Pedagogic Cultures and Career Preparation in Art School

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 09. Higher Education 2

Abstract

Occupationally-specific training is the dominant paradigm in American higher education, having surpassed the arts and sciences in the number of undergraduate enrollees and college graduates, yet sociologists know relatively little about the professionalization process that takes place at the undergraduate level. This paper uses interviews with students and faculty in one art school to show how professional training varies within an institution and the effects this has on students’ emerging occupational identities. The two departments studied use similar methods of occupational preparation but their approaches are infused with different meanings that reflect their faculty’s participation in external constituencies. One department—part of a well-defined occupational field—uses a discipline-based approach to training, while the other—which lacks a well-institutionalized occupational field—uses a market-based approach. The analysis provides a conceptually nuanced model that is applicable across higher education settings, with implications for the influence of the market in occupationally-specific undergraduate training.

Author

• Matthew Rowe, University of California-Berkeley