Fundamentos metodológicos

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planning to do so within the next two years. The sample consisted of seven males and thirteen females, and included six mature students who had a break of more than two years from education.

The majority of interviews took place in person6_{, however, due to logistical}

difficulties two interviews were conducted over Skype. The interview schedule consisted of three main sections: a warm up biographical section; a discussion surrounding the

participants’ current, or intended masters and motivations to study; and a final section on their future plans.

Warm up

The questionnaire began with some warm up questions which aimed to discover each participant’s motivations to study music at university. In order to understand participants’ current situations and beliefs it is important to appreciate what led them to begin studying music. This section also covered the participants’ past university experiences within music, including reasons for their choices of master’s institution.

Master’s degree

For prospective students, the next section of the interview considered expectations for postgraduate study and motivations for continuing study. For current students, the questions focused on their master’s degree, to what extent this had matched their

expectations, and any skills they believed they had gained. These topics were chosen with an aim to discover the motivations for studying a master’s degree, whether expectations matched the outcomes, and what participants felt they gained from the master’s degree itself.

Future plans

The final section of the interview focused on participants’ expectations and plans for their future, how they believed a master’s degree would impact upon their career, and how well prepared they felt for leaving education. These topics were chosen in an attempt to uncover how the master’s degree fit into the wider context of the participants’ lives, and to explore how aware participants were of the broader impact of their studying. The interview finished with an opportunity for the participants to add any comments they felt had not been covered by the interview.

6 _{with travel costs funded by SEMPRE}

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Through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the interviews the following themes were developed in order to describe the data: Self-concept; Role of others; Need for

more time; External priorities; and the Transitional process. Participants were motivated to

study a master’s degree by employability factors, whilst their interest in music drew them to study the particular subject. Love of music alone was not enough to motivate students to continue academic study; other factors such as interest in research, employability prospects, social factors, and a desire for more time before beginning a career also played significant roles. The students were therefore motivated by an interaction between intrinsic interest and extrinsic factors.

The theme of the Self-concept reflected the impact of individuals’ coping

mechanisms, interests, self-belief and self-concept on their motivations. Students were more likely to be motivated to study when they felt academically capable, interested in the subject area, and believed that the course would enable them to move towards positive possible selves (or at least delay the uncertainty of leaving education). The role of others was highlighted throughout the transcripts with many wanting to feel part of a community, and for the younger students the desire to remain in their current lifestyle with current

friendship groups was a strong motivator to study. External priorities were a motivator in the sense that they impacted upon decisions relating to the timing, mode of study and location of institution. Such external priorities included the desire to remain near family, friends and partners and maintain commitments in each case. The theme of Need for more time was surprising and highlighted the importance of ensuring students are aware of skills gained during their course, possible career paths and what to expect from both undergraduate and postgraduate study. The theme highlighted the fact that for many the master’s was seen as a stepping stone between university and work, either because they wanted to use it to

prepare further for their chosen career or because they lacked career plans. This emphasised the importance of career advice and support during the master’s degree for those students who lacked the confidence or strategies needed to develop realistic career plans.

The students’ coping methods were vital in the transition into and from

postgraduate study, resulting in either an unsatisfactory, dislocated transition, or in the students feeling sufficiently confident and self-aware of their own skills and experience to pursue their future careers. Those with proactive attitudes were often uncertain about their future and so used the master’s degree as a starting point to give themselves more time, experience and opportunity to gain skills and plan their future careers. Participants

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displaying helpless coping methods seemed to use their uncertainty over what to do next as a reason to study and viewed the master’s degree as an end in itself, with the hope it would lead to job opportunities and a career path.

The 2012 study provided a greater understanding of the motivations to study

postgraduate music degrees whilst also offering methodological insights, which are discussed below. However, due to time constraints, the 2012 research was narrow in its focus,

therefore the current study aimed to expand upon this by using longitudinal methods to explore students’ experiences of, and transitions surrounding, their master’s degrees.

Within the current educational climate the need to understand students’ expectations and experiences is paramount in order to develop fitting institutional provision. Past research within this area is obviously lacking, however, what research there is highlights the importance of interactive motivations for choosing what, where, when and how to study. Identities are highlighted throughout the literature as an important factor in students’ transitions and experiences, as the process of learning coupled with experiences gained whilst studying can facilitate transformation and movement towards more ideal possible selves. However, as part of this process uncertainty is raised, and individuals must have appropriate coping mechanisms in order to effectively manage the transition. Social factors are highlighted throughout the literature as being important for providing support,

encouragement, and enabling individuals to better understand their own abilities and interests. The literature review highlights the student experience as developing through an interactive relationship between personal and social factors. Therefore, the chosen social psychology perspective appears appropriate within the current thesis.

Whilst past research has begun to explore postgraduate students’ and music students’ experiences, there is currently a gap which the current thesis hopes to address by exploring the experiences of music students on university master’s degrees which do not contain a formal music making element. This group of music students has previously been overlooked in the literature despite being found within many university music departments, therefore a discussion of their experiences will enable a deeper understanding of the music cohort. Whilst music students may face unique experiences in some ways (see 2.1.2), the potential implications of the current findings are likely to reach beyond music and have relevance for students studying sports and performing arts courses.

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3 : Method

This chapter explains the research method used within the current thesis to observe student and higher education perspectives of taught postgraduate music degrees. The approaches taken by past studies related to the thesis topic are discussed, many of which adopted quantitative or cross-sectional methods. Studies from a range of areas have been observed to provide a context for the current thesis, including literature on musicians’ career

transitions and postgraduates’ experiences of study. Following this, the aims of the thesis are presented alongside the benefits of using a qualitative, longitudinal method as opposed to quantitative or cross-sectional approaches. An outline of the whole study is provided, before more detail on the materials and participants involved. Finally, the procedure undertaken and the methods used for analysis are described.

A number of studies have observed the career transitions of musicians, of particular interest here are the longitudinal studies by Burland (2005) and Manturzewska (1990). The Burland study observed the transition out of undergraduate degrees, whilst Manturzewska

considered musicians’ careers over a longer time period.

Burland (2005) observed music students’ experiences during the two years spanning their final year as undergraduates into the year following graduation. Interviews were conducted at three month intervals during the students’ career transition in order to understand how their musical participation and career goals developed. The study utilised a mixed method approach, with qualitative semi-structured interviews being conducted in phases one, two and eight, whilst more structured interviews were conducted during phases three to seven. The final phase was semi-structured to enable an in-depth discussion of the students’ perceptions of the past two years. Burland conducted the first phase of interviews in-person in order to develop a sense of rapport with participants, whilst many of the interviews in the later phases were conducted over the telephone as participants moved away from their initial locations. The study demonstrates the richness of data which can be obtained on the telephone, particularly when a sense of rapport has been established during initial in-person interviews. Burland's study offers a useful model for the current thesis by providing a method for obtaining in-depth data on students’ experiences during a

transitional period.