Vol. 3 No. 1 (2021): Music and Education

Published April 30, 2021

Through crossing cultural and historical boundaries, music a deeply coded discourse establishes communication at all times. Lasting values are determined by cultural choice what is based on the experience and emotional effects produced by music are based on previous experiences, emotional reactions, and memories. Successful music education also motivates people to find strength in their cultural heritage. We find it highly important to present our new findings to a wide segment of society, so that as many people as possible may become familiar with the most advantageous social, economic, mental, and labour market effects of music education.

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Thematic articles

  • New Possibilities in Cultural Consumption. The Effect of the Global Pandemic on Listening to Music
    1-15
    Views:
    712

    In this study, we address the impact of COVID-19 on classical music concerts. New forms of cultural consumption and their convenience have raised the question as to whether concert halls will still be needed in the future, and whether the audience will take on the extra time and effort to be present in person at a musical artistic event. In an analysis of international surveys, we formed an accurate picture of music listening habits in the period before and during the pandemic. We also administered a survey, completed by 134 music teachers. Although the findings cannot be generalised to society as a whole, the respondents in the sample are well acquainted with the artistic setting and possess sufficient prior experience, so their opinion is relevant to the topic. Despite the convenience of the online space and the rich selection of art available, the interviewed music teachers will still prefer live music events, which offer them a more profound experience.

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    1188
  • Elementary Art School of Folk Dance and Music in the Context of Regional Culture-Oriented Schools in Slovakia
    16-26
    Views:
    294

    In the study, we present the basic goals, content, strategies and organisational forms of education of the Elementary Art School of Folk Dance and Music in Ružomberok. The basic information about the school is supplemented with the ideas of its founder and the school principal, as well as the photo documentation of this school environment. We analyse this school model in the broader context of elementary regional culture-oriented schools, which began to develop in Slovakia after 1989. In connection with the school reform in 2008, the educational content of such schools was transformed and defined in the State Education Programme in the subject of Regional Education and cross-cutting topic Regional Education and Folk Culture. In addition to other alternative and innovative educational programmes in Slovakia, the regional culture-oriented school represents a domestic model of education, which is based on the historical and cultural peculiarities of individual regions of Slovakia. Despite the uniform name, each school with this orientation can have a unique character expressed in its school curriculum.

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    329
  • Encouraging Musical Creativity in Montenegrin Primary Education – A Case Study
    27-35
    Views:
    243

    The need to change the paradigm of music education, which primarily relies on performing and listening to music, implies a more systematic introduction of activities that would enable the direct involvement of children in the exploration of sounds and the creation of their own music. By analysing the curricula and textbooks for music education in Montenegrin primary schools, as well as examining the attitudes of teachers about the realisation of musical creativity in teaching practice, it was found that these activities are not given enough attention. In order to introduce innovations in practice, an action research study was conducted, during 2017/2018 school year with 30 fifth grade pupils in one primary school, belonging to the Southern region of Montenegro. The obtained results, based on the qualitative findings, showed the connection between the categories that make up musical creativity in the classroom: acquiring musical knowledge, developing musical skills, encouraging problem solving, developing critical thinking, supporting collaborative creativity, motivation and integrative teaching. Hopefully, the conducted research will contribute to a wide range of understanding of musical creativity in the classroom context, as one of the leading topics of contemporary music pedagogy.

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    307
  • Primary School Extracurricular Music Activities in Covasna and Harghita Counties
    36-46
    Views:
    477

    Arts education, including music teaching (Dohány, 2010) in elementary schools is getting less and less importance in our present day education system, accordingly we find quite relevant to investigate the situation of music teaching in Romania among the Hungarian minority educationís elementary classes. This present study would like to map the extracurricular fields of music teaching in Covasna and Harghita counties in Hungarian classes through a questionnaire research made among teachers. Our objective is to investigate extracurricular musical education in elementary classes, where we would like to find out what kind of musical activities exist in this area and how intensively do pupils take part in these activities. The self-made questionnaire was sent out online in Covasna and Harghita counties, based on the teachers ‘database at the end of January in 2020. 78 elementary school teachers took part in this research. All the collected data was processed with the help of a statistical data analysing software, examining the descriptive statistical indicators. The analysis shows that few elementary class students take part in extracurricular activities.
    Romanian music pedagogy research do not extend to Hungarian minority classes, thus we see it important to investigate the extracurricular activities in counties where Hungarian minorities live.

