Discourses of Academization and the Music Profession in Higher Music Education
Higher music education across Europe is under pressure. Processes of academization along with changes in musical life in society are challenging this expert culture. To fulfil the new academic tasks music institutions must stimulate research activities within the context of artistic practice. Also, the employability agenda has progressed far. Higher music education faces the task of educating competent musicians who can carry traditions but also are entrepreneurs with the skills to run a small business. A complex web of questions arises: arts practices vs. academic research; the relevance for society vs. the autonomy of art. This leads to strong debates marked by conflicting views.
The purpose of this project is to investigate how processes of academization affect performing musician programmes across Europe. In order to do this we will explore contrasting perspectives on performing musicians' expertise and societal mandate. The data will consist of official documents and interviews with leaders and teachers in Sweden, Norway and Germany. We will combine discourse analysis and professional theories to analyse which notions of competence, research and views of the music profession that are negotiated and renegotiated. The analyses will be performed against the background of different traditions, value systems and institutions. By doing so we are able to compare contradictions, similarities and differences on the institutional, national and international level.
The purpose of this project is to investigate how processes of academization affect performing musician programmes across Europe. In order to do this we will explore contrasting perspectives on performing musicians' expertise and societal mandate. The data will consist of official documents and interviews with leaders and teachers in Sweden, Norway and Germany. We will combine discourse analysis and professional theories to analyse which notions of competence, research and views of the music profession that are negotiated and renegotiated. The analyses will be performed against the background of different traditions, value systems and institutions. By doing so we are able to compare contradictions, similarities and differences on the institutional, national and international level.
Final report
PURPOSE AND DEVELOPMENT
The overall purpose of this project was to investigate how processes of academization affect performing musician programmes across Europe. In order to do this, we have identified and analysed how notions of (i) competence, knowledge and research activities, and (ii) the music profession are negotiated and renegotiated. We have also, against the background of different traditions, (iii) compared contradictions, similarities and differences at institutional, national and international levels.
Purpose and research questions are the same as in the application. However, the empirical material has been supplemented with a Swedish substudy based on, among other things, interviews with master students and a multimodal analysis of websites. The material has enabled a comparative analysis between students’, leaders’ and teachers' perceptions of performing arts education and artistic practice in relation to research. The substudy became possible when we, through the vice-chancellor’s strategic funding, were able to connect a doctoral student at Örebro University to the DAPHME project. Through direct government funding for research, a research appointment has also been linked to the German substudy. The fact that the project was somewhat expanded has contributed to both an enhanced and in-depth analysis of the empirical data.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The study consists of material from; (i) semi-structured in-depth interviews with 36 institutional leaders and teachers (professors and senior lecturers) at 10 Schools of Music in Sweden, Norway, and Germany, (ii) in-depth interviews with six Swedish music students at master level, (iii) multimodal analyses of websites, (iv) a systematic review of discourse theoretical studies within the area of music education, (v) a review of self-evaluations, course syllabi and policy documents from all participating music academies, (vi) mapping of European policy documents such as the Polifonia working group papers and the Polifonia research catalogue.
The project has progressed according to the four phases described in the application, but due to disease with some extension in time. The corona pandemic in the spring of 2020 and onwards meant that the planned content in the final phase had to be reduced (see below). Between 2016 and 2020, the DAPHME group held two to three project seminars, two to four working days each, per semester. Altogether, 20 meetings were held, of which 13 were physical and seven online. The content of the seminars has followed the development of the project: from planning, discussions of part results, over analytical work to publications. Planning of conference contributions has been dealt with separately via e-mail/online. The DAPHME group has organized two workshops with the international reference group, both in 2017, when the group's input was most urgent and relevant.
