Relations between study and employment: Music graduates in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Higher education programs in Puerto Rico include undergraduate degrees in music, music education, composition, popular music, jazz and Caribbean music, and, most recently, a master’s degree in music education. However, little is known about what music graduates do after concluding college. Do they work in music-related areas? Are they satisfied with their music preparation and work? The scarcity of research in this topic, along with the singularity of the island’s geographical situation, offers a distinctive opportunity to study graduates from different higher education institutions, in order better to understand the relationship between their achieved academic preparation and their future work.

Keywords

employment follow-up studies graduates higher education institutions music education Puerto Rico

Introduction

A music career implies a great amount of time spent on practice and preparation. Besides the teacher preparation program, it requires hours of instrumental or vocal rehearsal and time spent in concerts and performances, in the expectation that after college graduation the world of work will provide a job in a related area. Colleges, conservatories and universities provide their students with music programs to satisfy society’s demand for music teachers, musicians and the many other musical professions in today’s working world. Nevertheless, it seems that there is not always a direct correspondence between study and work.

The development of competencies for social and professional integration into the labor market is one of the challenges that music teacher education faces (Grossi, 2006). Although in some countries, such as the UK, student numbers in university music courses have risen (Hewitt, 2009), many potential performers have fewer working opportunities available (Brown, 2007), while sometimes the shortage of music teachers is due not to a lack of students but to job dissatisfaction or the pursuit of another career (Hellman, 2008). In other instances a problem arises with the lack of appropriate professional training for the characteristics and profiles required for each job (Grossi, 2006).

Studies with music teachers in the USA point out that one in five tries to leave the profession (Killan and Baker, 2006), and schools lose almost 16% of their music teachers annually (Hancock, 2009), a situation that has led to the fear that this may affect the quality and development of musical education in the future (Asmus, 1999, 2001; Madsen and Hancock, 2002; Teachout, 2004).

Music in higher education institutions in Puerto Rico

Since the first half of the twentieth century, universities in Puerto Rico have offered courses in music, music history and appreciation along with good-quality vocal and instrumental musical groups; these contributed signifcantly to the further development of music programs in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the 1960s.

Currently, four HEIs, both public and private, offer music programs: Puerto Rico Music Conservatory, the Interamerican University, the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico and the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. Prior to 2004, those who wished to continue graduate studies in music (master’s and doctoral degrees) had to go abroad, mainly to the United States. After 40 years of continuous music programs, a master’s degree in Music Education was developed in the Interamerican University and the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory.

Consequently, employment of music graduates in Puerto Rico is mostly in teaching, mainly in public schools, where music is part of the fine arts course requirements at elementary and secondary levels (1st to 12th grade). Although teaching has become the main means of subsistence, music teachers supplement their income by participating in all kinds of musical activities: bands, choirs, dance orchestras, symphonic orchestras, popular, traditional and folk music groups, music ensembles, and so on. Thus, no matter what specialization any given music student has had, they supplement their income from other areas of the music profession (Lorenzo and Latorre, 2010; Santini, 1997).

Follow-up studies

Not all students who graduate from music programs find work in their specific areas of interest or specialization (Bennett, 2007, 2009). As with other professions, the process of entering the job market may not happen automatically after academic preparation or professional formation; nor does graduating from an HEI guarantee, as it has in the past, a prestigious job (Rae, 2008; Teichler, 1998).

HEIs carry out follow-up studies of graduates to find out information about the relevance of the education received and the position and satisfaction of young people in the job market (Hirschler, 2010; Mora et al., 2005), their professional success (Schomburg, 2007), and the match between education and employment (Elias and Purcell, 2004). Graduate surveys are also useful to identify the special skills that are required in the evolving knowledge-based society, and that did not exist previously, in order better to fit the changing skills requirements of employers (Kearney, 2009; Walters, 2004), thereby enabling their students to find employment (Shah et al., 2004).

After graduation from music programs in Puerto Rico, there seems to be no further formal relationship with the HEIs. Although some graduate surveys have been conducted for other programs or academic departments, none of them are intended for music graduates exclusively. The main objectives of this study are to explore the academic preparation of music graduates and to analyze the relationship between academic preparation and graduates’ actual work.

