Career development experiences of East Asian international students of contemporary music performance

Abstract

This study investigated how East Asian international students of contemporary music performance (EAIS-CMP) at music colleges in the United States made sense of their career development experiences while they were students and as recent graduates. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven EAIS-CMP who recently graduated from four different music colleges across the United States. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the transcripts and identify five main themes: initial career expectations, facing performing arts career reality, acculturative process at the college, the role of career centers, and COVID-19 and musicians' future careers. The findings from the main themes were discussed based on recent literature and John Berry's acculturation theory, all of which indicated that there were various ways for EAIS-CMP to make sense of their experiences with career development issues. These ways depended on individual responses to acculturation challenges, unexpected industry career realities, and the quality of career center services. Their experiences also depended on the sociocultural perspectives around them, including their parents' points of view on a music career, the level of institutional support, and their reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although all participants shared some individual and sociocultural experiences that were negative, their strong desire to create an inclusive learning environment through music performance and a high sense of belonging within their college communities transcended their career development challenges and helped them advance in their careers. Several implications for advising EAIS-CMP, along with suggestions for future research, were made for administrators, faculty, and international student advisors at U.S. music colleges.--Author's abstract