Dimensions of Educational Satisfaction and Academic Achievement Among Music Therapy Majors

Holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments incorporates four theoretical constructs (congruence, consistency, differentiation, and identity) which attempt to explain sources in variability of achievement and satisfaction among employed adults and college students. This study sought to investigate the relationship of Holland's constructs to academic achievement and educational satisfaction among music therapy majors. Data were collected from music therapy majors (N = 45) enrolled at a large southeastern university using the Vocational Preference Inventory, My Vocational Situation, and the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients indicated that: (a) congruence was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (b) identity was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (c) consistency was not significantly related to academic achievement or educational satisfaction; (d) differentiation was not significantly related to academic achievement or educational satisfaction. Multiple regression using a stepwise entry method indicated that the identity construct was the best predictor of both educational satisfaction scores and academic achievement scores. Additionally, Holland's classification system indicates that music therapy majors differ from other music majors primarily in the social dimension of their vocational personalities.