Why Music Is Poorly Rated in the Education System - Literature review Example

Music Philosophy Question 1: Why have a philosophy of music education? Include comment and discuss why music is so poorly rated in the Education system. Introduction As a field of study, philosophy focuses on rational and critical investigation of truths and principles of knowledge and conduct with the aim of reconstituting or improving them1. It seeks to question and search for understanding beyond what is presented at face value2. In essence philosophy helps to refine and clarify understanding3. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that philosophical practice is not confined to the academic discipline of philosophy rather it is extends beyond a subject. Philosophy can be considered as a continuous process and an attitude of exploring and probing whatever is encountered and seeking to reveal the underlying meanings, possibilities and alternatives for action. Essentially, philosophy cuts across all academic and non-academic fields or spheres of knowledge4. Music education is a key area that has been subjected to philosophical inquiry over the years. Hence the emergence of a discipline referred to as the philosophy of music education. Although philosophy of music education is a relatively old discipline, its legitimacy and importance has always been subjected to questioning and critique5. Many argue that a philosophy of music education is required mainly to due the fact that music is poorly rated in the education system. As a result, there is need to have a philosophy of music education in order to rationalise and provide insight on music education6. This paper seek to critically examine why a philosophy of music education is important or required. Firstly, it discusses why music is so poorly rated in the education system. Subsequently, it explores what philosophy of music education entails and critically discusses why a philosophy of music education is important or required. Why Music is Poorly Rated in the Education System Jorgensen (2008) suggests that perhaps one of the reasons why music is poorly rated in today’s education system lies in the fact that teachers face complex systematic problems linked to educational and artistic conflicts. In many education systems, there are endless disagreements on objectives, purposes, assumptions, expectations, methods of musical instructions, standards of testing in music education programs. As a result, there is widespread loss of faith in the quality of music education. Moreover, there is widespread skepticism about the critical purpose of musical and artistical instruction in music education programs7. Moreover, McPherson and Welch (2012) suggest that music may be poorly rated in the education system because some music educator’s pedagogical concepts, assumptions and beliefs are “reason-less” and unjustified. Some educators base their instructions on mere indoctrination, unreflective experience and poor textbooks instead of rational, careful and critical thinking. As a result, music teaching and learning is in some instances misguided, mal-practiced and unethical. They further accentuate on the importance of music education philosophy in order to provide educators with rational and justified pedagogical concepts, assumptions and beliefs on music education8. The challenges facing music education today have largely been caused by the rapid development and changes of music culture, conventions and genres. This has in turn rendered the traditional principles and methods of music education impractical and old-fashioned. Moreover, as the genres of music continue widen and change, the aesthetic backbone of the conventional music education programs continue to lose their importance. As a result, there is need for new starting points in order to replace the conventional ways of thinking. There is need for more comprehensive and wide ranging approaches to music education that will address and complement all types of music genres and styles. Although the music culture changes over time, the conventional starting point of music education has remained unchanged through centuries. Thus there is need to update the basics of music education philosophy, its aims and methods in order to be at par with the changes taking place in the music culture worldwide9. In order for teachers to responsibly and effectively provide music education, they have to determine what students should learn and why. However, many teachers tend to avoid the intensive and introspective process necessary for determining what students should be taught and why10. Bowman (1998) suggest that when teachers fail to engage in philosophical preparation for music teaching by critically and rationally examining assumptions , beliefs and questioning tradition and instead maintain status quo they inevitably contribute to poor rating of music education11. Why have a philosophy of Music Education? In order to effectively understand what philosophy of music education entails, it is perhaps crucial to examine what is philosophy of music. According to McPherson and Welch (2012), philosophy of music entails a sustained, systematic and critical investigation of beliefs regarding the nature, value or function of music. This inquiry deals with a wide range of questions, issues and problems that revolve around the nature and function of music12. According to Reimer (1989), philosophy of music encompasses a comprehensive image of the diverse values and complex nature of music. This in turn becomes relative to a philosophy of music education by providing a picture of how learning is linked to the diverse nature of music and the values that it provides13. Philosophy of music education focuses on recurrent, systematic and critical investigations of assumptions and beliefs of the basis for musical and instructional practices. Bowman and Frega (2012) argue that this practice is key to professional practice in music education. In essence, without philosophy in music education there would be no secure basis for claiming that the instructional approaches and efforts used in music education are congruent and useful. They further argue that without philosophical inquiry, the claim for professional status are rather dubious14. Nevertheless, philosophy of music education extends beyond rationalising and defending specific instructional practices. Instead, it critically examines the processes and aims of musical teaching and learning as they occur15. One of the main benefits of having a philosophy of music