Music Teachers’ Perception of Music Teaching at the Stage of Early Adolescence

Abstract

Based on the descriptive method of qualitative educational research, the present study explores music teaching at the stage of early adolescence in terms of general-school music teachers’ viewpoints on factors defining the planning and implementation of music teaching. The study was based on qualitative analysis of data gathered in interviews with 18 teachers from nine countries (Slovenia, Argentina, Australia, USA, Turkey, Poland, Russia, Italy and Germany). The research found that music teaching based on authentic musical communication through the activities of playing, creating and listening to music was favoured by the interviewees. Among the factors affecting the presentation of music teaching at the stage of early adolescence, the quality of curricular bases and the professional competence of music teachers were emphasised. In this context, the research findings showed that music curricula in the international context do not provide a suitable curricular base for the implementation of music teaching. The problem becomes especially salient when the competences of music teachers are insufficient for the transference of the curricular platform to musical praxis through authentic ways of musical teaching. The research findings provide an insight into the complexity of the factors involved, including authentic music teaching, the music curriculum and teachers’ competences, which determine the planning and implementation of music teaching at the stage of early adolescence. In addition, the findings provide a basis for further research in a broader context and for the development of guidelines for curricular updates and the modernisation of music education in general schools.