Higher Music Education in Transition

Higher Music Education in Transition

NNMPF 2009

Airi Hirvonen, PhD

University of Oulu

Department of Educational Sciences and Teacher Education

Degree Programme in Music Education

Abstract

The background of the study lies in the changes which have taken place in the Finnish educational system since the 1990’s. These changes have also had a strong impact on music education. The education of instrumental pedagogues, for instance, has moved from the conservatoires to the universities of applied sciences (higher music education). This change has placed new demands on the working skills and qualifications of teachers who educate instrumental pedagogues. Many teachers have had to educate themselves further academically and qualify themselves for project-based work. According to the present professional requirements, research and development (R&D) and active contacts with working life are also seen as essential parts of their work. Project-based work is a new element in the work of instrumental pedagogues and requires, among other things, knowledge of different kinds of funding resources. In many cases the music education that the pedagogues have received earlier has not given them sufficient readiness to meet all the demands mentioned above. There is a transition under way in the content of the work and the whole working culture of instrumental pedagogues.

Furthermore, continuing curriculum work, increased internationality and teaching in foreign languages pose new challenges to work. Teaching in foreign languages provides the prerequisites for increased internalisation of education which is nowadays one of the crucial goals in educational policy. In curriculum work, the pedagogues should be able to notice the diverse needs of working life and for example the new technologies in education. Increasing virtual studies is one of the current tasks in every field of education. When distance and e-learning become common in rural areas, the accessibility of people becomes much more intensive. The new technologies in education create new possibilities for lifelong learning also in the field of music. The traditional working culture of the educational institutions may not have supported the instrumental pedagogues to reach adequate abilities to meet all of these new demands which pose many challenges to the careers of instrumental pedagogues in higher music education.

The research scheme of this study can be defined in the following research problems:

1How do the teachers of higher music education at the universities of applied sciences construct their professional identities as the educational system is changing?

1.1 What do the teachers narrate about their work in the change?

1.2 What do the teachers narrate about the education that they have got earlier and its compatibility with the present working skills requirements?

2 How can in-service training support the construction of the teachers' professional identities?

2.1 What kind of in-service training do the teachers narrate they need?

2.2 What do the directors of higher music education institutions narrate about the need for in-service training among the teachers?

In this study the construction of the professional identities of instrumental pedagogues is examined as a theoretical and social question. The present state of their professional skills and knowledge and the need for their development are discussed. The study will be conducted using collaborative methods at the institutions of higher music education. The study will be carried out using a narrative approach and the data will be collected by narrative interviews with teachers and school directors. This makes it possible to produce knowledge together on the present state and working culture of the teachers in the transition of higher music education. The practical aim of this study is to develop the education of instrumental pedagogues and in-service training based on this knowledge in cooperation with the Finnish educational organisations. This study is related to the SibeliusAcademy's instrumental pedagogy development project supported by the Ministry of Education and the Finnish-Norwegian Cultural Foundation.

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