Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ABSTRACT \nWith the change of regime in 1994, South African education policies for the \narts have been created without a conceptual base. Music is on the outskirts \nof the present educational master plan that favours mathematics, science \nand literacy. The current situation of teacher shortages and emphasis on \n‘basic’ subjects does not make posts possible for specialist music teachers in \nprimary schools. The generalist trained Arts and Culture teacher is tasked to \nteach drama, music, and the visual arts. The attempt by policy makers to blur \nthe outlines of individual art forms has created the generic Arts and Culture \nteacher who is unsure of the art forms in which he/she has little or no \ntraining. This lack is exposed and justification for the necessity of a \nphilosophy of music education for South Africa will be proposed. \nA philosophy of music education refers to a system of basic beliefs, which \nunderlie the operation of musical enterprise in an educational setting, \nwhether school, community centre, or tertiary institution. A philosophy of \nmusic education would investigate and create an understanding of the \nunderlying assumptions and principles governing the teaching and learning of \nmusic.Music is a modelling system for human thought and is a cognitive activity with \nforms of knowledge as important as any school subject. The ‘out of school’ \ninfluences of music are all-encompassing and ubiquitous to intercultural \ncommunication between peoples. Evidence is overwhelming that the political \nhistory in South Africa has interfered with and disrupted an enculturation of a \nmusical life for children. \nThe literature research shows that music education in South Africa was used \nas a political tool to support apartheid doctrines and processes. The \nrestoration of a culture of co-operative musicing would help music teachers. \nTheir active agency would positively affect policy in the arts. Furthermore \nmaking music or ‘musicing’ in a collaborative manner would break downbarriers because musicing encourages inter-racial rapprochement in a \nsociety where racial barriers are no longer dominant. Such harmonious \ncommunicating will help to create a new and idiomatic South African music \nculture. \nFor this purpose I have proposed the adoption of the musical genre called \nquodlibet, a technique of composing music for many voices which are played \nsimultaneously. This provides a platform for the collaboration of musicians, \nteachers, policy makers, and parents, within the wider community from which \nthe pupils come to from. The quodlibet becomes a guiding principle and \nmetaphor for the entire study. \nThe central focus is to articulate the need for a philosophy of music education \nand to propose and defend conditions that would facilitate the growth of a \nconceptual centre for music education.
Authors: Barker Reinecke, Marguerite Lillian
Language: English
Subfield: Music
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2284434032