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    309
  • A Comparison of the Educational Methods of Zoltán Kodály and his Student, Klára Kokas
    47-52
    Views:
    422

    After the presentation of Klára Kokas’ pedagogical methods and her own invented musical activities with children, I shall try to compare these methods with Zoltán Kodály’s music educational practices and innovations to emphasize the continuity and discontinuity of Hungarian music educational practice. Kokas centered her pedagogical concept on children’s creativity, human relations, acceptance of and complete attention paid to others. This world view and ideology was constructed around a child-centered sensitivity, music being her primary pedagogical resource. The goal of this paper is to explore the main elements and characteristics of Klára Kokas’s pedagogy, which were revolutionary and new in the fields of personality development, music and complex art education. I will draw out those elements, which show similarity between his work and Kokas’s, then I will point out those components in which Kokas offered excess for personality development. The main elements of this concept is music, dance improvisation, motions, imaginative stories, visual arts, painting and drawing, but it’s most important component is that very specific and intimate relation, which connected her to the children. My purpose is to highlight the contours of the Kokas’ pedagogy. In my comparative research I mention the reform pedagogical elements of the Zoltán Kodály’s concept, and I seek the common and different elements of their music educational ideas and innovations. The importance of her beliefs and moral convictions in the art of education will be outlined then.

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    547
  • The Bodily Experiences of Music Teachers
    53-59
    Views:
    131

    This paper deals with the specifics of a music teacher's work in kindergarten and presents an empirical study, based on the approach of hermeneutic phenomenology. In the research outcomes, the experiences of the music teacher's work in kindergarten are presented through their stories about memorable moments of their professional activity. Initially, in accordance with the theory of Max van Manen, the research data were viewed through the prism of five dimensions (lived time, lived space, lived self-others, lived things, and lived body), typical of all phenomena. The paper discusses one of them, i.e. the teachers' experience from the perspective of the lived body. The stories demonstrate how through the looks, facial mimicry, and body language, moments of the teacher's everyday routine are revealed that would otherwise be overlooked or considered irrelevant.

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    219
  • Digital Tools of Universal Music Education
    60-66
    Views:
    463

    The purpose of this article is to present various solutions concerning music education aided by computer technologies. The article applies public music education. The author attempts to provide an answer to questions concerning the role of music teachers working with new media , which requires them to constantly improve and expand their skills. How are they able to utilise new technological achievements while at the same time blending them with well-proven, traditional methods of music teaching/learning, without falling prey to the dangers of modern media ? Any attempts at using innovative solutions are bound to cause numerous challenges for students, teachers, and the entire education system. However, the effects of such actions could contribute to the improvement of the quality of music education in society, which justifies the efforts. The intention of the author is attempt to look into the future on the basis of the existing data sources, analyses and global pedagogical trends and to search for theoretical and practical solutions, which may influence the formulation of the paradigms in modern music teaching.

    PDF
    612
  • Attendance of Pop and Classical Music Concerts among the Hungarian Youth
    67-74
    Views:
    198

    In this paper we wanted to give a comprehensive picture of capital theories from a theoretical point of view, looking at it from several angles. In our empirical study, we analyzed the Hungarian Youth Research 2016 database, which was recruited Hungarian youth aged 15-29. The study was conducted with several variables in mind, mapping the influence they have on the attendance of classical and pop music concerts. We took into account the gender, age, place of residence of the respondents, the highest level of education and looked at the frequency of the concert attendance by counties and regions. Our results show that many variables influence the frequency of attendance at concerts by both genres.

