The focus of this thesis is an exploration of how musical talent is developed. It also considers the usefulness of the terms gift and talent. The research examines contemporary issues relating to the recognition and musical development of gifted and talented young musicians in Scotland. While the terms gift and talent are applied regularly to describe the abilities of learners, they are societal constructs (Borland 2005) used to categorise children’s learning behaviours. These constructs can therefore influence an individual’s self-concept and approach to tasks (Dweck 2000) leaving the individual to believe that he/she possesses ability or not. Although this thesis does not attempt to re-conceptualise the construct of musical gift or talent, it aims to provide a greater understanding of how musical talent is developed in young people. It does this through literature analysis and empirical data collection. The thesis begins by analysing research literature to explore constructs of gift and talent, before relating this analysis to music-specific literature and to the empirical data collected during the course of the doctoral research. The empirical data was collected from four sources: professional musicians, current music students, teaching staff (music instructors/teachers and project co-ordinators/course leaders) and from pupils at a National Centre of Excellence (NCE). Through analysing literature on high ability from both general high ability studies and music-specific studies, it became apparent that there has been a development in thinking over the course of the 20th century, with a move away from ability being associated with IQ scores towards a more broadly-based consideration of the needs of the individual learner. However, the research literature indicates that teachers and society seem to focus more on the negative aspects of labelling children as gifted and talented and on the implications for the learner as well as those around them. In terms of the original data gathered from professional musicians, teachers, programme leaders/coordinators, students and school pupils, a more contemporary concept of musicianship has emerged. While the terms ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’ were used by the participant groups, the terms were not solely associated with music. Technical ability and proficiency were identified as desirable for music talent development by some participants. Equally important were more general skills such as interest, communication, people- and self-management and team work. Therefore the gifted, talented or highly able musician, to these participants, not only possess a high level of musical skill but a ratio of musical, general and transferable skills. The findings from this thesis suggest that the development of musical ability is not purely reliant on musical technique, but consists of a variety of different ‘general’ transferable skills. In addition to this, the doctoral research argues for the importance of the role of self-efficacy and resilience in attaining learning goals and achieving learning aims for pupils and students. The participants in this research were able to identify particular events which they consider either enhanced or delimited their experiences, noting how they managed each situation in order to manage their development. From this it would appear that if a learner can achieve a high level of self-efficacy they might be more likely to successfully develop their ability, regardless of the subject area in which the ability is shown.

‘Education’ is widely regarded as the primary agent of transformation towards ‘sustainable development (SD). In England, ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD) has been an established part of the National Curriculum, but in secondary schools, the subject of music, which seems to have great potential for helping in creating interest and awareness of SD to foster responsible behaviours, appears more often to be ignored. There is a growing enthusiasm for, and anecdotal recognition of, the benefits of using music in the teaching of SD issues to young people amongst educators and musicians. However, no in-depth ESD empirical research with regard to music education and few ESD good practices currently exist. To this end, the PhD, which examines the pedagogical potential of music in ESD and the role of music as a learning medium in the development of students’ capacities necessary for a more sustainable future, fills this research gap. An ethnographical intervention, informed by constructionist and symbolic interactionist approaches, is employed in this project. Sets of music-SD lessons in the lower stages of four secondary schools in London boroughs were analysed as case studies of how SD might be taught in music classrooms. Evidence suggested that it is feasible and beneficial to embed SD into the secondary music curriculum. The findings demonstrated that a transformative pedagogical approach in ESD was achieved by combining different methods for integration, including listening, composing and performing pieces of music, raps and songs on SD and creating and performing junk instruments, with a range of strategies of ESD, such as discussion, audio and visual activities, brainstorming and co-operative work, in a holistic process. For some students, compared with the traditional subjects for ESD, such as geography and science, the particular ways of learning SD within the musical context seemingly resulted in their higher level of enthusiastic, active, participative, affective and transformative learning, and thus positively affected the achievement of the outcomes of ESD, which was manifested in the development of their SD-related understandings, skills, attitudes and potential behaviours.

Η Μελέτη αυτή ερευνά τη θέση και το ρόλο που έχει το τραγούδι στα σχολικά βιβλία όλων των μαθημάτων της Α΄ και Β΄ Δημοτικού, και κατά πόσον αξιοποιείται ως εκπαιδευτικό εργαλείο και υλικό ή αναγνωρίζεται ως τέτοιο, από τα σύγχρονα ΔΕΠΠΣ και αντίστοιχα ΑΠΣ. Στο θεωρητικό μέρος της έρευνας μελετώνται οι στενές σχέσεις της γλώσσας και της μουσικής καθώς και οι ευεργετικές επιδράσεις της μουσικής γενικότερα και της χρήσης τραγουδιών ειδικότερα, στη μάθηση και στην πολύπλευρη ανάπτυξη της προσωπικότητας του παιδιού. / In the present thesis we research the role of songs in greek education system. / This research is about the role of the song as an educational tool in the textbooks of the first and second classes of primary school. Particularly this research’s goal is to discover whether singing is being reclaimed as an educational tool and material or even if it’s being recognized as one, by contemporary curriculum. In the theoretical part we discuss about the relationship between language and music and the beneficial effects of music in general and the use of songs in particular, in learning and in the multifaceted development of a child’s personality.

