more likely to continue in their elective music courses than if they had a male teacher. Demographic matching effects for race/ethnicity were not identified, likely due to systematic underrepresentation of music teachers of color across Kentucky relative to the music student population. Implications for music education policy and further research are discussed.