The Force Field Model applied to a Music Education teacher training framework in a South African context

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Ronel De Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Force Field ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
South African ◽  
Field Model ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Push And Pull

Abstract South African Higher Education Institution (HEI) Music Education (MusEd) lecturers’ perspectives regarding the contextual, institutional, biographical and programmatic forces that stem from the theoretical framework Samuel’s (2008) Force Field Model (FFM) were explored. The study was approached from an interpretivist paradigm and conceptually drew qualitative data generated from eight case studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the push and pull factors that influence professional practices. The major findings of the study indicated that lecturers should embrace transformation principles to decolonise the national curriculum. Biographic viewpoints have to be modified from a singular Western Classical viewpoint to integrate African Indigenous perspectives. To teach MusEd, elements and activities from diverse cultures as well as teach student teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds result in MusEd as a change agent to develop social cohesion between multicultural communities. Theoretical knowledge integrated with practical activities where the focus changes from achieving an individualistic perfect end product to the continuing process of ‘musicking’ together are proposed. The lecturers as facilitators, therefore, focus on a student-centred philosophy to guide student teachers’ development in MusEd. Insights gained from this study propose a future cosmopolitan teacher training framework.

Musical elements and subject knowledge in primary school student teachers: lessons from a five-year longitudinal study

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Beauchamp
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Primary School Student ◽  
Musical Knowledge ◽  
One Year ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Musical Elements

The introduction of a National Curriculum to England and Wales in 1988 provided the first compulsory framework for music education. Writing in 1996, Mills suggested that in ten years time the impact of this change would result in primary school student teachers needing refreshment, and not development, of their musical knowledge. This five-year study examines primary school student teacher's knowledge of the musical elements as they entered the one year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course in one institution. The results suggest that some elements as defined by the relevant national curricula (duration, pace, pitch and silence) do indeed need only refreshment, but others (timbre, texture, dynamics, structure) need significant development in schools and in training courses.

scholarly journals Editorial

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN FAUTLEY ◽  
REGINA MURPHY
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk ◽  
National Systems ◽  
Looking Back

Looking back to the editorial in the very first edition of BJME, back in 1984, there are a number of striking resonances which belie the thirty years which have passed since Volume 1, Issue 1. Take this paragraph as an example: Many problems in music education are the result of the insularity of our practice. In Britain music teachers are often hesitant about sharing their ideas. Then again, the roots of our teaching methods reach back far into the past, so that we tend to function on the basis of precedent; we do things because they have always been done, and only rarely perhaps do we make the effort to reflect upon what is done. Now, perhaps because of economic restraints, we are becoming more aware of the need to justify the place of our subject in the educational curriculum and the need to examine closely the reasoning behind our teaching methods. (Paynter & Swanwick, 1984) So much remains the same, yet at the same time the music education landscape is entirely different from then! In the UK since that editorial was written we have had, inter alia, new examinations at 16+, a National Curriculum (in a number of very different versions), changes in governance of schools, an entirely different financial scene for schools, the establishment of music hubs, changed relationships for music services with pupils and schools, a diminishing role for Local Authorities, the establishment of new types of schools – Free Schools and Academies, the removal of the requirements for teachers to hold a teaching qualification, and the shifting of teacher training out of universities and into schools. Quite a list! And there is a lot more besides that has not been included. Also important to note is that the BJME is now, and has been for a while, very much, as its strapline says, ‘an international journal’, and so there are interactions and synergies with many other national systems and music education types across the world.

Assessment in Music Classes in China

2019 ◽  
pp. 338-357
Author(s):  
Dennis Ping-Cheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Education Assessment ◽  
Music Assessment ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Curriculum Guidelines ◽  
Valid Assessment

This chapter outlines the historical background and current development of music education assessment in China. Following the revision of the national curriculum guidelines in 2011, the chapter analyzes (1) the value of the national standards at different school levels, (2) how the national standards affect teachers and schools, and (3) how much the teachers read/follow the guidelines in China. This chapter investigates and examines how assessment policy and practice are used in Chinese music classrooms from elementary, middle, and high schools. Furthermore, it discusses how local music teachers assess their music students and the effectiveness of the national curriculum guidelines used in music classes. The author determines that the current practice of music assessment at all school levels in China is too basic and not diversified. Designing a valid assessment that allows students at all levels to demonstrate their learning outcomes seems to be necessary for music education in China.

(Re)organizing the music curriculum as multicultural music education

2021 ◽  
pp. 025576142098621
Author(s):  
Alethea Cassandra de Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
Multicultural Music Education ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Western Art ◽  
Policy Attitudes

Cultural hegemony permeates society and is spread through social institutions. These institutions socialize people into the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social groups. Moreover, cultural hegemony is spread and perpetuated through education in the form of compulsory education, a national curriculum, national assessments, as well as the hidden curriculum. The cultural hegemony of Western Art Music is established as the standard of music making and is institutionalized in education systems, national curricula and national assessment practices because it is inherent in ideologies and decision making. To counter the dominant hegemony, multicultural education philosophies have been adopted in democracies. The purpose of multicultural education is to change the dominant hegemony and bring about transformation in policy, attitudes, curriculum, assessment, the language of instruction, and strategies for learning and teaching. In this article, I discuss and compare music curricula from South Africa and Australia to determine how multiculturalism is manifested in the curriculum content for music in schools. I also suggest possible frameworks for curriculum developers in democracies to consider, which would subvert the status quo and establish a counter-hegemony.

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