Registered music teachers in New Zealand: a survey of current trends in the teaching of musical performance, and a review of related literature

Abstract

This study was designed to document trends in the teaching of musical performance by registered music teachers in New Zealand at the time of change in registration requirements (from January 1982 evidence of teaching competency was included in the criteria for admission to the newly-formed Institute of Registered Music Teachers of New Zealand); and to survey literature published mainly in the last twenty years, and available in New Zealand, on the teaching of musical performance and on the significance of hereditary factors in musical ability. The main areas of investigation in New Zealand music teaching were: (a) whether some aspects of the teaching of musical performance were being emphasized more than others, (b) the relationship between what teachers said were their students' problem areas, and what they concentrated on in their teaching, (c) possible influences of teachers' beliefs in hereditary and environmental factors, and (d) the extent of music teachers' awareness of, and interest in, research in education, and music education. Points (a) to (c) necessitated a study of lesson and practice content and length, difficulties experienced by students, teaching methods and recent changes in them, and teachers' beliefs in the nature of musical ability and whether/how it was affected by heredity. The information for all four points was obtained from questionnaires posted to a sample of registered music teachers, who were asked to classify themselves on the basis of: (a) instruments taught, (b) type of teaching (individual, group, or a combination), (c) weekly hours worked, and (d) years of teaching experience. A question on attendance at meetings of (the Institute of) Registered Music Teachers (of New Zealand) was also included. The results suggested that the largest proportion of teachers spent more lesson time and expected more practice to be spent on pieces/songs than on any other activity. When asked how much time they spent teaching pitch reading, intonation, rhythm, technique, expressive qualities and other topics, the largest proportion estimated most lesson time was used for pitch reading with beginning to grade two pupils, rhythm or expressive qualities or technique with grade three to six students (teachers were fairly evenly divided into the three categories), and expressive qualities with those at grade seven and above level. The majority spent least lesson time on expressive qualities with beginners to grade two, and least on pitch reading at the other levels. Just over half of the teachers spent most lesson time on the activity their students found most difficult, and least lesson time on the area of learning their students found least difficult at the beginning to grade six level, and more did so with grade seven and above pupils. However, as nearly half of the teachers with students to grade six level did not spend most lesson time on the activity their pupils found most difficult, it seems more research is needed to provide teachers with guide-lines on the effect of maturational factors on music learning so that they have some idea of whether or not it is worth spending more time on a particular activity at a certain stage in the pupil's development. (A suggested list of what the majority of children can and cannot do at various ages has been compiled from the material in the literature). The largest proportion of teachers found students at the beginning to grade two level had most difficulty with rhythm, and least difficulty with expressive qualities. At the grade three to six level they had most difficulty with rhythm - followed closely by technique, and least difficulty with pitch reading; while with grade seven and above pupils, technique was thought to be the most difficult, and pitch reading the least difficult. By far the most commonly used teaching method was demonstration, and there appeared to be little, or no difference in the teaching methods used by those who said their pupils found an aspect of music the most difficult to learn, and those who said their students found it the least difficult. Most teachers said they had altered their teaching approach significantly in the last five or ten years. The main changes mentioned were (in order of frequency): teaching a greater variety of music, adjusting more to the individual differences of students, and using a more aural approach. The majority were evenly divided between those who considered the most important area of musical ability was rhythm, and those who thought it was expressive performance; and the largest proportion regarded technique as the least important factor. Most teachers thought musical ability was a combination of hereditary and environmental influences, and of those who believed in hereditary factors, the largest group considered pitch was the ability most affected by heredity. It was assumed that if teachers spent most lesson time on the area of ability they considered most influenced by heredity, this would tend to suggest the possibility that their teaching was not directly influenced by their beliefs in heredity. This did not occur. However, as the ability the majority considered to be most affected by heredity was not the learning area their students found most difficult they would not necessarily want to spend much lesson time on it. Most teachers regarded rewarding student progress as very important, and praise was the most commonly used form of reward. All teachers considered the teachers' personality was likely to affect student learning. Nearly three quarters used external examinations for evaluating their students' progress, and about one third of them said they used another form of evaluation as well - but in many cases the latter was only a comment about evaluation and not a method of evaluation at all. And the use of examinations and competitions was the most commonly mentioned method of maintaining student interest. The implications of the various findings were discussed. Over 40.0 percent of the teachers omitted some or (in most cases) all of the question on whether or not they had access to research in education, and over 20.0 percent did the same for research in music education. The majority of those who said they had access to the latter referred to the (Institute of) Registered Music Teachers (of New Zealand) Newsletters, etc., but these are not research journals in the "academic" sense. This could suggest a lack of interest in research related to music teaching, but about 40.0 percent of teachers said they would read it if it was more readily available. A lending library mail system has been suggested. Information from the literature is a separate and extensive section covering the various aspects of the teaching of musical performance. This is the main part of the thesis. In the final summary there is a discussion of the relationship between the survey results and the relevant literature, and also suggestions for where (more) experimental research is needed.