After teaching music in several high schools for a number of years, and observing the lack of continuity in assembly programs, the writer became interested in developing a program of music which would more adequately function in the high school assembly.

The presence of musically deficient children in the music classes of elementary public schools is a well-known and a widespread situation. The problem of this study was to determine which of two methods of giving special attention to such pupils would be the more successful in assisting them to improve musically.

The purpose of the present study is three-fold in its nature: (1). To determine, by means of interviews and questionnaires, the attitudes of school administrators toward the various aspects of the instrumental music program; (2). To interpret these attitudes in the light of modern music education; (3). To make recommendations for the improvement of the instrumental music program with respect to the findings of the study.

Present research provides strong support for the use of creative activities in school music programmes based on evidence that learning music is more effective when students are exposed to authentic, experiential learning activities, rather than verbal descriptions and explanations by the teacher. Based on this background the purpose of this study was to address the need to train music teachers with the confidence and skills necessary to incorporate creative music making in their classroom teaching. The study was divided into two phases. Phase I included a questionnaire survey that investigated the current situation of music teaching in Hong Kong secondary schools. To extend this survey three composers and three curriculum planners were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews in order to survey their opinions and suggestions on creative music making. Based on the literature review and findings from Phase I, Phase II focused on the design of a teacher education programme that would prepare teachers to undertake creative activities in their classroom music teaching. The programme was trialled twice with two groups of in-service music teachers studying at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The trainees were asked to design their own creative projects that were taught during a four-week Teaching Practice session. Findings reveal that the most effective creative projects possessed a logical teaching sequence, addressed students???? musical preferences, and integrated listening and performing activities with the creative task. Findings suggest that Hong Kong music teachers should adopt the techniques proposed in this study when designing and implementing their teaching programmes in order to nurture the musical creativity of their students. Music teacher education programmes in Hong Kong should also consider revising their modules so that they provide more balance between theory and practice, and integrate subject-based knowledge with pedagogical skills. A major conclusion of the study is that music teaching in Hong Kong secondary schools would benefited from a balance between creating, performing and listening activities where teachers apply a student-centred approach to expose their students to active, experiential and reflective learning environments in which creative musical expression is fostered at all levels of student development.

In New South Wales education, music is a mandated primary school subject incorporated in the key learning area of Creative Arts. In secondary education, music is typically a mandatory Stage 4 subject and an elective subject choice in Stages 5 and 6. School music syllabuses include singing as a performance experience. The methodology and appropriateness of teaching children and adolescents to sing are issues expressed in the literature. Research and scientific based understanding of the voice clearly indicate that care should be taken when teaching singing to developing voices. These reasons, together with the presumption that all students will sing at some stage during their schooling, invoke the primary research questions of “who teaches school singing?”, “what types of school singing are taught?”, “how is school singing taught?” and “why is school singing taught?”. Through an investigation and analysis of teacher perspectives, this study addresses these questions in relation to teaching singing in Sydney government schools. The research is comprised of two parts. Part 1 was a broad-based questionnaire approach that generated qualitative and quantitative data. By encompassing primary and secondary classroom and/or choir teachers (127 respondents), school singing within a continuum of learning was investigated. Part 2 extended the format and focus of Part 1 by undertaking qualitative in-depth interviews of teachers (10 participants) sampled to investigate a range of key issues and school singing cultures. The study found that school singing at primary level was predominantly taught by generalist classroom teachers. A range of primary specialist teachers - dedicated music and/or choir specialist teachers, designated music and/or singing specialist teachers and dedicated performing arts specialist teachers – was identified as also teaching school singing activities. Secondary classroom music teachers were those found to teach, either solely or in conjunction with singing tutors, secondary school singing. The study determined that school singing was an activity occurring in conjunction with music syllabuses (syllabus singing), in relation to other syllabuses (co-syllabus singing) and irrespective of syllabus connections (non-syllabus singing). In addition, ancillary syllabus singing linked singing activities occurring outside the music classroom to syllabus singing within the music classroom. Co-syllabus singing was identified as being either thematic (illustrating a topic area) or supplementary (reinforcing learning in a non-musical area). In addition to defining the types of school singing in relation to both primary and secondary syllabuses, there was evidence of a dichotomy in school singing between teaching singing (formal singing) and the teaching of, or inclusion of, singing activities (informal singing). Determining whether students were taught a song or taught how to sing (it) in Sydney government schools, formed one of the major areas of impetus and focus for the study. After identifying 19 components present in respondent data at elemental or proficient levels, comparison and inclusion rates of teaching components were used to determine five levels of respondent teaching approaches - sing-along, song, song dominant, functional and developmental. Descriptive statistics and univariate statistical analysis of components revealed that component inclusion increased as the level of teaching approach increased. Independent-sample t-tests showed that there were significant differences between approaches to teaching school singing and the types of teachers who teach school singing (for example between specialist/non-specialist teachers). Contributory factors of school singing were identified as support for school singing, objectives of school singing, aptitude for school singing and constraints that restricted school singing. The types of school singing found their origins in the purposes of the singing activities. In some cases, the school culture also determined the types and purposes of school singing. Where school singing was established within the school culture, singing activities were reported as being well supported and the school culture was such that it encouraged or even enabled singing activities to occur. Conclusions drawn from the research findings have implications for the pre-service and in-service training of teachers, for those responsible for school singing activities and for those writing curriculum, curriculum related documents and teaching resources. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This ethnographic study investigated the interactions between the musical lives of adolescents and school music-learning culture in a suburban high school. Participants included two music teachers and seven adolescents. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective (Blumer, 1969), data were collected via methods consistent with qualitative inquiry, including an innovative data collection technique utilizing music elicitation interviews with adolescents. Findings emerged from the data via thematic analysis (Grbich, 2007). Findings indicate limited interactions between the musical lives of adolescents and school music-learning culture because participants portrayed and experienced a dichotomy between the musical assumptions and practices inside and outside of school. Interactions occurred when participants engaged in sharing musical capital that overcame segmentation among music learning, out-of-school experience, and elective participation in secondary school music programs. Supporting findings indicate that the school music-learning culture derived from teachers' negotiating between two major influences: 1) their own musical values, which were based on their musical backgrounds and the long-established professional tradition of formal performance emphases in school music programs; and 2) the musical values of their students. Adolescents self-defined their musical lives as largely informal musical activities commonly experienced outside of school. They expressed a wealth of personal musical knowledge and described their affinity for music across four dimensions: 1) expression and feeling, 2) relevance, 3) quality in artistry and craftsmanship, and 4) diversity. Three themes describe how adolescents’ personal relationships with music influenced their beliefs and choices regarding music participation and learning: 1) musical roots: nurturing personal and social connections with music, 2) motivated learning: seeking relevance and challenge, and 3) finding a voice: striving toward musical independence. Findings indicate that music teachers may enhance interactions between adolescents’ musical lives and school music-learning culture by acknowledging students’ musical engagement outside of school, honoring their personal musical knowledge and interests, and making them collaborators in developing music-learning models rooted in their affinity for, and personal relationships with, music.