Method and procedure

This study is framed within the descriptive empiric–analytical social research methodology, in which a survey is used as the main data collector (Hutchinson, 2004). The scope of this research is oriented to the description of a situation so as to assess relationships, contexts or events; data are analyzed in order to provide keys to explain the phenomenon or situation studied (Hernández et al., 2006).

The sample in this study consisted of 411 participants (N = 411) with bachelor’s degrees in music from the five HEIs in Puerto Rico. The composition of the sample was 70.8% male and 29.2% female; the average age was between 41 and 45 years old.

An instrument was specifically designed and used for this research: Survey of Integration in the Job Market of Graduates and Post-Graduates of Music in Higher Education Institutions in Puerto Rico (Lorenzo and Latorre, 2010). It involved 36 items grouped under seven categories: vocation, musical experience prior to studies, academic formation, work experience during career, process of integration into the job market, study-work relationship, and level of satisfaction, as well as identification data.

The questionnaire was administered in person, through hardcopy and electronic format or by telephone, between June and December 2010. A total of 950 questionnaires were provided to individual contacts, musical groups, colleges and schools through work meetings, alumni activities or individual approaches. At the end of the process, 411 valid questionnaires (43%) were posted for this study.

Results

All participants received their bachelor degrees from HEIs in Puerto Rico, most of them from the Interamerican University (149), followed by those from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music (137).

As for postgraduates, 165 of the participants had a master’s degree, most of them from universities in the USA (47%), followed by those who graduated from the Interamerican University in both campuses (31.5%); 26 participants held doctoral degrees.

Since obtaining their bachelor’s degree, 73.2% had full-time jobs related to their studies in music, 46.3% had part-time jobs related to their studies in music, 28.7% had jobs not related to their studies, while only 1.% had never been employed; 11% of the participants continued postgraduate studies.

Table 1.

Incidence of study and work upon completion of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral studies.

Bachelor’s	Master’s	Doctorate	Tendency	p
Full-time	73.2%	82.2%	95.9%	Ascendant	>0.05
Part-time	46.3%	30.8%	21.5%	Descendant	≤0.05*
Non-related work	28.7%	13.9%	5.5%	Descendant	≤.005*
Unemployed	1%	0.2%	–	Descendant	>0.05
Postgraduate studies	11%	5%	–	Descendant	≤0.05*
Other studies	17.2%	–	–	–	–
Other	2%	–	–	–	–

Statistically significant meaning associated with the test of χ².

Most of the participants found their first job within one year of graduation; 47.1% were able to find it through the Department of Education of Puerto Rico (DEPR).

With regard to the relationship between employment and academic preparation, 79.9% of the sample related their main job to their academic preparation. Particpants rated the relationship between their work and their formal training as 80%. When asked about the relationship between studies and work, both females and males declared a strong relation between their work and their musical studies.

With regard to the criteria of satisfaction with their present job related to music, a Wilcoxon test was conducted to evaluate the degree of satisfaction across professional, economic, personal, emotional, social and family aspects. The results shown in Table 2 indicated a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between the economic satisfaction and the other aspects.

Table 2.

Comparisons of satisfaction levels of present job related to music: Wilcoxon test.

Professional	Economic	Personal	Emotional	Familial	Social
Professional	–	0.000*	>0.05	0.002*	>0.05	>0.05
Economic	–	0.000*	0.000*	0.000*	0.000*
Personal	–	>0.05	0.025*	>0.05
Emotional	–	>0.05	0.000*
Familial	–	0.001*
Social	–

Statistically significant at the confidence level of 95%.

Another aspect of the study was associated with how graduates perceived that their co-workers, music colleagues, superiors, family, friends and social acquaintances recognized their work. For music graduates, their family was the group which most recognized their professional development and performance, followed by their friends, fellow musicians, social acquaintances, colleagues and, in the last place, their superiors. It is interesting to note that, with the exception of participants with doctoral degrees, graduates found the most satisfying recognition of their studies and work to come from family and friends (high and very high degrees of satisfaction), while they experienced low or very low degrees of satisfaction in the recognition from their supervisors.

