Facilitating the Transition from Student to Professional through Instrumental Teacher Education: A Case Study with Main Reference to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Shaw, Luan (2022) Facilitating the Transition from Student to Professional through Instrumental Teacher Education: A Case Study with Main Reference to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

A skilled music education workforce is essential to ensure longevity of music-making for future generations of young learners. According to the Review of Music Education in England (Henley, 2011), conservatoires have a responsibility to contribute to this workforce development. However, little is yet known about how undergraduate conservatoire students learn to teach.

Through an eclectic methodology (Chapter 2) (Rossman and Wilson, 1994; Aluko, 2006), this doctoral thesis uncovers challenges faced by the conservatoire sector in preparing students for careers that involve instrumental teaching, with main reference made to a case study at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) where the pedagogical training of undergraduate students was investigated across Levels 4–6 of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (Chapters 5, 6). Findings were triangulated with perspectives obtained from academics at six other English conservatoires, as well as from senior leaders across Music Education Hubs in England and RBC alumni (Chapters 3, 4, 7). Thus, the research was underpinned and influenced by multiple communities of practice involving both ‘newcomers’ and ‘old-timers’ (Lave and Wenger, 1991) who, between them, offered numerous ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ perspectives (Reed-Danahay, 2016).

These findings revealed that hegemonic assumptions associated with conservatoire education create barriers to developing the future music education workforce in several ways (Chapter 8).While many RBC students’ outlooks towards teaching as a potential career path were transformed as a result of their engagement with various communities of practice throughout their undergraduate studies, alumni who benefited from similar training as students still considered that they could have been prepared more effectively for their early professional careers. Furthermore, institutional challenges have resulted in inconsistent pedagogical provision across the conservatoire sector and a mismatch between students’ pedagogical training and employer expectations. Recommendations include closer collaboration and dialogue between institutions, employers and alumni, to ensure that conservatoire graduates are trained appropriately to meet the needs of the modern music education sector, both during their studies and as they transition into employment.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 21 October 2021 Submitted 19 May 2022 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	conservatoire, instrumental teaching, higher music education, music pedagogy, student to professional transition, instrumental teacher education, instrumental teacher, music teacher education, musicians' careers, conservatoire alumni
Subjects:	CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-02 - teacher training CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-02 - performing arts > CAH25-02-02 - music
Divisions:	Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Depositing User:	Jaycie Carter
Date Deposited:	21 Jul 2022 15:05
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2022 08:28
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13415