Thesis (Ph. D)--University of Rochester, 2009. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references. Digitized version available online via the Sibley Music Library, Eastman School of Music http://hdl.handle.net/1802/11074

No description available.

The aim of this thesis is to explore Namibian music and dance, to gain understanding of the character of different practices and through this, to provide teachers and learners in schools with materials suitable for use in the new arts curriculum in Namibia. In order to motivate the need for indigenous cultural materials, a brief historical background to Namibian arts education is sketched, highlighting the effects of colonialism on cultural identity and the separation of music from dance in education. In gathering examples of indigenous music and dance it became clear that for these practices to retain a measure of integrity in schools, new ways of thinking about performance in schools would be required. This leads to a discussion of an approach summarised within the term ngoma, which refers to holism, communality and orality among other things. It is suggested that music/dance as ngoma has a positive contribution to make to Namibian arts education. To support this suggestion in a practical way, I explore the indigenous traditions used to educate and socialise young people. Argumentation follows regarding possibilities of preparing teaching-learning materials in a manner appropriate to Namibian circumstances. A breakdown of diverse characteristics of indigenous music and dance is done in order to help the teacher identify and comprehend the individual characters of Namibian performances. In this way teachers should be better prepared to utilise the examples of music/dance events that follow. Various events are contextualised, described, transcribed and analysed with suggestions for use in the classroom. Finally the ngoma approach, the principles of Basic Education in Namibia, and the new arts syllabi are brought together by investigating some of the possibilities of music and dance as ngoma in schools. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1997.

This study investigated the nature and extent of implementation of music education in Lesotho primary schools in Maseru district. A case study conducted focused on Mohokare LEC Primary School and Hoohlo ACL Primary School. The findings from the study suggest that teachers at both schools had a relatively positive attitude towards music education and that they think the subject area should be taught in their schools. However, they suggest that effective implementation of the subject is hampered by several structural, contextual and curricular factors in the education system and the schools themselves. For example, preparations for implementation of music education were not sufficient (e.g., human and other resources were not in place). Teachers were not adequately trained in the subject itself as well as in its pedagogy. This has implications for the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to strengthen pre-service and in-service music education. In addition, a clear music education policy should be drawn up to guide schools and district offices in the implementation of music education. This should be followed by a provision of adequate and appropriate resources needed for the process. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.