Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university
Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613990305136640 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Walters, Caroline Althea |
| author2 | Rennie-Salonen, Bridget |
| author_browse | Rennie-Salonen, Bridget Walters, Caroline Althea |
| author_facet | Rennie-Salonen, Bridget Walters, Caroline Althea |
| author_sort | Walters, Caroline Althea |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/127401 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:44:55.028Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/127401 Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university Walters, Caroline Althea Rennie-Salonen, Bridget Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Music. Employability Students -- Employment -- South Africa Musicians -- Employment Music literacy Universities and colleges -- Graduate students -- Employment Higher education institutions UCTD Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The challenges of transitioning from graduate to professional musician are well-documented with literature highlighting the need for higher education institutions (HEIs) to provide broader career preparation for music students entering a complex music industry, characterised by portfolio and protean careers. Studies indicate that investigating students’ perceptions of their employability provides nuanced insights into students’ study-related confidence, their perceived future employability, and factors influencing their employability. In South Africa (SA), while there is research which explores HEI music curriculum reform and the characteristics of musicians’ work, there are no known studies on employability perceptions among SA music students. This research investigated music students’ employability perceptions, and their career and study- related confidence. Undergraduate and postgraduate music students at a SA university completed a demographic survey and Bennett’s (2018b) employABILITY self-assessment tool based on Bennett’s (2018b) Literacies for Life (L4L) framework. Participants were prompted to apply reflective and agentic thinking while self-assessing their abilities according to the six literacies outlined in the L4L measure: basic literacy; personal and critical literacy; rhetorical literacy; emotional literacy; occupational literacy; and ethical, cultural, and social literacy. The open-ended descriptive questions were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) by identifying and analysing themes within the data, enabling an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the dataset. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS to determine the weighted mean of each literacy domain from the L4L framework. The findings indicate that students are strongly motivated to pursue a career in music, but are less confident in their ability to obtain graduate-level work. Some students proactively applied employability development strategies, indicating that some students are aware of the need for career preparation. However, it was evident that some students held unrealistic expectations concerning their careers. There appeared to be a consensus among students that HEIs can provide more career preparation by establishing relevance between coursework and industry realities and that there is a need to provide better support for students experiencing study-related stress and mental health problems. The findings from this study will provide urgently needed and applicable new research data in SA, a country grappling with pervasive socioeconomic, workplace, and educational inequalities. The findings may enable a better understanding of the purpose, content, and relevance of music curricula, and importantly, how to equip music students to be more agentic, adaptable, and proactive learners. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die uitdagings van die oorgang van gegradueerde tot professionele musikus is goed geboekstaaf en dui op die noodsaaklikheid dat hoëronderwys-instellings (HOI's) meer wydlopende loopbaanvoorbereiding moet bied aan musiekstudente wat ʼn komplekse industrie betree, gekenmerk deur portefeulje- en aanpasbare-individuele loopbane. Studies dui daarop dat die ondersoek na studente se opvattings omtrent hul indiensneembaarheid genuanseerde insigte bied omtrent studente se studieverwante selfversekering, hul toekomstige indiensneming, en die faktore wat dit beïnvloed. In Suid-Afrika (SA), hoewel daar navorsing is oor die hervorming van die HOI- musiekkurrikulum en die kenmerke van musici se werk, is daar na wete geen studies oor die persepsies van SA musiekstudente oor hul indiensneembaarheid nie. Díe navorsing ondersoek SA musiekstudente se persepsies omtrent indiensneembaarheid, en hul loopbaan- en studieverwante selfvertroue. Voorgraadse en nagraadse musiekstudente aan ‘n SA universiteit het ‘n demografiese opname voltooi asook Bennett se (2018b) employABILITY self- assessment tool, wat gegrond is op Bennett (2018b) se raamwerk Literacies for Life (L4L). Deelnemers is aangemoedig om refleksiewe en selfgeldende denkwyses te beoefen terwyl hulle hul eie vermoëns evalueer na aanleiding van die ses geletterhede wat in die L4L-raamwerk uiteengesit is: basiese geletterdheid; persoonlike en kritiese geletterdheid; retoriese geletterdheid; emosionele geletterdheid; beroepsgeletterdheid; en etiese, kulturele en maatskaplike geletterdheid. Die oop beskrywende vrae is ontleed aan die hand van tematiese ontleding (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Temas in die data is geïdentifiseer en ontleed, wat ʼn diepgaande en omvattende begrip van die datastel moontlik gemaak het. Die kwantitatiewe data is ontleed met die program SPSS om die geweegde gemiddelde van elke geletterdheidsdomein van die L4L-raamwerk te bepaal. Die bevindinge dui aan dat studente hoogs gemotiveerd is om ʼn loopbaan in musiek na te jaag, maar hulle is minder seker in hul vermoëom werk te kry in ooreenstemming met hul kwalifikasievlak. Sommige studente het proaktief indiensneembaarheidontwikkelingstrategieëtoegepas, wat aandui dat sommige studente bewus is van die noodsaaklikheid van loopbaanvoorbereiding. Maar dit was duidelik dat sommige studente onrealistiese verwagtinge omtrent hul loopbane gekoester het. Dit wil voorkom dat daar konsensus onder studente is dat HOI’s meer loopbaanvoorbereiding kan verskaf deur ʼn nouer verband te vestig tussen kursuswerk en werklikhede van die industrie. Daar is ook ʼn behoefte aan beter ondersteuning vir studente wat studieverwante stres en geestesgesondheidsprobleme ervaar. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie sal dringend noodsaaklik en toepaslike nuwe navorsingsdata in SA verskaf, ʼn land wat worstel met verreikende sosio- maatskaplike, werkplek- en opvoedkundige ongelykhede. Die bevindinge kan ook aanleiding gee tot ʼn beter begrip van die doel, inhoud en toepaslikheid van musiekkurrikula, en belangriker nog, hoe om musiekstudente toe te rus om meer selfgeldendheid, aanpasbare en proaktiewe leerders te wees. Masters 2023-03-05T21:24:05Z 2023-05-18T07:20:19Z 2023-03-05T21:24:05Z 2023-05-18T07:20:19Z 2023-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/127401 en_ZA Stellenbosch University x, 86 pages : illustrations (some color) application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Employability Students -- Employment -- South Africa Musicians -- Employment Music literacy Universities and colleges -- Graduate students -- Employment Higher education institutions UCTD Walters, Caroline Althea Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university |
| title | Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university |
| title_full | Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university |
| title_fullStr | Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university |
| title_short | Self-perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a South African university |
| title_sort | self perceptions of graduate employability among music students at a south african university |
| topic | Employability Students -- Employment -- South Africa Musicians -- Employment Music literacy Universities and colleges -- Graduate students -- Employment Higher education institutions UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/127401 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT walterscarolinealthea selfperceptionsofgraduateemployabilityamongmusicstudentsatasouthafricanuniversity |