Music graduates and communities of practice
Abstract
In this paper, I present a literature study that provides the theoretical framework for my discussion. The theoretical framework offers a discourse of the broad policy framework relating to higher education and includes analysis and reflection on policy that informs the Bachelor of Music degree. In the literature framework I also discuss research on the topic of graduate music qualifications and how these can inform practice.
Curricula of the tertiary institutions that offer the Bachelor of Music degrees in South Africa do not appear to adequately consider future careers in their degree programmes. Alternatively, institutions have opted for vocational degrees in one field, namely the music industry, to the exclusion of other fields. In this paper I present a possible alternate way of approaching curriculum development so that module outcomes in music curricula are purposefully focused on future careers. By following this approach I contend that music graduates may be more employable, and be active members of communities of practice.
References
Bartleet, B.L., Bennett, D., Bridgstock, R., Draper, P., Harrison, S. &Schippers, H. (2012). Preparing for portfolio careers in
Australian music: setting a research agenda. Australian Journal of Music Education. 1, 32-41.
Bennett, D. (2007). Utopia for music performance graduates. It is achievable, and how should it be defined? British Journal of Music Education. 24(2), 179-189.
Bennett, D. (Ed.). (2012). Life in the real world: How to make music graduates employable. Common Ground Publishing LLC.
Bennett, D., Beeching, A., Perkins, R. , Carruthers, G. & Weller, J. (2012). Music, musicians and careers. In Bennett, D. (Ed.). (2012). Life in the real world: How to make music graduates employable. Common Ground Publishing LLC.pp.3-9.
Bennett, D. (2014) The role of career creativities in developing identity and becoming expert selves. In Burnard, Pamela. [ed] 2014. Developing creativities in higher music education. International perspectives and practices. London: Routledge Research in Higher Education Series.pp.234-244.
Bennett, D., Reid, A. & Rowley, J. (2017). Student musicians' experiences of reflexivity during internships: personal narratives and complex modalities. International Journal of Music. 3593), 460-475.
Bridgstock, R. (2005). Australian artists, starving and well-nourished: what can we learn from the prototypical protean career? Australian Journal of Career Development. Vol. 14(3), 40-48.
Bridgstock, R. (2009). The graduate attributes we’ve overlooked: enhancing graduate employability through career management skills. Higher Education Research and Development. Vol 28(1), 31-44.
Bridgstock, R. (2011). Skills for creative graduate success. Education and Training. 53(1), 9-26.
Burnard, P. (2012).Musical creativities in practice. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Burnard, P. (2014). Championing the significance of creativities in higher music education. In Burnard, Pamela. [ed] 2014. Developing creativities in higher music education. International perspectives and practices. London: Routledge Research in Higher Education Series.pp. 3- 10.
Carey, G. & Lebler, D. (2012). Reforming a Bachelor of Music programme: A case study. International Journal of Music Education. 1-16.
Carruthers, G. (2012). Musicians in society. Making the connection. InBennett, D. (Ed.). (2012). Life in the real world: How to make music graduates employable. Common Ground Publishing LLC.pp. 79-97.
CHE (2013). A proposal for undergraduate curriculum reform in South Africa: the case for a flexible curriculum structure. Retrieved January 11, 2015 from http://www.che.ac.za/
CHE (2016). South African higher education reviewed. Two decades of democracy.
Retrieved August 23, 2017 from http://www.che.ac.za/
Delanty, G. (2001) Challenging knowledge. The university in the knowledge society. Buckingham: Open University Press.
De Villiers, A.C. (2016).Peer reviewed International Conference Proceedings Publication, ISME Commission in Birmingham, UK. “Adapt or die in the creative arts: the case for protean careers”.
Evans, M. (2004).Killing thinking. London: Continuum.
Fallows, S. & Steven, C. (2000). Building employability skills into the higher education curriculum: a university-wide initiative. Education and Training, Vol. 42(2), 75-83.
Government Gazette (2015).Revised policy on the minimum requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Ginsberg, B. (2011).The fall of the faculty. The rise of the all-administrative university and why it matters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Griesel, H. & Parker, B. (2009). Graduate attributes. A baseline study on South African graduates from the perspective of employers. Pretoria: Higher Education South Africa - HESA.
