Abstract
The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has contributed stress to many people around the world due to fear and anxiety. Other than health issues, it has threatened the overall economy and influenced a drastic change of lifestyle. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of music listening and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on the stress level of novice music teachers in Malaysia by using a mixed-method research design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. Based on the pre-test questionnaire, a sample of 30 participants was divided equally into high-moderate stress and low-stress groups based on Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). The quantitative results revealed a significant decrease in stress scores among the majority of the novice music teachers from high-moderate stress groups and insignificant differences in low-stress groups. The intervention was found to be effective as a stress-reduction therapy and benefits more on participants with higher stress levels. Ten interviewees were selected from the 30 participants to examine their career-stress-related challenges. The qualitative findings were divided into professional and non-professional challenges, included online teaching and learning, time management, financial issues, physiological issues, and emotional issues.
Highlights
This study investigated the effect of music listening and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on the stress levels of novice music teachers in conjunction with their career-related challenges during the pandemic
High-moderate stress participants had more than 13 points, while Lowstress group participants had less than 13 points
COVID-19 pandemic is highly associated with career and financial struggles as well as physical adaptation
Summary
This study investigated the effect of music listening and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on the stress levels of novice music teachers in conjunction with their career-related challenges during the pandemic. Stress is an emotional state when facing a challenging situation. This type of emotional tension can be caused by everyday circumstantial factors at home, workplace, and interpersonal relationships. Both positive and negative emotions arise in response to stress (Bigg et al, 2017). COVID-19 pandemic has caused stress and panic around the world, and Malaysia is not an exception. The ongoing news in the media managed to keep people informed about COVID-19 but subcon-
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