education is that it helps to clarify and refine understanding of critical, problematic and controversial issues in music education. Generally, music education philosophy encompasses an open-ended process that focuses on identifying critical practical problems and frames them in such a way that gradually contributes to their resolution16. McPherson and Welch (2012) note that, being a professional and effective music educator demands more than mere formal or informal musical understandings and skills, experience and practical savviness. Although these qualities and abilities are essential, they are not sufficient for effective, ethical, wise and compassionate teaching of music. Effective teaching of music requires educators to develop, update and sustain a professional philosophy guidance system. Therefore, a philosophy in music education is required in order to promote effective, ethical, wise and compassionate teaching of music17. They further note that, given the challenging practical, intellectual and moral issues surrounding music education, it is not surprising that music education has caught the attention of philosophers. For instance, in the “Politics” Aristotle observed that, “It is not easy to determine the nature of music or why anyone should have a knowledge of it.” Drawing on these sentiments, McPherson and Welch (2012) assert that through music education philosophy, scholars, teachers and students can find strategies, concepts and resources that can enable them to clarify key concepts and develop an effective philosophy practice guidance system18. In support of philosophy of music education, McPherson and Welch (2012) argue that an unexamined professional is not worth pursuing. Failure to critically examine the instructional approach used in music education can be dangerous and damaging because what educators do can significantly affect the well-being of learners. Music education philosophy assesses and informs educator’s habits of teaching effectively, ethical, compassionately and wisely. Therefore, philosophy of music education should not be optional, instead it should be central and highly prioritised. Reimer (1989) notes that; “The purpose of the philosophy … is to provide a system of principles for guidance in creating and implementing useful and meaningful music education programs.19” These sentiments accentuate the importance of having a philosophy of music education. As earlier observed in this paper, one of the main reasons why music education is poorly rated in the education system is because there are conflicting pedagogical concepts, assumptions and beliefs on what effective music education instruction should encompass20. As a result, music teaching and learning is in some instances misguided and lacks efficacy21. Philosophy of music education provides an avenue for examining what is working and what is not working as far as music education is concerned. Through continuous, rational and systematic inquiry of assumptions and beliefs of musical and instructional practices suitable approaches creating and implementing useful and meaningful music education programs can be identified22,23. In his article, “What is philosophy of music education and do we really need it? “ Panaiotidi (2002) argues that philosophy of music education is a field of knowledge that helps in clarifying key concepts, fundamental premises and principles of music education. It involves theory building and developing proposition on the right approaches of music education. The article further suggest that there is a close link between philosophy of music education and music pedagogy. On one hand, philosophy of music education continuously scrutinizes the efficacy of music pedagogy. On the other hand, it informs and guides music pedagogies. Over the years, music education programs have benefited from the insight generated from music education philosophy24. Essentially, Panaiotidi (2002) supports the sentiments of Reimer (1989) that philosophy of music education provides a system of principles for guidance in creating and implementing useful and meaningful music education programs25. Conclusion This paper has examined why a philosophy of music education is important or required. It has foremost discussed why music is so poorly rated in the education system and subsequently explored what philosophy of music education entails and why it is important or required. The findings of this paper show that music is poorly rated in today’s education system because in many education systems, there are endless disagreements on objectives, purposes, assumptions, expectations, methods of musical instructions, standards of testing or examination in music education programs. Moreover, many music education programs are based on the traditional principles and methods of music learning, thus they do not meet the needs of a continually changing music culture. In order to address these challenges, this paper accentuates on the need for philosophy of music education. This paper illustrates that a philosophy of music education is needed so as to provide a system of principles for guidance in creating and implementing useful and meaningful music education programs. Furthermore, having a philosophy of music education helps to clarify and refine understanding of critical, problematic and controversial issues in music education. Bibliography Broomhead, P., 2004, “The Problem of Music Education Philosophy for Undergraduates”, Journal of Music Teacher Education vol 14, pp. 20-26. Bowman, W.D., 1998, Philosophical Perspectives in Music, Oxford University Press, New York. Bowman, W.D. & Frega, A.L. 2012, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy in Music Education, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Dictionary.com, Philosophy Definition, viewed January 27 2015 Jorgensen, E.R., 2008, Transforming Music Education, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana. Jovunen, M. Ruismaki, H. & Lehtonen, K., 2012, “Music Education Facing New Challenges”, Social and Behavioural Sciences vol 45, pp. 197-205. McPherson, G. & Welch, G.F, 2012, The Oxford Handbook of Music Education, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Panaiotidi, E., 2002, “What Is Philosophy of Music Education and Do We Really Need It? Studies in Philosophy and Education vol 21, pp. 229–252. Navia, L.E. 1999, The Adventure of Philosophy, Greenwood Publishing, New York. Reimer, B. 1989, A Philosophy of Music Education:Advancing the Vision, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Read More