Katri Keskinen: Professionalism in voice teaching
Public examination of the doctoral dissertation of Katri Keskinen.
Complete title of the dissertation: Negotiating professionalism in popular music voice teaching
- Opponent: Professor Sidsel Karlsen
- Pre-examiners of the dissertation: Professor Sidsel Karlsen, Professor Lauri Väkevä
- Professor Marja-Leena Juntunen
Programme
Opening of the public defence
Lectio praecursoria
Statement of the Opponent
Public examination
Final statement of the Opponent
Questions from the audience
Conclusion of the public defence
Abstract
In recent years, understandings of professionalism within music and music education have been challenged by ongoing societal changes, uncertainty, and shifting expectations concerning societal responsibilities. Consequently, higher music education has increasingly been called upon to reconsider the values, ethical dimensions, and aims of professional education in light of expanding understandings of professionalism. Yet, institutionally embedded ideals of traditional music professionalism continue to shape educational practices, potentially constraining how societal relevance is acknowledged and considered within professional music education in rapidly changing contexts. These tensions become particularly apparent in emerging professional fields, where established norms and professional identities are still being negotiated.
In this context, this doctoral dissertation seeks to understand professionalism within the field of popular music voice teaching and contribute to a broader understanding of contemporary professionalism in music education. Popular music voice teaching is an academically young field that has developed partly outside formal educational institutions and includes multiple pathways into the profession. At the same time, the field has increasingly sought legitimacy through various professionalization efforts. Popular music voice teaching therefore provides a productive perspective for exploring how professionalism is constructed, defined, and negotiated within music education. The study examines how professionalism is conceptualized and manifested within the field of popular music voice teaching.
The article-based dissertation consists of three peer-reviewed articles published in international music education journals and a synthesizing summary. The first sub-study mapped recent disciplinary literature on popular music voice teaching, identifying differing professional dispositions, contextually emphasized topics, and gaps in the research literature. Building on this review, the second sub-study constructed a theoretical framework for examining the expanding professionalism of popular music voice teachers by synthesizing disciplinary literature with recent scholarship on professionalism. The third study, conducted as a multiple case study in Finland and Sweden, explored how professionalism is perceived within tertiary popular music voice teacher education programs and how institutional conditions shape the development of professionalism within the discipline. The empirical material consisted primarily of semi-structured interviews with voice teacher educators, complemented by observations and institutional documents.
Together, the sub-studies suggest that professionalism within popular music voice teaching has largely been conceptualized normatively through expectations of continuous interdisciplinary development, engagement with scientific and health-related discourses, responsiveness to stakeholder needs, and alignment with music industry demands. In practice, however, professionalism often seemed to emerge through individualized professionalities developing under fragmented and professionally isolating conditions. As a result, practitioners were often compelled to negotiate their positions within a competitive landscape of differing professional subgroups while navigating institutional structures and hegemonies that constrain inclusivity, diversity, and professional dialogue. Moreover, societal responsibility was commonly framed in relation to employability and labor market expectations rather than as an ethical or socially oriented dimension emerging from within the field itself.
The dissertation argues that contemporary professionalism in popular music voice teaching is better understood as plural, negotiated, and context-sensitive rather than standardized across settings. Accordingly, the study proposes that structurally supported collaboration and reflexive dialogue among educators can foster both increasing specialization within the field and sustainable professional growth at the individual and collective levels. These expanding understandings and approaches may also contribute to broader reconfigurations of professionalism in music education by supporting greater inclusivity and contextual awareness.
Katri Keskinen
Katri A. Keskinen is a music educator, popular music voice teacher, researcher, and musician. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, with a Master of Music in music education in 2013 and has also studied at Berklee College of Music in the United States. Keskinen has worked in Finland and Sweden in a variety of educational and musical contexts. Her teaching experience encompasses students of different ages and levels in both institutional and private settings. Her professional background also includes choir conducting, performing, songwriting, and arranging. Keskinen’s academic interests include professionalism in popular music voice teaching. Her doctoral studies have resulted in several articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals, and she has presented her work at international music education and singing voice conferences.