Conclusions

This study was intended to explore the academic preparation of music students from higher education institutions in Puerto Rico and to analyze the relationship between the academic preparation and their work. The results of this study indicate that music graduates from Puerto Rico have prior experience in music, mainly from state schools. Their college preparation comes from HEIs in Puerto Rico for their bachelor’s degrees, and mostly from HEIs outside Puerto Rico, mainly in the USA, for master’s and doctoral degrees.

The majority of the music graduates are working and do so in areas related to their studies. This result is similar to findings in other studies about employability in music, arts and other related areas (Brown, 2007; Cohen and Behrens, 2002; Mason et al, 2003; Rodríguez et al., 2010). Also, while studying for their bachelor’s degree, many students gain work experience, especially in music, something that has also been seen in other studies with music students (Mark, 1998; Mills, 2004, 2006).

On the question of the degree of relationship between their main employment and their musical studies, most of them answered that it was a highly significant relationship.

Music graduates from Puerto Rico are generally satisfied with their academic preparation and with their jobs, which are mostly related to their specialization, mainly in music education. This satisfaction may be related to the average age of the participants; most were in their 40s, and thus have more working experience and more secure work (López, 2010).

Music graduates whose jobs are related to their studies have a higher level of satisfaction. Participants gave a more positive opinion of their work if it was related to their studies; they were not, however, satisfied with the financial remuneration. Graduates with jobs related to their studies, as well as those in jobs unrelated to their studies, were dissatisfied with the economic aspect.

With regard to professional performance at work, graduates find that their relatives and friends value their studies and their work, but they do not perceive that their supervisors value it as much. This perception could also be related to the low level of economic satisfaction that music graduates reveal. Future studies of these variables could provide a better understanding of this issue.

Implications

Data provided by music graduates concerning their academic programs and professional development should be measured and studied on a regular basis, especially by the academic departments, to whom this information may be useful. It also could be of great value in the revision and accreditation of programs and the evaluation of competences and skills offered. Adjusting academic programs to social expectations and labor demands may help graduates towards successful and satisfactory performance in their jobs (Mason et al., 2003). The programs may thus be able to provide society with professionals who have the skills, competencies and knowledge they require to become better satisfied and better paid. Similarly, higher education institutions, public policy makers and stakeholders may use these data in order to improve, revise and restructure the services they offer.

Finally, the newly organized master’s degree in music education can make use of such data to demonstrate the value of their academic programs and their institutional effectiveness, by including the employment success of their graduates in their outcomes assessment surveys. Although it seems that the work scenario for music graduates in Puerto Rico is strong, newly approved regulations on elective courses in state schools, which cut the number of credits in fine arts that students may take during their school years, may mean that fewer teaching opportunities become available, with consequences for the employment outcomes of future music graduates. Further reseach into this matter is desirable.

Footnotes

Author biographies

Ileana S Latorre, PhD, teaches courses in arts and music education at the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce, where she also conducts the concert and marching bands. Her ongoing interest in graduates started while working as a teacher in the public schools system where she was a mentor for the teachers’ preparation program. Her research interests are music education in higher education institutions and the development of music programs in public schools.

Oswaldo Lorenzo, PhD, is professor of music at the University of Granada, Spain, where he teaches music education courses at undergraduate and graduate level. He coordinates the Master’s–PhD postgraduate program ‘Music Education: a Multidisciplinary Perspective’ at the University of Granada and at Tamaulipas University and Chihuahua University in Mexico. He is author and co-author of many books and a frequent contributor to journals in music, music psychology and arts.

References

Asmus

(1999) The increasing demand for music teachers. Journal of Music Teachers Education 8(2): 5–6.

Asmus

(2001) Recruiting the teachers of music teachers. Journal of Music Teachers Education 11(1): 3–4.

Bennett

(2007) Utopia for music performance graduates: Is it achievable, and how should it be defined? British Journal of Music Education 24(2): 179–189.

Bennett

(2009) Academy and the real world: Developing realistic notions of career in the performing arts. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 8(3): 309–327.

Brown

(2007) Enhancing students’ employability? Current practices and student experiences in HE performing arts. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 6(1): 28–49.

