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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:646749 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Drummond, Urvi |
| Publisher | University of Glasgow |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6298/ |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds