Panel – Candace Kruger, Tracy Wong, Ed Le Brocq– moderated by Andrew Pennay
A discussion about access to and content of music education in our schools and communities.
Research: Popular Music in Kodaly-Inspired Teaching for Kindergarten and Year 1 Students
Kodály’s beliefs that music for education should come from the ‘musical mother-tongue’ of the children being taught, and that teachers should use ‘music of the highest quality’ in the classroom have left the place of popular music in the Kodály classroom in question. While many Kodály teachers consider that popular music does not meet Kodály’s standard of ‘quality’, it inarguably is a large part of the musical mother tongue of today’s children. Furthermore, parallels between the sound-before-sight model of the Kodály philosophy and informal learning processes used by popular musicians mean that popular music pedagogy and Kodály pedagogy are in many ways mutually compatible. This paper presentation will discuss the preliminary results of an ethnographic dual case study investigating how children in Kindergarten and Year 1 respond to Kodály-inspired teaching when popular music is the primary source of musical material, when compared to a traditional Kodály approach using folk and children’s songs.
Research: Reviving Creativity and Self-Expression in Classical Music through Improvisation
Classical music education is facing criticism for its perceived failure to nurture creativity, self-expression, and the development of unique artistic identities. The art of improvisation, which historically played a central role in Western classical music, has been identified as a powerful tool to address these issues. However, from the end 19th century, classical musicians witnessed a significant shift in focus, nearly erasing improvisation from classical music recitals.
Today, there is a resurgence of interest in improvisation among classical musicians, driven by a desire to foster creativity, self-expression, and the cultivation of distinct artistic identities. However, a formidable challenge arises as most classical music educators lack the expertise needed to teach this skill effectively.
This presentation explores the connection between the revival of improvisation in classical music and the jazz methodology, notably bebop, which is typically not associated with the Kodály method. It emphasises the integration of Kodály principles into the learning process for improvisation, offering practical insights into building a rich musical vocabulary from baroque to bebop and everything in between. This presentation seeks to inspire classical musicians to embrace improvisation as a means of revitalising their creative expression and unique artistic identities within the realm of classical music.
Research: Music in education: Beliefs and Understandings of Primary School Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
While many of the attendees at this conference will likely be music specialists, many schools across both New Zealand and Australia do not have access to specialised music staff. In these contexts, the teaching of music falls to the generalist classroom teacher. Research literature internationally indicates that where the teaching of music is the responsibility of the generalist primary school teacher, many teachers struggle. Certainly, music is not consistently taught in English-medium state and integrated primary schools across Aotearoa New Zealand. My doctoral research is investigating the beliefs and understandings that primary school teachers hold about music in education and how these impact their reported practice. This study seeks to investigate a) what primary school teachers believe about themselves as music makers and music teachers; b) how they understand music as a curriculum subject; c) the place of music within their own lives and d) how these things interact to influence their classroom practice in music. I have gathered the voices of those who consider themselves musicians and those who don’t; those who teach music in their classrooms and those who don’t. In this presentation, I will share the preliminary data analysis from interviews with generalist primary school teachers.
Narratives of young adolescents’ musical flourishing in Kodály-inspired class music education
Music education is a powerful force in shaping and supporting young adolescents’ musical identities and wellbeing. Self-determination theory and basic psychological needs theory provide a lens to examine how music education contributes to young people living well. This presentation presents narrative vignettes of six Year 9 boys I was teaching at the time, describing their experiences in a Kodály-inspired class music program. During their interviews, students completed a draw and tell task to the question, “What do you enjoy about class music?”. Their stories and drawings expose a community of engaged music learners and how class music satisfied their psychological needs of competency, relatedness, and autonomy, supporting young adolescents to flourish in, through, and with music.
National survey results of music teachers’ perspectives who have completed Australian Kodaly Certificate courses
Professional music teacher associations are increasingly left to fill the gaps created by the erosion of music teacher education in Australian universities. Despite these ongoing challenges in the tertiary sector, community-based organisations have increased their professional development support. This paper presents the national survey results and analysis of a larger mixed-methods funded research project that investigates the perspectives of music teachers’ who have completed levels of the Australian Kodály Certificate (AKC). The AKC is an internationally recognised professional development course which has been offered by Kodály Australia for the past 30 years. It is estimated that thousands of participants have completed courses across Australia and internationally. The online survey asked participants about their motivation to complete AKC courses, their learnings, impact on practice, and what university teacher education can learn from its success. It also incorporated a range of published quantitative measurement tools including self-efficacy, musical self-concept, and the PERMA profiler. The project uses a sequential exploratory research design where the results from the survey will be interrogated in follow-up interviews. The potential impact of professional music teacher associations is yet to be realised and this study generates new knowledge on the importance of local professional associations in supporting teachers.
“That wouldn’t work at this school”: Influences of a music teacher’s enacted pedagogy
A music teacher’s enacted pedagogical approaches are influenced by many factors, yet the current understandings and methods of music teachers remain under-researched.
This presentation will explore and summarise academic research completed in 2023 through the University of Queensland. The research involved interviewing eight music teachers across Queensland and focused on the teachers’ own education, their current practice and a reflection of their thoughts on different approaches which included Kodály. Subsequently, through thematic analysis, 5 themes were identified. This research has potential implications for teacher education, how teachers select pedagogy and opportunities for teachers to reflect on how they utilise music education approaches. This presentation provides an opportunity for you to reflect on your own practice and collaborate with colleagues.
