The enrolment of music in especially the secondary school is declining in many countries such as South Africa, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Brazil, China, Finland, Israel, Korea, Mexico and the United States of America. This decline in the number of learners doing the subject in secondary school, despite its popularity outside of the school, is often ascribed to the socio-economic context and the level of difficulty of the subject, but most of all due to a music curriculum that is in stark contrast to what learners are doing in their daily lives. Post-Apartheid education focused on the redress of education by working towards the provision of quality education through the improvement of educational resources, wider subject choices for previously disadvantaged learners and transforming the national curriculum to suit the needs of young people to prepare them adequately and appropriately for tertiary education and the world of work. The demands of poor communities for greater access to subjects that were previously denied to them, compelled the national education department to introduce subjects such as the arts and technology in secondary schools located in low socio-economic areas where these subjects have not been offered before. The Western Cape Education Department, as lead agent for the province’s Human Capital Development Strategy (HCDS), established ten dedicated focus schools for the arts that would become centres of excellence to provide quality arts education to secondary school learners from poor urban and rural areas. It was envisaged that these arts institutions would be equipped with the appropriate infrastructure, technology, teaching and learning support materials and qualified arts teachers to ensure that music, dance, drama, design and visual arts would be accessible to a broader spectrum of secondary school learners. The aim of the study focused on the provision of music education at these institutions by investigating the essential aspects of the focus school phenomenon such as infrastructure that was built to create a conducive environment for music education, curricular and extra-curricular music programmes, learner enrolment and retention, use of technology, teaching and learning support materials and teacher effectiveness. The study has a qualitative research approach and is based on a case study design that served to provide a rich and in-depth description of the phenomenon. The data was collected by means of focus group and individual interviews as well as observations of lessons, extra-mural activities and music performances. An interrogation of government policies and school records also informed the research to provide trustworthy findings. After each finding, some suggestions are made concerning the alleviation of challenges which focus schools face regarding the delivery of Music in the FET phase. Finally, the study makes recommendations for future research related to the provision of Music in the FET phase of South African schools. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main goal of this thesis was to better understand the role and function of the focus schools project in the Western Cape, to explore the reasons for their emergence in 2006, and to locate the policy initiative within historical and policy developments around vocationalism in the province. The study focused in particular on how one focus school experienced the roll-out of this policy decision, what the impressions of the learners and educators at a case study school were, and also how officials attached to the Western Cape Education Department described the emergence and implementation of the policy. Further goals of the study were to contextualize the policy process that led to this form of provision, and to conceptualise how this fitted in with educational development issues in the province. A brief backdrop of historical developments and its role in the education of communities in the Western Cape, particularly the coloured community, was provided to contextualize the policy initiative. The main contribution of the thesis is its description and analysis of policy documents and the viewpoints of a range of people connected to a new provincial initiative, focus schools, with regard to what a focus school is meant to achieve and how it is experienced. Data was collected by studying a range of unpublished policy documents, and to link these to interviews conducted with departmental and district officials, educators, learners, and one principal in relation to one case study school. The study showed that focus schools were regarded mainly as a form of vocational education provision to accommodate the desire of the Western Cape economy for intermediate skills in the mid-2000s. It illustrated how the focus school band has run its own unique course within educational structures since 2006, and highlighted how they have fulfilled their goal of getting more learners from historically disadvantaged communities into further study or into positions that better serve the needs of the local economy. The thesis suggested that the policy focus of getting learners into higher education seemed misguided and contrary to the goals of vocational education provision. This policy confusion was further highlighted by learners interviewed in the study who noted that they would have preferred to follow a more academically-based path. Few believed they could either get to university (as claimed by policy officials) or into a viable employment poisition by following a vocational route at school. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van die tesis was om ´n beter begrip van die rol en funksie van die fokusskool-projek in die Wes-Kaap te verkry, die redes vir die ontstaan van hierdie skole in die jaar, 2006 te ondersoek, asook om die beleids-inisiatief binne die historiese en beleidsontwikkeling rondom beroepsonderwys (vocationalism) in die provinsie na te speur. Die navorsing konsentreer hoofsaaklik op hoe een fokusskool die implementering van die beleidsbesluit ervaar, en in hoe ´n mate die leerders en die opvoeders verbonde aan die gevallestudie-skool die onderwysvoorsiening beleef. ´n Gedeelte van die ondersoek gee ook die sieninge van sleutelpersone in die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement weer. Verdere doelwitte van die ondersoek was om die beleidsproses wat gelei het tot hierdie onderwysvoorsiening te kontekstualiseer, en om dit te konseptualiseer in hoe ´n mate dit inpas in die opvoedkundige ontwikkeling binne die provinsie. ´n Kort agtergrond skets van die historiese ontwikkeling en die rol wat onderwys in die gemeenskappe van die Wes-Kaap, spesifiek die van die bruin (kleurling) gemeenskap was aangebied om die beleids-inisiatief te konseptualiseer. Die belangrikste bydrae van die tesis is die beskrywing en analise van beleidsdokumente en die standpunte van 'n verskeidenheid van mense wat betrokke is by die nuwe provinsiale inisiatief, fokusskole, met betrekking tot wat fokusskole beoog om te bereik en hoe dit beleef word. Inligting was versamel deur die bestudering van 'n reeks van ongepubliseerde beleidsdokumente, en dit verbind met onderhoude wat gevoer was met departementele- en distriks-amptenare. Opvoeders, leerders, en 'n skoolhoof verbonde aan een gevallestudie skool was ook ondervra. Die navorsing het getoon dat fokusskole ´n vorm van beroepsonderwys is om die strewe van die Wes-Kaapse ekonomie vir intermediêre vaardigheidsvlakke te verhoog. Die planne was gedurende die middel 2000´s in werking gestel. Die navorsing het ook getoon dat die fokusskool-projek sy eie unieke verloop binne die onderwys strukture sedert 2006 gehad het. Die ondersoek het ook getoon dat die strewe om meer leerders uit die historiese benadeelde gemeenskappe sover te kry om verder te gaan studeer of posisies te vervul om die plaaslike ekonomie te bedien, nie so suksesvol is soos die beleid dit vooruitstel nie. Die tesis stel voor dat die beleidsfokus om leerders na hoër onderwys te lei, misleidend is en teenstrydig is met die doelwitte van beroepsonderwys. Die verwarring wat deur die beleid veroorsaak was, was verder belig deur die leerders wat onderhoude mee gevoer was. Die leerders se mening is dat hulle liefs verkies om die meer akademiese-gebaseerde weg te volg. Min van hulle het geglo dat hul weg oop is na hoër onderwys soos wat amptenare van die Wes-Kaapse Onderwysdepartement beweer of dat beroepsmoontlikhede daar is nadat hy beroepsonderwys in fokusskole gevolg het.