Music education

Prior to the 1980s the music curriculum consisted of class-singing, sol-fah deciphering and music appreciation. Typical resources were the piano, the Curwen modulator, numerous sets of song and sight-reading books (to suit single gender class groupings) and a record player. More enlightened teachers would have some percussion instruments or recorders in the classroom and, from the 1970s, the odd guitar. The Scottish Examination Board 'O' Grade examination at the end of year 4 was designed to be overtaken by pupils who had expertise on an instrument or voice to the equivalent of Associated Board Grade 5, tuition on which was given outwith the classroom while the teacher concentrated on historical study, rudiments and analysis. Such elitism fuelled growing disillusionment in pupils and many teachers who experienced a different world of music in their private lives (Witkin, 1974). Significant and effective change came in 1978 with the publication by the Scottish Education Department of the highly controversial Curriculum Paper 16, Music in Scottish Schools. This was the dividing line between past practices and future developments which radically changed the way in which music was taught and which clearly focused music teachers' and educators' energies and ideas. It encapsulated many of the ideas and innovations which had been forming in Britain through the work of Paynter and Aston (1970), Witkin (1974) and in the USA since the 1960s (Choksy et al., 1986) and placed them into a Scottish context. This provided the impetus for a root and branch overhaul of the curriculum which would reshape music in the classroom into an action-based experience, open to all children, regardless of their musical or academic ability. In the contexts of both primary and secondary schools, Curriculum Paper 16 recommended syllabus content and teaching and learning strategies, the review of assessment approaches and most significantly, staffing, resource and accommodation requirements to enable 'music for all' to be implemented. These recommendations gave teachers and headteachers the tools and impetus to make demands on local authorities to fund the developments appropriately

Music education

The chapter explores the historical development of music education in Scottish secondary schools and summarises current and future trends in pedagogy and assessment. The chapter offers a critical overview of current provision for the non-specialist and identifies contemporary debates around musical genre, technology and instrumental teaching provision

Towards a More Inclusive Music Education: Experiences of LGBTQQIAA Students in Music Teacher Education Programs Across Pennsylvania

During the past decade, the field of music education has seen an increase in the amount of scholarship surrounding LGBTQ studies in music teaching and learning. For example, the University of Illinois hosted three symposia for the field of music education dedicated to LGBTQ studies (2010, 2012, 2016), and proceedings from these symposia were published in three separate issues of the of the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education (2011, 2014, 2016). Other notable scholarship has been published in Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (Gould 2005); the Music Educators Journal (Bergonzi, 2009; Carter, 2011; McBride, 2016); the Journal of Research in Music Education (Carter, 2013; Nicholas, 2013); and UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education (Garrett, 2012). (excerpt

What music teachers want: the emergence of a unified understanding of an ideal teacher education course

[Abstract]: 'Burnout' and praxis shock are causing music teachers to leave the profession early. Much research suggests that this is a reflection on the quality of teacher education programs. Interviews with teachers in their first four years in the secondary music classroom reveal how they view their preservice preparation, and therefore provide an insight into how preservice teacher education might be effectively reconceptualised. This paper explores the relationship between Zeichner and Liston's (1990) teacher education 'traditions' and early-career music teachers' perceptions of an 'ideal' teacher education course. Analyses of interviews with 15 early-career secondary classroom music teachers suggest the emergence of a common understanding regarding the design of effective music teacher education programs. Rather than representing any of Zeichner and Liston's four traditions in particular, early-career music teachers speak of a music teacher education approach that incorporates all of the traditions in an integrated way. This understanding of an 'ideal' teacher education course should be considered when designing or reconceptualising teacher education courses in order to provide improved opportunities for future music teachers

The Role of Technology in Music Education: a Survey of Computer Usage in Teaching Music in Colleges of Education in The Volta Region, Ghana

The study sought to find out the role of computer technology in music education in Colleges of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana. It aimed at surveying the use of computer technology for teaching music and exploring the instructional prospects for computer technology usage in music in Colleges of Education. The study employed Rogers’ Diffusion Innovation theory and descriptive survey research method. Data was collected from the respondents using questionnaire, interview, and observation. The study revealed that even though about 90% of the music tutors have good academic qualification and over five years teaching experience, lack of competence in handling computer technology in teaching music among some music tutors and incoherent ICT initiatives hindered proper application of computer technology in the field of music education. It is however envisaged that increasing access and coherent computer technology initiatives will be paramount for the teaching of music in the Colleges of Education

“You Got To Know Us”: A Hopeful Model for Music Education in Urban Schools

Urban schools, and the students and teachers within, are often characterized by a metanarrative of deficit and crisis, causing the complex realities of urban education to remain unclear behind a wall of assumptions and stereotypes. Within music education, urban schools have received limited but increasing attention from researchers. However, voices from practitioners are often missing from this dialogue, and the extant scholarly dialogue has had a very limited effect on music teacher education. In this article, five music educators with a combined thirty years of experience in urban schools examine aspects of their experiences in the light of critical pedagogy in an attempt to disrupt the metanarrative of deficit, crisis, and decline that continues to surround urban music education. By promoting the lived-stories of successful urban music students, teachers, and programs, the authors hope to situate urban music education as a site of renewal, reform, and meaningful learning. This paper emerged from a panel discussion regarding promising practices in secondary general music with urban youth that took place at the New Directions in Music Education conference held at Michigan State University in October of 2011

UA64/10 High-Senior Day Program

High School / Senior Day program description. This took place in the Health & Physical Education Building which is now Helm Library

Making a scene: empowering third-grade students towards creative, independent, and collaborative musicianship in an after-school general music program

This project-thesis introduces an elementary general music curriculum designed to empower students towards creative music making. Building off the work related to creativity in music education by Green (2005), Hickey (2001), and Ruthmann (2008), this curriculum consists of two parts which highlight fundamental musical skill development and creative music making, respectively. The curriculum is rationalized in the contexts of a proposed local teaching environment and education policy, philosophy of music education, and current educational funding policies at the levels of state and federal governments, and non-governmental organizations

Philosophy of Music Education

A philosophy of music education refers to the value of music, the value of teaching music, and how to practically utilize those values in the music classroom. This thesis explores the philosophies of Emile Jacques-Dalcroze, Carl Orff, Zoltan Kodaly, Bennett Reimer, and David Elliott, and suggests practical applications or their philosophies in the orchestral classroom, especially in the context of ear training and improvisation. From these philosophies, the author develops their own personal philosophy of music education, most broadly defined by the claim that music is key to experiencing and understanding feelingful experiences