THE PROJECT’S THREE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
Initially, it is worth noting that the overall results of the DAPHME project have generated new knowledge of great significance for international research. Cross-institutional, future-oriented networks aiming at articulating strategies and methods for learning and creating music in higher music education (HME) have been initiated across Europe. Members of such networks have published practice-based studies on conservatory education and learning related to the “music industry”. There are however few scholarly empirical studies on classical music education and the music profession.
1) The function of education
This study shows that it is still taken for granted that HME programmes in music performance should educate technically skilled musicians with a great ability for artistic expression. Striking results are, however, the intense focus on language skills, and the absence of explicitly voiced severe scepticism against this change of curriculum. Skills in verbal communication and writing are considered necessary in times with an increasing focus on entrepreneurship, where musicians need to be able to create unique profiles and “put themselves on the market”. An important, though not unexpected, aspect of this finding is that such competences are almost exclusively tied to individual artistry. It is assumed that students will develop language skills by reflecting on their own artistic development, personal challenges, and future professional role. Reflection is thus viewed as a method for self-improvement and self-observation for individual success while critical reflection on social, political and ethical, and partly also aesthetic, issues related to music and stage life are overridden.
2) The function of research
The study provides important insights into the function of research. First, significant differences were observed between the participating countries. In the Swedish, and to some extent the Norwegian, data, artistic research is motivated by its potential to develop a common professional area of knowledge. In the German data, on the other hand, it is described as irrelevant to talk about musicians' artistic practice in terms of research. Rather, ‘bildung’ is seen as the foundation from which a professional musician develops. Secondly, research is constructed as an activity for teachers and artistic researchers, while ideas about its function in education at the undergraduate and advanced level are largely absent. In Sweden, artistic research is articulated as established, but this image must be problematized. There are tensions between different ideas about what constitutes valid knowledge, but the data is characterized by what might be called a "negotiated consensus". Herein lies a discursive limitation; it is no longer politically correct to openly voice complaints about the ongoing transformation. In Norway, there are clearer tensions between artistic creation, technical skills and research. In order for research to have value, it is emphasized that the research ought to be conducted by renowned musicians. At the same time, there is a strong doubt that musical excellence can be maintained if requirements for a three-part competence such as musician-teacher-researcher are realized. The views are articulated in terms of a de-professionalization process, where the schools of music risk losing both prestige and competence.
3) The musician's / music's function in society
One unanticipated, and important, finding was that the traditional tension between the ‘autonomy of art’ and the heterotelic elements of professional thinking was not recognized to any substantial extent. Our material does contain a few traces of ideas attempting to problematize the intrinsic value of art, its freedom from instrumentality and societal relevance. However, these ideas rather connote to a certain organizational climate and a resistance to academic bureaucracy, than to the critical function of art. In the German data, the term 'authentic musicians' is used, and the perception of musicians as artists – who by definition are free from market demands – is very much alive. However, the concept’s meaning is renegotiated. An authentic musician is expected to resist market adaptation, but through qualities carried by an entrepreneur.
NEW RESEARCH QUESTIONS
While the project has generated comprehensive material on the establishment of artistic research and its problem areas, there is a great need to further study the function of research in fine arts education and profession.
So far, there are no studies specifically designed to address the research base in contemporary higher music education. What is now needed is a study investigating the use and function of research at undergraduate and advanced levels, as well as in students’ aspirations to become professional musicians.
In addition, there is a need for cross-national studies concerning three interrelated issues on political governance and how national context and different strategies affect the establishment of research-based professional practices:
Firstly, further studies should analyze policy initiatives for knowledge management and development in higher fine arts education and in what ways these have affected different subject areas within and outside academia.
Secondly, further studies should examine how the academizisation of higher music education, and, more specifically, the role of musician-researchers in professional activities, is perceived by representatives of e.g. concert halls, orchestras and the public sector.
Thirdly, further studies should explore political dimensions regarding the task of artistic research, its societal function and impact on cultural life.