Gutmann, A.(1987).Democratic Education. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hall, D.T. (1996). Protean careers of the 21st century. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005), Vol. 10(4), 8-16.
https://www.mandela.ac.za. Retrieved 1 September, 2017.
https://www.nmmu.ac.za. Retrieved 20 May, 2016.
https://www.schoolguide.co.za. Retrieved 1 September, 2017.
Kivinen, O. (2002) Higher learning in an age of uncertainty. In Enders, J. & Fulton, O. [eds.] Higher education in a globalizing world. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 191-206.
Leal, S.R. (2014).Tertiary music education in South Africa: meeting the needs of music students and the music industry. University of Pretoria: Unpublished Masters dissertation.
Lebler, D. (2007) Student-as-master? Reflections on a learning innovation in popular music pedagogy. International Journal of Music Education, Vol 25(3), 205-221.
Lebler, D., Burt-Perkins, R., & Carey, G. (2009). What students bring: examining the attributes of commencing conservatoire students. International Journal of Music Education, Vol 27(3), 232-249.
Lebler, D. & Weston, D. (2015). Staying in sync: Keeping popular music pedagogy relevant to an evolving music industry. Journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, Vol. 5(1), 124-138.
Ministry of Education. (2001). Draft National Plan for higher education in South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Perkins, R. (2012). Rethinking ‘career’ for music students. Identity and vision. In Bennett, D. (Ed.). (2012). Life in the real world: How to make music graduates employable. Common Ground Publishing LLC.pp. 11-26.
Peters, M.A. (2004). Higher education, globalization and the knowledge economy. In Walker, M. & Nixon, J. (eds.) (2004). Reclaiming universities from a runaway world. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Peters, M.A. (2010) Re-imagining the university in the global era. Policy Futures in Education, Vol.8(2), 151-165.
Pocklington, T. & Tupper, A. (2002).No place to learn. Why universities aren't working. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Readings, B. (1996). The university in ruins. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Renshaw, P. (2002). Remaking the conservatorium agenda. Retrieved October 14, 2015 from http://musicinaustralia.org.au/
Rolfe, G. (2013) The university in dissent. Scholarship in the corporate university. London: Routledge.
SAQA 2016. Bachelor of Music. Retrieved January 11, 2016 from http://allqa.saqa.org.za/
South Africa (1996). Constitution of South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printer.
South Africa (2011)a National Development Plan 2030. SA: Government Printer.
South Africa (2011).b Higher Education Funding in South Africa. SA: Government Printer.
Walker, M. & Nixon, J.[eds] (2004).Reclaiming universities from a runaway world. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Wenger, E. (1998).Communities of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (2015) Music. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from https://www.nmmu.ac.za/
University of Kwazulu-Natal (2015) Discipline of Music. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://music.ukzn.ac.za/
University of Cape Town (2015) Introducing the Faculty of Humanities. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://www.uct.ac.za/
Rhodes University (2015) Music and Musicology. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://www.ru.ac.za/
University of Free State (2015) Faculty of the Humanities. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://humanities.ufs.ac.za/
Stellenbosch University (2015) Faculty of Arts. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://www.sun.ac.za/
University of Pretoria (2015) Music. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://www.up.ac.za/
University of the Witwatersrand (2015) Wits Music Prospectus 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015 from http://www.wits.ac.za/
North West University (2015) Music. Retrieved on November 11, 20
North West University (2015) Music. Retrieved on November 11, 2015 from http://nwumusic.co.za/
Tshwane University of Technology (2016) Faculty of the Arts. Retrieved on 19 February, 2016 from http://www.tut.ac.za/Prospectus/2016/faculties/arts.htm
Copyright (c) 2019 Alethea Cassandra de Villiers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors, copyright holders, may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors' publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: This is an electronic version of an article published in SAJHE, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX “XXX", DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/SAJHE) may be found.
Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University Institutional Repository SUNScholar.
Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