Years now, sound-based music has been struggling to reach a wider public. Research supports that in order to promote sound-based music, it should be introduced at an early age in someone’s life to have the opportunity to familiarise himself/herself with it and accept it (Kopiez and Lehmann, 2008). This thesis investigates the implementation of sound-based music in public schools in Cyprus. Building on previous research aiming to introduce sound-based music ideas and concepts into the music classrooms (Savage, 2005; Higgins and Jennings, 2006; Wolf, 2008; Holland, 2011), this research aims at creating a sound-based music curriculum that will be appropriate for the implementation in such a teaching-learning environment in Cyprus. The research focuses on the Educational Reform Programme of Cyprus (2008-2015), which aims at modernising the Cypriot education system. This project offers the opportunity to investigate a set of sound-based music lesson plans, implemented in music classrooms. The research examines the reactions of teachers and students towards these lessons, and the evaluation of the lesson plans in order to be suitable for primary and secondary schools of Cyprus. It is an interdisciplinary project, allowing for educational as well as musical concepts to inform its content and structure. The research follows a grounded theory methodology, utilising a mixed-methods approach involving multi-site case studies and action research. In total of six schools, with six teachers and 117 students, eight different sound-based music lesson plans were created, implemented and evaluated, in a total of 18 lesson periods. During these lessons, a combination of questionnaires, interviews, observations, visual data and tests have facilitated the collection of both qualitative and quantitative information relating to the teachers, the students and the lesson plans. Findings of this research identify that the specific set of lesson plans implemented in the schools is considered as appropriate to be used in the music classrooms of Cyprus. The sound-based music lessons introduced new ways of using ICT in the music classroom, supporting the national initiatives of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus. It was also identified that these lessons offer an inclusive education, with creative activities, engaging students with the learning experience. However, the outcomes of the research recognised the need to understand the multidimensional change necessary to take place before such an implementation, such as the need to resolve any teachers’ concerns relating to the implementation of innovative material as well as any issues related to the equipment.

This thesis presents an investigation into the pedagogical content knowing (PCKg) of Dutch experienced specialist preschool music teachers with regard to teaching and learning rhythm skills viewed from an embodied cognition perspective. An embodied cognition perspective stresses the intimate relationship between body, mind and environment. In a multiple case study the research methods - stimulated recall interviews, gesture analysis tasks, physical action analysis tasks, notebooks and semi-structured interviews - were used to elicit the PCKg of six specialist preschool music teachers regarding rhythm skills. The data of these different methods were inductively analysed but sensitising concepts derived from the literature review on PCKg were also used in the analysis. Furthermore, the data were triangulated to gain a comprehensive understanding of the participants' PCKg. As for the nature of the specialist preschool music teachers' PCKg regarding rhythm skills the findings illustrated that PCKg is distributed over language, sound, gestures, body positioning and physical actions. Respecting the content of PCKg a new form of (non-verbal) knowledge was explored: 'musical communication and musical interaction' that facilitates the learning of rhythm skills of preschoolers. The study is first of all significant for offering a new perspective on the nature of the specialist preschool music teachers' PCKg: a multimodal and dynamic way of knowing that emerges from the interrelated role between the social, cultural and physical classroom environment, the teaching task and the teacher's body. Beyond the classroom, these teachers' bodies form a source for recalling, re-enacting and eliciting classroom experiences to develop and communicate their PCKg. Secondly, it offers a new perspective on the content of the specialist preschool music teachers' PCKg: these teachers' bodies take on different roles to mediate the preschoolers' learning process regarding rhythm skills. These findings have implications for further research, teacher education, practice and policy.

The South African classroom music curriculum has changed in the twenty years since the transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994. The broad imperative for the main music education policy shifts is a political agenda of social transformation and reconciliation. Policy aims are to include many more learners in the music classroom by promoting the study of diverse musics that were previously marginalised and by providing a framework for music education that allows learners to progress at their own pace. This research study investigated to what extent music teachers are able and likely to fulfil the requirements of the new, post-apartheid curriculum, with particular reference to the National Curriculum Statement music policies (NCS). Specifically, it considered whether teachers have a particular allegiance to Western and/or African music. Twelve South African music teachers were interviewed for this purpose. The latest music curriculum revision in the form of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS, 2011) has modified knowledge content by streaming music into three distinct but parallel genres. In addition to Western music, the curriculum incorporates Indigenous African music and Jazz as representative of the diverse cultural interests of South Africans. An analysis of post-apartheid music policy documents draws on post-colonial thought to frame the affirmation of African music by giving it a prominent place in the curriculum. In order to appreciate the role different musics are expected to play in the curriculum, the work of prominent ethnomusicologists provides a means to conceptualise the range of emerging musics, including World Music, Global Music and Cosmopolitan Music, and their differences. For teachers to comply with the policy directive to teach different musics to diverse learners, they are required to expand their knowledge and adapt their teaching styles to achieve these aims. This study highlights a lack of resources and of structured teaching support through continuing professional development as well as a need for policy to give clearer direction in the way it instructs teachers to execute the changes demanded of them in the curriculum. An investigation of teachers’ own musical education and their views of the new curriculum reveals that they are willing to teach a variety of musics. Their perceptions of the differences between Western and African music illustrate a reflective understanding of the challenges they face in this undertaking.