Music and its presence in human life through the lens of pedagogy of accompaniment: Towards teacher stress prevention

Agnieszka Łuciuk-Wojczuk

doi:10.35765/mjse.2026.1529.09

Agnieszka Łuciuk-Wojczuk Ignatianum University in Cracow, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8332-1659

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35765/mjse.2026.1529.09

Keywords: teacher stress, relationship with music, pedagogy of accompaniment, music-based support, teacher well-being

Abstract

Research aim/problem: The aim of this article is to demonstrate the role of music in human life through the lens of the pedagogy of accompaniment, presented as a practical tool to mitigate teachers’ stress. The research problem focuses on the following question: What values does music embody, and how can it accompany and support individuals both in their daily life and in the context of stress?

Research method: The study is based on the autobiographical narrative of a teacher educated in both music and music therapy. A proxemic analysis was conducted on selected excerpts from the autobiography that focus on the subject’s lifelong relationship with music.

Process of argumentation: Music, as a pervasive phenomenon, fulfils a range of roles in human life, including social, humanistic, and therapeutic functions. The article examines its values, especially the personal relationship with music, through the conceptual framework of Zbigniew Marek’s pedagogy of accompaniment. This perspective, incorporated into the analysis, highlights the spaces in which the author of the autobiographical narrative has improved her functioning through her connection with music.

Research findings: Music emerged as a companion across different dimensions of life, providing support, closeness, and assistance in difficult situations, everyday struggles, moments of reflection, and spiritual experience.

Conclusion/recommendations: Engagement with music as a means of coping with stress may constitute a valuable dimension of individual burnout-prevention strategies and contribute to improving the quality of teachers’ professional functioning and teaching practice, as well as more systemic solutions, including the implementation of programmes that incorporate music into teacher well-being support initiatives.

References

Agyapong, B., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Burback, L. & Wei, Y. (2022). Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among teachers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Health, 19(17), 10706. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710706

Agyapong, B., Brett-MacLean, P., Burback, L., Agyapong, V. I. O., & Wei, Y. (2023). Intervention to reduce stress and burnout among teachers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9) 5625. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095625

Agyapong, B., & Wei. Y. (2024). A scoping review of the literature on interventions to reduce stress and burnout among teachers. European Psychiatry 67(S1), S206–S207. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.444

Avola, P., Soini-Ikonen, T., Jyrkiäinen, A., & Pentikäinen, V. (2025). Intervention to teacher well-being and burnout: A scoping review. Educational Psychology Review, 37(11), 10–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-09986-2

Bonde, O. L. (2019a). A therapeutic understanding of music. In S. L. Jacobsen, I. N. Pedersen, & L. O. Bonde (Eds.), A comprehensive guide to music therapy: Theory, clinical practice, research and training (2nd ed.) (pp. 42–49). Jessica Kingsley.

Bonde, L. O. (2019b). Definitions of music therapy. In S. L. Jacobsen, I. N. Pedersen, & L. O. Bonde (Eds.), A comprehensive guide to music therapy: Theory, clinical practice, research and training (2nd ed.) (pp. 31–41). Jessica Kingsley.

Bramorski, J. (2012). Muzyka jako paideia. Etyczno-pedagogiczny wymiar muzyki w tradycji antycznej [Music as paideia. The ethical and pedagogical dimension of music in ancient tradition]. In A. Michalski (Ed.), Tożsamość pedagogiki muzyki [The identity of pedagogy] (pp. 13–23). Athenae Gedanenses.

Bryndal, A., & Procter, S. (2012). Muzykoterapia Nordoff-Robins [Nordoff and Robbins music therapy]. In K. Stachyra (Ed.), Modele, metody i podejścia w muzykoterapii [Models, methods and approaches in music therapy] (pp. 15–31). Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Press.

Chen, Q., Mao, C., Qi, L., Luo, Y., Yang, G., Wang, L., Liu, C., Zheng, C., Zhang, J., & Fan, C. (2024). Music-based therapeutic intervention for medical school students with emotional regulation and mental health: A pre-post cohort study. Frontiers in Psychology, 30(15), 1401129. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1401129

Christensen, E. (2019). Music in body and brain. In S. L. Jacobsen, I. N. Pedersen, & L. O. Bonde (Eds.), A comprehensive guide to music therapy: Theory, clinical practice, research and training (2nd ed.) (pp. 52–66). Jessica Kingsley.

Czerniawska, E. (2012). Wprowadzenie. In E. Czerniawska (Ed.). Muzyka i my. O różnych przejawach wpływu muzyki na człowieka [Music and us: About various manifestations of the influence of music on humans] (pp. 7–9). Difin.

De Witte, M. J. (2021). Music interventions for stress reduction [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Amsterdam.

