Understanding the Transition from School to University in Music and Music Technology

Abstract

This article considers the transition from school to university in Music and Music Technology, continuing the discussion of transitional issues which began in Volume 2 of Arts and Humanities in Higher Education. The focus of the article is a survey of undergraduates, examining areas that were key to their first experience of studying for a degree, such as entry qualifications, course choice, career prospects, difficult aspects of the course and aspects they felt well-prepared for. These data were supplemented with teacher and lecturer interviews and a university staff questionnaire. The findings demonstrate that student perceptions of undergraduate music study are sometimes at odds with those of the university staff. In the light of the changing nature, interests and needs of these students, it is timely to rethink both what it is intended to achieve and how this is going to be assessed.

Research Skills Immersive Induction: Preparing Widening Participation First Year Students for Undergraduate Art School Study

“…Turner et al (2017) and Lowe & Cooke (2003) have highlighted the wide-reaching challenges faced by students on the journey from secondary to tertiary education, encountering a storm front between two pedagogical zones, with varying and conflicting requirements. Lowe & Cook (2003) and Smith (2004) show how the looming spectre of performance league tables may be pressurising UK secondary schools into strategically aligning their teaching to specific assessment criteria of examinations, what Winterson & Russ (2009) term 'externally determined syllabus'. Often this is to the detriment of pupils developing the self-efficacy (Bandura 1977;Chemers et al 2001;Turner et al 2017) required to become engaged with their area of study in ways beyond the surface and strategic, and inhibiting opportunity for self-directed 'deeper' learning (Marton & S€ alj€ o 1976).…”

Would you credit it? Navigating the transitions between curricular and extra-curricular learning in university music departments

“…For participants, extra-curricular activities can be a source of musical status within the school community, and an opportunity to form strong friendships and an appetite for collective rehearsal and public performance which can lay foundations for lifelong engagement in music (Pitts, 2009). In previous work on UK school-university transition (Pitts, 2002;Winterson and Russ, 2009), engagement in performance activities was shown to be a strong factor in music students' confidence as they started their degree courses. Membership of university ensembles offered an opportunity for students to build relationships and reputations amongst their new peers and lecturers; however, the audition processes attached to such ensembles brought the risk of failure and consequent loss of musical confidence and identity (Burland and Pitts, 2007).…”

Student Success in First-Year University Physics and Mathematics Courses: Does the high-school attended make a difference?

“…Wingate, 2007). Some studies looked specifically at the transition from school to university for students enrolled in Mathematics (Kajander & Lovric, 2005), English (Smith, 2004) or Music courses (Winterson & Russ, 2009). The primary focus of the current paper is to examine student performance in university Physics courses and the extent to which differences are associated with the high school they attended when controlling for school factors and student characteristics.…”