Cohen

Behrens

(2002) The relationship between type of degree and professional status in clinical music therapists. Journal of Music Therapy 39(3): 188–208.

Elias

Purcell

(2004) Is mass higher education working? Evidence from the labour market experiences of recent graduates. National Institute of Economic Review 190(1): 60–74.

Grossi

(2006) Musical education in Brazil – teacher training and the world of work. Music Education Research 8(1): 33–45.

Hancock

(2009) National estimates of retention, migration, and attrition: A multiyear comparison of music and non-music teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education 57(2): 92–107.

10.

Hellman

(2008) Do music education majors intend to teach music? An exploratory survey. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education 27(1): 65–70.

11.

Hewitt

(2009) Musical styles as communities of practice: Challenges for learning, teaching and assessment of music in higher education. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 8(3): 329–337.

12.

Hernández

Fernández

Baptista

(2006) Metodología de la investigación , México: McGraw-Hill.

13.

Hutchinson

(2004) Survey research. In: de Marris

Lapan

(eds) Foundations for Research: Methods of Inquiry in Education and the Social Sciences , Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 283–301.

14.

Hirschler

(2010) Proyectos de integración social y laboral en España y en Alemania: Perspectiva de las participantes. Revista de Educación 351(1): 163–183.

15.

Kearney ML (2009) Higher education research and innovation: Charting the course of the changing dynamics of the knowledge society. In: Meek V, Theichler U and Kearney ML (eds) Higher Education, Research and Innovation: Changing Dynamics. Report on the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge 2001–2009. Kassel: INCHER.

16.

Killian

Baker

(2006) The effect of personal and situational factors in the attrition and retention of Texas music educators. Journal of Music Teacher Education 16: 41–54.

17.

López R (2010) La educación musical escolar (6–12 años) en Puerto Rico: Un estudio desde la perspectiva de los maestros de música. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Granada, España.

18.

Lorenzo

Latorre

(2010) Inserción socioprofesional de egresados de grado y posgrado. Un estudio sobre titulaciones universitarias musicales en Puerto Rico. Publicaciones 40: 149–172.

19.

Madsen

Hancock

(2002) Support for music education: A case study of issues concerning teacher retention and attrition. Journal of Research in Music Education 50(6): 6–19.

20.

Mark

(1998) The music teacher’s dilemma- musician or teacher? International Journal of Music Education 32(1): 3–23.

21.

Mason

Williams

Cranmer

Guile

(2003) How Much does Higher Education Enhance the Employability of Graduates?, Bristol: The Higher Education Funding Council for England.

22.

Mills

(2004) Working in music: Becoming a performer-teacher. Music Education Research 6(3): 245–261.

23.

Mills

(2006) Performing and teaching: Beliefs and experience of music students as instrumental teachers. Psychology of Music 34(3): 372–390.

24.

Mora

Vila

García

(2005) European higher education graduates and job satisfaction. European Journal of Education 40(1): 35–44.

25.

Rae

(2008) Riding out the storm: Graduates, enterprise and careers in turbulent economic times. Education and Training 50(8): 748–763.

26.

Rodríguez

Prades

Bernáldez

Sánchez

(2010) Sobre la empleabilidad de los graduados universitarios en Catalunya: Del diagnóstico a la acción. Revista de Educación 351(1): 107–137.

27.

Santini G (1997) La industria de la música en Puerto Rico: La necesidad de ocupaciones alternas como medio de sustento entre los cantantes y músicos profesionales. Master’s thesis, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

28.

Shah

Pell

Brooke

(2004) Beyond first destinations: Graduate employability survey. Active Learning in Higher Education 5(1): 9–26.

29.

Schomburg

(2007) The professional success of higher education graduates. European Journal of Education 42(1): 35–57.

30.

Teachout

(2004) Incentives and barriers for potential music teacher education doctoral students. Journal of Research in Music Education 54(3): 234–247.

31.

Teichler

(1998) The transition from higher education to employment in Europe. Higher Education in Europe 23(4): 535–558.

32.

Walters

(2004) A comparison of the labour market outcomes of postsecondary graduates of various levels and fields over four-cohort period. Canadian Journal of Sociology 29(1): 1–27.