The Return to Europe: Exploring the Process of Europeanisation of Higher Music Education in Georgia

Abstract: The Georgian higher music education sector has undergone major changes since the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility was established for study and training opportunities between the Erasmus+ programme and partner countries in 2015. This thesis explores the Europeanisation processes of Georgian Higher Music Education by analysing the responses of higher music education institutions to the opportunities and challenges of EU-funded programmes. Considering the theoretical framework, Three Pillars of the Institutional Theory, developed by sociologist William Richard Scott, this research is built on the assumption that institutions influence organisations and encourage organisational change. Through the research strategy of the holistic single case study and Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire as the main unit of analysis, the thesis explores Europeanisation as a grassroots response to the EU-funded programmes. The research findings indicate that the Erasmus+ and other EU-funded programmes have significantly progressed the Europeanisation of higher music education in Georgia. Increased number of international mobilities, changes in academic programmes and study environments, as well as the development of new administrative and academic practices have fostered the process. In the context of Georgian Higher Music Education, Europeanisation is understood in relation to the concept of ''the Return to Europe.'' It embodies both the return to the European cultural family and a turn toward Europe to adjust and implement its modern-day standards and policies.