De Witte, M. J., da Silva Pinho, A., Stams, G. J., Moonen, X., Bos, A., & van Hooren, S. (2022). Music therapy for stress reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review, 16(1), 134–159. https://doi.org10.1080/17437199.2020.1846580

Edwards, J. (2016). Music therapy research. Context, methodology, and current and future developments. In J. Edwards (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of music therapy (pp. 709–719). Oxford University Press.

Galińska, E. (2015). Znaczenie muzykoterapii w rehabilitacji neurologicznej [The importance of music therapy in neurological rehabilitation]. Psychiatria Polska, 49(4), 835–846. http://dx.doi.org/10.12740/PP/25557

Gołaszewska, M. (1986). Zarys estetyki [An outline of aesthetics]. PWN.

Juslin P. N., & Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(5) 559–621. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X08005293

Krüger, V., Crooke, A., Solberg, D., & Sæle, E. (2023). Exploring the potential for music therapy to support 21st century education goals: Interviews with six Norwegian teachers. Voices, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v23i1.3642

Leman, M. (2008). Embodied music cognition and mediation technology. MIT Press.

Lewandowski, R. (2014). Homo musicus: Muzyka w relacjach społecznych [Homo musicus: Music in social relations]. In R. Lewandowski & J. Kaleńska-Rodzaj (Eds.), Psychologia muzyki, współczesne konteksty zastosowań [The psychology of music: Contemporary contexts of application] (pp. 15–37). Harmonia Universalis.

Łopaciuk-Goc, K. (2012). W muzycznej sferze marketingu [In the musical sphere of marketing]. In E. Czerniawska (Ed.), Muzyka i my. O różnych przejawach wpływu muzyki na człowieka [Music and us: About various manifestations of the influence of music on humans] (pp. 99–117). Difin.

Łuciuk-Wojczuk, A. (2023). Doświadczenie muzykoterapii w kształtowaniu dorosłości kobiet [The experience of music therapy in shaping adulthood in women] [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Ignatianum University in Cracow.

Makomaska, S. (2020) Efekt ‘tapety akustycznej’ – ekstrawagancja czy strategia? Musique d’ameublement i audiomarketing [The ‘acoustic wallpaper’ effect – extravagance or strategy? Musique d’ameublement and audiomarketing]. In R. Lewandowski & J. Kaleńska-Rodzaj (Eds.), Psychologia muzyki, współczesne konteksty zastosowań [The psychology of music: Contemporary contexts of application] (pp. 133–152). Harmonia Universalis.

Marek, Z. (2017). Pedagogika towarzyszenia. Perspektywa tradycji ignatiańskiej [Pedagogy of accompaniment: The perspective of the Ignatian tradition]. Publishing House of the Ignatianum Academy in Krakow.

Marek, Z., & Walulik, A. (2019). Pedagogika świadectwa. Perspektywa antropologiczno-kerygmatyczna [Pedagogy of witness: The anthropological-kerygmatic perspective]. Publishing House of the Ignatianum Academy in Krakow.

Marek, Z., & Walulik A. (2020). Pedagogika Dobrej Nowiny. Perspektywa katolicka [Pedagogy of the Good News: The Catholic perspective]. Publishing House of the Ignatianum Academy in Krakow.

Migut, M., & Wrzałka, B. (2012). Muzyka a inne rodzaje sztuk [Music and other types of art]. In E. Czerniawska (Ed.), Muzyka i my. O różnych przejawach wpływu muzyki na człowieka [Music and us: About various manifestations of the influence of music on humans] (pp. 41–56). Difin.

Natanson, T. (1978). Wstęp do nauki o muzykoterapii [Introduction to the science of music therapy]. Ossoliński National Institute Publishing House.

Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2003). The do re mi’s of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1236–1256. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.6.1236

Skaalvik, E., & Skaalvik, S. (2016). Teacher stress and teacher self-efficacy as predictors of engagement, emotional exhaustion, and motivation to leave the teaching profession. Creative Education, 7(13), 1785–1799. http://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2016.713182

Stachyra, K. (2012). Rys historyczny muzykoterapii [A historical overview of music therapy]. In K. Stachyra (Ed.), Podstawy muzykoterapii [Fundamentals of music therapy] (pp. 13–26). Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Press.

Thaut, M. H. (2015). Music as therapy in early history. Progress in Brain Research, 217, 143–158. http://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2014.11.025

Vick, R. M. (2014). Krótka historia arteterapii [A brief history of art therapy]. In C. A. Malchiodi (Ed.) Arteterapia podręcznik [Art therapy handbook] (pp. 22–35). Harmonia Universalis.

Wilczek - Rużyczka, E., Kwak, M. & Jurkowska, M. (2019). Stres zawodowy a wypalenie zawodowe u pielęgniarek. Medycyna Ogólna i Nauki o Zdrowiu, 25(1), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.26444/monz/104585

Zentner, M., Grandjean, D., & Scherer, K. R. (2008). Emotions evoked by the sound of music: Characterization, classification, and measurement. Emotion, 8(4) 494–521. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.8.4.494