STRATEGIES OF DISSEMINATION
The DAPHME project is an international collaboration that has attracted a great deal of attention within several HME networks in Europe. For example, we have been invited to hold a panel discussion and a workshop for rectors and educational leaders at institutions affiliated with the Association des Conservatories, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC). At the well-attended workshop, DAPHME results were discussed both in smaller groups and in plenary sessions. The DAPHME project has around 30 accepted papers at more than a dozen research conferences in Europe and the USA. An international conference at Örebro University, closing the project, was cancelled due to covid19. Besides presentations at a large number of seminars in various disciplines on undergraduate and graduate level, results from the project have also been presented to officials at authorities such as the Swedish Higher Education Authority (Universitetskanslersämbetet, UKÄ). Participation in international media is planned for spring 2021. Results from the project are published in high-ranking international journals and anthologies. All articles are published open access (Gold or Green OA with parallel publication), available to anyone free of charge and without technical or legal obstacles.
The overall purpose of this project was to investigate how processes of academization affect performing musician programmes across Europe. In order to do this, we have identified and analysed how notions of (i) competence, knowledge and research activities, and (ii) the music profession are negotiated and renegotiated. We have also, against the background of different traditions, (iii) compared contradictions, similarities and differences at institutional, national and international levels.
Purpose and research questions are the same as in the application. However, the empirical material has been supplemented with a Swedish substudy based on, among other things, interviews with master students and a multimodal analysis of websites. The material has enabled a comparative analysis between students’, leaders’ and teachers' perceptions of performing arts education and artistic practice in relation to research. The substudy became possible when we, through the vice-chancellor’s strategic funding, were able to connect a doctoral student at Örebro University to the DAPHME project. Through direct government funding for research, a research appointment has also been linked to the German substudy. The fact that the project was somewhat expanded has contributed to both an enhanced and in-depth analysis of the empirical data.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The study consists of material from; (i) semi-structured in-depth interviews with 36 institutional leaders and teachers (professors and senior lecturers) at 10 Schools of Music in Sweden, Norway, and Germany, (ii) in-depth interviews with six Swedish music students at master level, (iii) multimodal analyses of websites, (iv) a systematic review of discourse theoretical studies within the area of music education, (v) a review of self-evaluations, course syllabi and policy documents from all participating music academies, (vi) mapping of European policy documents such as the Polifonia working group papers and the Polifonia research catalogue.
The project has progressed according to the four phases described in the application, but due to disease with some extension in time. The corona pandemic in the spring of 2020 and onwards meant that the planned content in the final phase had to be reduced (see below). Between 2016 and 2020, the DAPHME group held two to three project seminars, two to four working days each, per semester. Altogether, 20 meetings were held, of which 13 were physical and seven online. The content of the seminars has followed the development of the project: from planning, discussions of part results, over analytical work to publications. Planning of conference contributions has been dealt with separately via e-mail/online. The DAPHME group has organized two workshops with the international reference group, both in 2017, when the group's input was most urgent and relevant.
THE PROJECT’S THREE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
Initially, it is worth noting that the overall results of the DAPHME project have generated new knowledge of great significance for international research. Cross-institutional, future-oriented networks aiming at articulating strategies and methods for learning and creating music in higher music education (HME) have been initiated across Europe. Members of such networks have published practice-based studies on conservatory education and learning related to the “music industry”. There are however few scholarly empirical studies on classical music education and the music profession.
1) The function of education
This study shows that it is still taken for granted that HME programmes in music performance should educate technically skilled musicians with a great ability for artistic expression. Striking results are, however, the intense focus on language skills, and the absence of explicitly voiced severe scepticism against this change of curriculum. Skills in verbal communication and writing are considered necessary in times with an increasing focus on entrepreneurship, where musicians need to be able to create unique profiles and “put themselves on the market”. An important, though not unexpected, aspect of this finding is that such competences are almost exclusively tied to individual artistry. It is assumed that students will develop language skills by reflecting on their own artistic development, personal challenges, and future professional role. Reflection is thus viewed as a method for self-improvement and self-observation for individual success while critical reflection on social, political and ethical, and partly also aesthetic, issues related to music and stage life are overridden.
