The place of master theses in music performance education in Sweden: subjects, purposes, justifications

Abstract

ABSTRACT While writing is undeniably an essential part of higher education, in music education, musical performance skills form the core of assessing students’ results. However, higher music education is experiencing growing demands on research activities parallel to heightened requirements on music performance students’ abilities to formulate themselves around their main field of study. This paper turns to theses as discursive acts embedded in higher music education. The present study investigates how master theses construct educational ideals by analysing written components of successfully completed theses within music performance programmes in Sweden. The paper shows that the theses treat a variety of subjects which are justified from five different perspectives: Improve, Succeed, Share, Acclaim or to Discover. Two diametrically opposed kinds of purpose statements are revealed; they appear as either impersonal and distanced or intimate and personal. Influences of traditional academic writing manifest themselves while conservatory ideals around craft, individualism and hierarchies are reproduced. It is argued that the self-exploratory approach – which is a characteristic feature on an overall level – excludes collective knowledge building as well as social perspectives on art and music.