Musical excellence in higher music education according to teachers conceptions

Abstract

The concept of excellence is relevant in the training of musical instrument performers and has evolved within the field of education. Although the notion of excellence can be quite broad depending on different beliefs and social contexts, in education it is understood as a set of skills necessary to achieve specific goals determined by students’ needs and their personal, socio-occupational, and political environment. In higher education, at least three main agents are involved in the teaching-learning process: students, faculty, and institutions (i.e., educational management and administrations). The case studies featured in this paper focus on teachers’ conceptions of the strategies implemented by conservatories and higher schools of music in Spain in the pursuit of musical excellence. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with five innovative, research-oriented music professors, as teachers are key agents who directly influence the teaching-learning process. Our analysis of the emerging categories from the interviews suggests that these teachers have applied innovative methods and approaches in their educational practice, although they are aware that such innovation is not widespread. Conservatories and higher schools of music do not appear to be consistently implementing effective, long-lasting changes; substantial transformations are still required. The results obtained from this research aim to offer proposals for improving teaching in higher music education institutions.