2) The function of research
The study provides important insights into the function of research. First, significant differences were observed between the participating countries. In the Swedish, and to some extent the Norwegian, data, artistic research is motivated by its potential to develop a common professional area of knowledge. In the German data, on the other hand, it is described as irrelevant to talk about musicians' artistic practice in terms of research. Rather, ‘bildung’ is seen as the foundation from which a professional musician develops. Secondly, research is constructed as an activity for teachers and artistic researchers, while ideas about its function in education at the undergraduate and advanced level are largely absent. In Sweden, artistic research is articulated as established, but this image must be problematized. There are tensions between different ideas about what constitutes valid knowledge, but the data is characterized by what might be called a "negotiated consensus". Herein lies a discursive limitation; it is no longer politically correct to openly voice complaints about the ongoing transformation. In Norway, there are clearer tensions between artistic creation, technical skills and research. In order for research to have value, it is emphasized that the research ought to be conducted by renowned musicians. At the same time, there is a strong doubt that musical excellence can be maintained if requirements for a three-part competence such as musician-teacher-researcher are realized. The views are articulated in terms of a de-professionalization process, where the schools of music risk losing both prestige and competence.
3) The musician's / music's function in society
One unanticipated, and important, finding was that the traditional tension between the ‘autonomy of art’ and the heterotelic elements of professional thinking was not recognized to any substantial extent. Our material does contain a few traces of ideas attempting to problematize the intrinsic value of art, its freedom from instrumentality and societal relevance. However, these ideas rather connote to a certain organizational climate and a resistance to academic bureaucracy, than to the critical function of art. In the German data, the term 'authentic musicians' is used, and the perception of musicians as artists – who by definition are free from market demands – is very much alive. However, the concept’s meaning is renegotiated. An authentic musician is expected to resist market adaptation, but through qualities carried by an entrepreneur.
NEW RESEARCH QUESTIONS
While the project has generated comprehensive material on the establishment of artistic research and its problem areas, there is a great need to further study the function of research in fine arts education and profession.
So far, there are no studies specifically designed to address the research base in contemporary higher music education. What is now needed is a study investigating the use and function of research at undergraduate and advanced levels, as well as in students’ aspirations to become professional musicians.
In addition, there is a need for cross-national studies concerning three interrelated issues on political governance and how national context and different strategies affect the establishment of research-based professional practices:
Firstly, further studies should analyze policy initiatives for knowledge management and development in higher fine arts education and in what ways these have affected different subject areas within and outside academia.
Secondly, further studies should examine how the academizisation of higher music education, and, more specifically, the role of musician-researchers in professional activities, is perceived by representatives of e.g. concert halls, orchestras and the public sector.
Thirdly, further studies should explore political dimensions regarding the task of artistic research, its societal function and impact on cultural life.
STRATEGIES OF DISSEMINATION
The DAPHME project is an international collaboration that has attracted a great deal of attention within several HME networks in Europe. For example, we have been invited to hold a panel discussion and a workshop for rectors and educational leaders at institutions affiliated with the Association des Conservatories, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC). At the well-attended workshop, DAPHME results were discussed both in smaller groups and in plenary sessions. The DAPHME project has around 30 accepted papers at more than a dozen research conferences in Europe and the USA. An international conference at Örebro University, closing the project, was cancelled due to covid19. Besides presentations at a large number of seminars in various disciplines on undergraduate and graduate level, results from the project have also been presented to officials at authorities such as the Swedish Higher Education Authority (Universitetskanslersämbetet, UKÄ). Participation in international media is planned for spring 2021. Results from the project are published in high-ranking international journals and anthologies. All articles are published open access (Gold or Green OA with parallel publication), available to anyone free of charge and without technical or legal obstacles.