Tertiary music institutions, like universities generally, are increasingly recognising the value and importance of a curriculum that fosters social awareness and social engagement in students. This article reports on a mixed-methods research project that investigated the nature and extent of social awareness and engagement among undergraduate students at one Australian tertiary music institution. Through a survey methodology, the research sought to understand students’ interest in, and awareness of, pressing contemporary social issues, as well as their prior, current and perceived potential future engagement in those issues. A clear understanding by educators, researchers and tertiary music institutions of the nature and degree of undergraduate students’ social awareness and engagement is an important and arguably necessary foundation for expanding and improving socially engaged teaching and learning initiatives.
BaikC.LarcombeW.BrookerA.WynJ.AllenL.BrettM.FieldR.JamesR. (2017). Enhancing student mental wellbeing: A handbook for academic educators. University of Melbourne. http://www.unistudentwellbeing.edu.au
10.
BartleetB.-L.SunderlandN.CarfootG. (2016). Enhancing intercultural engagement through service learning and music making with Indigenous communities in Australia. Research Studies in Music Education, 38(2), 173–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X16667863
11.
BaxterM. (2007). Global music making a difference: Themes of exploration, action and justice. Music Education Research, 9(2), 267–279.
12.
BenedictC.SchmidtP.SpruceG.WoodfordP. (Eds.). (2015). The Oxford handbook of social justice in music education. Oxford University Press.
13.
CampbellP.MyersD.SarathE.ChattahJ.HigginsL.LevineV.. . . RiceT. (2014, November). Transforming music study from its foundations: A manifesto for progressive change in the undergraduate preparation of music majors: Report of the task force on the undergraduate music major [Unpublished document, The College Music Society]. http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.16.22.1/manifesto.pdf
14.
ClevelandW. S. (1985). The elements of graphing data, Vol. 2. Wadsworth Advanced Books and Software.
ElliottD. J. (2012). Another perspective: Music education as/for artistic citizenship. Music Educators Journal, 99(1), 21–27.
19.
ElliottD. J.SilvermanM.BowmanW. (Eds.). (2016). Artistic citizenship: Artistry, social responsibility, and ethical praxis. Oxford University Press.
20.
FosnachtK.SarrafS.HoweE.PeckL. K. (2017). How important are high response rates for college surveys?The Review of Higher Education, 40(2), 245–265. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2017.0003
21.
Frierson-CampbellC. (2007). Without the ‘ism: Thoughts about equity and social justice in music education. Music Education Research, 9(2), 255–265.
22.
GrantC. (2018). Developing global citizenship in tertiary performing arts students through short-term mobility programs. International Journal of Education and the Arts, 19(15), 1–25. http://www.ijea.org/v19n15/
23.
GrantC. (2019). What does it mean for a musician to be socially engaged? How undergraduate music students perceive their possible social roles as musicians. Music Education Research, 21(4), 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2019.1626360
24.
GreeneM. (1995). Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change. Jossey-Bass.
HessJ. (2019). Singing our own song: Navigating identity politics through activism in music. Research Studies in Music Education, 41(1), 61–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X18773094
Low-ChoyS.RileyT.Alston-KnoxC. (2017). Using Bayesian statistical modelling as a bridge between quantitative and qualitative analyses: Illustrated via analysis of an online teaching tool. Educational Media International, 54(4), 317–359.
30.
MiettinenL.GluschankofC.KarlsenS.WesterlundH. (2018). Initiating mobilizing networks: Mapping intercultural competences in two music teacher programmes in Israel and Finland. Research Studies in Music Education, 40(1), 67–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X18757713
31.
NairC. S.AdamsP.MertovaP. (2008). Student engagement: The key to improving survey response rates. Quality in Higher Education, 14(3), 225–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320802507505
32.
NicholsJ.SullivanB. M. (2016). Learning through dissonance: Critical service-learning in a juvenile detention center as field experience in music teacher education. Research Studies in Music Education, 38(2), 155–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X16641845
PantićN. (2017). An exploratory study of teacher agency for social justice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 219–230.
35.
ReimerB. (2007). Roots of inequity and injustice: The challenges for music education. Music Education Research, 9(2), 191–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800701384052
VaugeoisL. (2009). Music as a practice of social justice. In GouldE.CountrymanJ.MortonC.RoseL. S. (Eds.), Exploring social justice: How music education might matter (Vol. 4, pp. 2–22). Canadian Music Educators’ Association.
38.
WaniT. A.NadeemN. A. (2016). Social awareness among higher education teachers. International Journal of Scientific Research and Education, 4(2), 4914–4919.
39.
WhyteB. (2009). The heart of the matter: A pre-service teacher’s narrative on coming to a social justice oriented vision for music education. In GouldE.CountrymanJ.MortonC.RoseL. S. (Eds.), Exploring social justice: How music education might matter (Vol. 4, pp. 317–324). Canadian Music Educators’ Association.
ZinckA. M. (2009). Toward a values-driven model of course design. In GouldE.CountrymanJ.MortonC.Stewart RoseL. (Eds.), Exploring social justice: How music education might matter (pp. 343–358). Canadian Music Educators’ Association.
