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In this recent monograph, Harald Jørgensen addresses two questions:
What does research tell us about institutions of higher music education?
How can research be utilised in the quality improvement process? (p. 11)
Jørgensen has been a teacher and researcher at the Norwegian Academy of Music for nearly 40 years, and was its Rector from 1983 to 1989, and again from 2002 to 2006. He knows his readership well: leaders, quality managers, administrators; teachers of performance, composition and pedagogy, etc.; researchers; students. The term 'institutions of higher music education' is perhaps used more widely in Europe than the UK; here it refers to conservatoires and university music schools and departments, but not institutions catering for general education or non-music majors, nor those specialising only in musicology.
The purpose of the book is to provide an overview of research that Jørgensen describes as in and about, and outside and for institutions. This excludes topics - such as musicology - that are relevant to the experience of higher music education but not directly related to its delivery. In the introductory chapter, Jørgensen proposes a pyramid-shaped model in which the four cornerstones of the base are represented by Chapter 2 (the core characteristics of institutions), Chapter 3 (resources), Chapter 4 (processes) and Chapter 5 (relationships with external sectors). The apex of the pyramid is represented by Chapter 6, on outcomes, and in the concluding chapter Jørgensen reflects on the nature of quality and the role of research in effecting change.
While Jørgensen argues that higher music education is a relatively under-researched topic, expressing astonishment that so few researchers in higher music institutions have investigated research questions arising from their own work, the great strength of this book is in fact the wide range of literature surveyed. It is a goldmine of a resource for students and others who wish to read further; indeed the list of references constitutes nearly a quarter of the book. The same plan is used for each chapter. Jørgensen provides a rationale for the choice of topics covered, then summarises the research relating to each topic (including doctoral dissertations as well as peer-reviewed publications), and comments on its implications for practice, questions arising and - providing another...