Music education and musicians: Expectations, course and outcomes

Considering the long-term talent development, from the moment of its recognition to the moment when an adult is confronted with the necessity of integration in the professional music and life streams, we wonder whether education satisfies the needs of talents and provides, in the long run, the necessary knowledge and skills. The aim of this research was to investigate: (1) the initial motivation for learning music and expectations from music education; (2) the course of development of young musicians (the degree of self-actualisation, developmental perspectives, evaluation of music education) and (3) outcomes of music education and development of the professional career. The sample (N=487) consisted of five subsamples: music kindergarten pupils, students of primary music schools, students of secondary music schools, university students of music and teachers at music schools and universities. The paper analyses psychological, educational and professional aspects of education of musically gifted pupils and students, as well as music teachers in five successive age groups. The results indicate that with an increase in age there is a considerable increase in the variety and scope of expectations and a higher aspiration towards personal, educational and professional lifelong improvement, while, at the same time, there is a considerable decrease in the level of fulfilment of expectations and the level of assessment of self-actualisation. This is indicative of a continuously present feeling of “hidden underachievement” in the group of (relatively) successful young musicians and professionals. Analysis of respondents’ answers points out to the existence of still traditional system of music education, which lacks flexibility and innovation and fails to provide a sufficient level of transferable knowledge and skills. The findings point out to a whole cluster of controversies demanding further reconsideration and (re)designing of the curriculum of (high) music education. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179018: Identifikacija, merenje i razvoj kognitivnih i emocionalnih kompetencija va nih dru tvu orijentisanom na evropske integracije i br. 179034: Od inicijative, saradnje i stvarala tva u obrazovanju do novih uloga i identiteta u dru tvu]