    PDF
    305
  • Foreign Language Interpretation in Teaching Soloist Singing
    75-89
    Views:
    130

    The problems of singing in the original language have become a special feature of the soloist training in the Central and Eastern Europe. The linguistic aspects of soloist training is put to the test by international expectation that regards authentic singing in the original language as a natural part of professional efficiency. In this present paper we are looking for the answers to two questions. First, we examined what factors determine the choice of the language for vocal interpretation. Our second goal is to give an overview of a specific segment of today’s Hungarian students’ population in higher education. We examined institutional, personal and curricular components for perfecting singing in the original language. The empirical study field of our research was Hungary’s higher education institutions of music in the 2016/17 term. Our researches were based on two methodological techniques. Among the higher education instructors of solo singers we conducted structured interviews and students from six higher educational institutions with this profile were the respondents of our questionnaire. The quantitative analysis of the research unequivocally represented the stronger demand of students for the training of linguistic interpretation. Our empirical research showed that the language efficiency of the solo singer students does not meet professional expectations. Pronunciation, comprehension, vocabulary, command of language and intonation are not utilized while singing and using the mirror effect of singing in a foreign language does not help perfect language knowledge either.

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    408
  • Wind Bands for Hungarian Community Music
    90-97
    Views:
    171

    The scholarly study of community bands as music communities can be considered a relatively young trend even on an international level. Despite this fact, there is more and more research done on the potential effects they may have on society and music education. Our national literary records on wind bands, however, are mainly focused on their historical background and their legacy in the military. Thus, there is an insufficient amount of information provided on the aspects of sociology and pedagogy. Besides the literary comparison done in our research, we also study the resupply of our national bands in music schools, using available data from the the 2016/2017 Statistical Yearbook of Public Education. This paper serves mainly as a tool of problem identification, laying the groundwork for further researches done in this area.

    PDF
    253

Research papers

  • The Profile of Children Diagnosed with ADHD in Bihor County. Descriptive Data
    98-111
    Views:
    269

    Although the topic of the profile of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is important for those involved in therapy or teaching, we found very few studies focusing on Romanian populations, and those targeting the North-Western region (Bihor County) are even fewer. ADHD is the most common childhood disorder (Aman et al., 1998), and it is important not only to know and understand the symptoms, but also to pay attention to the cultural specificity of the ADHD diagnosis, if it is possible. We conducted a documentary analysis, aiming to identify the profile of children diagnosed with ADHD in Bihor County and in this regard, we analyzed 196 files registered at the Municipal Hospital from Oradea in 2015. We focused on the demographic data, the symptoms, the comorbid disorders, the treatments, the school environment and type. Our findings confirmed that boys diagnosed with ADHD are more numerous than girls, and we also found significant differences between children depending on their ADHD core symptoms.

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    261
  • Horizontal Segregation as a Consequence of Hidden Curriculum in Primary School
    112-119
    Views:
    245

    Much of the special literature deals with examining textbooks, and during their analyses the underrepresentation of women in the world of teaching aids always comes out. The National Curricula (1995, 2003, 2007, 2012, and the new draft of the NC) serve as the basis for writing textbooks, thus it would be worth starting the examination of horizontal segregation according to gender here. In the current study, the goal is to identify and to map theoretical dimensions. This research introduces female education and stereotypes of women in Hungary, their theoretical background as regards horizontal segregation according to gender, and also introduces „hidden curriculum”. Horizontal segregation according to gender in higher education is easily seen, the goal of this study, however, is to examine its presence in primary school education through the teaching of three subjects: music, history, and physics. This dissertation is the first step in the research which furthers the mapping of the theoretical background.

    PDF
    323
  • The Evolving Concept of (Language) Assessment Literacy. Implications for Teacher Education
    120-130
    Views:
    464

    Language teachers’ assessment knowledge and skills have received considerable attention from language assessment researchers over the past few decades (Davison & Leung, 2009; Hill & McNamara, 2012; Rea-Dickins, 2001; Taylor, 2013). This seems to be linked to the increased professionalism expected of them in classroom-based assessments. However, teachers seem to face a number of challenges, including how large-scale standardized language exams influence their classroom assessment practices. Teachers’ assessment literacy, therefore, needs to be examined in order to explain their assessment decisions. In this paper, we review the concept of (language) assessment literacy, how it has evolved and how it is conceptualized currently. Recent interpretations seem to reflect a multidimensional, dynamic and situated view of (language) assessment literacy. Implications for teacher education are also highlighted by presenting research findings from studies that explored teachers’ and teacher candidates’ assessment literacy in various educational contexts. As a result, we can identify some common patterns in classroom assessment practices as well as context-specific training needs. Finally, we make a recommendation for tackling some of the challenges language teachers are facing in relation to classroom-based assessment in the Hungarian context.

    PDF
    659

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