High school band students' perspectives of teacher turnover

Teacher turnover remains an important issue in education. The least researched perspectives, though, are those of the students who experience teacher turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine how high school band students experience teacher turnover. A total of twelve students were interviewed, representing three schools that experienced a teacher turnover that year. Students were asked to give advice to teachers leaving a program, teachers coming to a new program, and for students who learn that their teacher is leaving. The study shows that reactions to teacher change vary, and that there is more to the turnover process than just the teacher leaving or a new one arriving. Students make connections with their teachers, and when a turnover takes place, they experience a full range of emotions.