Complete title of the dissertation: Negotiating professionalism in popular music voice teaching
- Opponent: Professor Sidsel Karlsen
- Pre-examiners of the dissertation: Professor Sidsel Karlsen, Professor Lauri Väkevä
- Professor Marja-Leena Juntunen
Programme
Opening of the public defence
Lectio praecursoria
Statement of the Opponent
Public examination
Final statement of the Opponent
Questions from the audience
Conclusion of the public defence
Abstract
In recent years, understandings of professionalism within music and music education have been challenged by ongoing societal changes, uncertainty, and shifting expectations concerning societal responsibilities. Consequently, higher music education has increasingly been called upon to reconsider the values, ethical dimensions, and aims of professional education in light of expanding understandings of professionalism. Yet, institutionally embedded ideals of traditional music professionalism continue to shape educational practices, potentially constraining how societal relevance is acknowledged and considered within professional music education in rapidly changing contexts. These tensions become particularly apparent in emerging professional fields, where established norms and professional identities are still being negotiated.
In this context, this doctoral dissertation seeks to understand professionalism within the field of popular music voice teaching and contribute to a broader understanding of contemporary professionalism in music education. Popular music voice teaching is an academically young field that has developed partly outside formal educational institutions and includes multiple pathways into the profession. At the same time, the field has increasingly sought legitimacy through various professionalization efforts. Popular music voice teaching therefore provides a productive perspective for exploring how professionalism is constructed, defined, and negotiated within music education. The study examines how professionalism is conceptualized and manifested within the field of popular music voice teaching.
The article-based dissertation consists of three peer-reviewed articles published in international music education journals and a synthesizing summary. The first sub-study mapped recent disciplinary literature on popular music voice teaching, identifying differing professional dispositions, contextually emphasized topics, and gaps in the research literature. Building on this review, the second sub-study constructed a theoretical framework for examining the expanding professionalism of popular music voice teachers by synthesizing disciplinary literature with recent scholarship on professionalism. The third study, conducted as a multiple case study in Finland and Sweden, explored how professionalism is perceived within tertiary popular music voice teacher education programs and how institutional conditions shape the development of professionalism within the discipline. The empirical material consisted primarily of semi-structured interviews with voice teacher educators, complemented by observations and institutional documents.
Together, the sub-studies suggest that professionalism within popular music voice teaching has largely been conceptualized normatively through expectations of continuous interdisciplinary development, engagement with scientific and health-related discourses, responsiveness to stakeholder needs, and alignment with music industry demands. In practice, however, professionalism often seemed to emerge through individualized professionalities developing under fragmented and professionally isolating conditions. As a result, practitioners were often compelled to negotiate their positions within a competitive landscape of differing professional subgroups while navigating institutional structures and hegemonies that constrain inclusivity, diversity, and professional dialogue. Moreover, societal responsibility was commonly framed in relation to employability and labor market expectations rather than as an ethical or socially oriented dimension emerging from within the field itself.
The dissertation argues that contemporary professionalism in popular music voice teaching is better understood as plural, negotiated, and context-sensitive rather than standardized across settings. Accordingly, the study proposes that structurally supported collaboration and reflexive dialogue among educators can foster both increasing specialization within the field and sustainable professional growth at the individual and collective levels. These expanding understandings and approaches may also contribute to broader reconfigurations of professionalism in music education by supporting greater inclusivity and contextual awareness.
Katri Keskinen
Katri A. Keskinen is a music educator, popular music voice teacher, researcher, and musician. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, with a Master of Music in music education in 2013 and has also studied at Berklee College of Music in the United States. Keskinen has worked in Finland and Sweden in a variety of educational and musical contexts. Her teaching experience encompasses students of different ages and levels in both institutional and private settings. Her professional background also includes choir conducting, performing, songwriting, and arranging. Keskinen’s academic interests include professionalism in popular music voice teaching. Her doctoral studies have resulted in several articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals, and she has presented her work at international music education and singing voice conferences.