Music in the new Primary
Curriculum
Why are we here?
• New curriculum came into force in
September 2014
• Perceived ‘void’ in guidance
A right to Music Education
in school
• Built upon Paynter’s (1982: introduction) guiding
principles, which include:
• ‘Classroom music is the core activity and extracurricular music should develop from here.’
• ‘Making Music is more important than musical
information’.
What is the focus of Music in the new
National Curriculum?
Seizing the opportunity…
• …to make Music more relevant to children’s
lives and education
• …to make Musical learning more musical
• …to make assessment in Music more musical
• …to make our Music curriculum more locally
appropriate
• …to join up learning across Music education
Misconceptions about
the new Curriculum #1
“There’s a real focus in the new
curriculum on Notation”
Swiftly followed by…
“But I can’t read Music”
Misconceptions about
the new Curriculum #2
“The new National Curriculum is all
about the History of Music”.
Foundations of the new curriculum
Composing
Critical
engagement
Performing
Listening
Support materials for the
new curriculum
https://sites.google.com/site/primarymusicitt
So…what are the key points?
• Integration of composing, performing, listening, critically
engaging with music and developing aural memory
• Playing instruments specifically mentioned, rehearsing and
performing
• Cumulative skill development
• Regular singing in all schools and ensembles out of school
• Tuned and non-tuned percussion and other instruments in
primary
• Use technology appropriately
• Learning about music through doing it ( including
developing an understanding of history and relevant
notation)
• Listen to and engage with a wide range of music
• Compose, improvise, perform, rehearse
Where are we now?
“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students
are no longer the people our educational system was
designed to teach”.
Prensky (2001:1)
“We are currently preparing students for jobs and
technologies that don’t yet exist...in order to solve
problems we don’t even know are problems yet”.
Shift Happens – Did You Know? May 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9WDtQ4Ujn8&feature=fvst
Why should we embrace
technology?
• Study from Daubney & Mackrill (2012)
Data
• 150 Questionnaires completed by children
from 7 Primary schools in 3 different areas in
England (69 boys, 81 girls)
• 56 children involved in group interviews
• 10 Diamond 9 activities completed by the
interview groups
Percentage of children who report
using music IN school (
100
90
80
70
60
Use in school
Boys
50
Use in school
Girls
40
30
20
10
0
Computer
Video
recorder
Audio
recorder
I tunes
Music
games
You tube
Radio
Waves
Numu
Percentage of children who report
using music OUT of school
100
90
80
70
60
50
Use out of school
Boys
Use out of school
Girls
40
30
20
10
0
Computer
Video
Audio
recorder recorder
I tunes
Music
games
You tube
Radio
Waves
Numu
Children’s music experiences in school
Overall ranking
across all groups
Children’s music experiences out of school
Overall ranking
across all groups
Children’s music experiences
in school
Children’s music experiences
out of school
The importance of mobile technology
for engaging with music informally
I listen to any music, like, like from pop, I listen to
pop like from Black-Eyed Peas say and then to class
– to like, I don’t know what, like to Adele which isn’t
really that pop-py, it’s more…so I just listen to any
music that I like really.
Sometimes when I listen to a song and I think ‘Oh I
like that’, I might think that I’d want to learn it so I
would go onto a website that gives you the lyrics,
guitar, guitar like, tabs. I go on this one called
Ultimate Guitar and it gives you the tabs for a song,
so listening to it, really…really that’s it.
Assessing music
• Ofsted (2012) urge the use of audio and video
recordings throughout the year (process as well
as product) in order to show progress and levels
of attainment.
• As with all subjects, there are no set ‘attainment
targets’ in the new NC.
• The NAHT assessment group reported on this in
February 2014. The ISM assessment guidance
(Daubney & Fautley, 2014) is in line with this.
Composing / improvising
•
•
•
•
•
Planning time
Model a range of possibilities
Make time expectations clear
Encourage risk taking
Give guidance but be flexible!
Curriculum design should
start from the premise that…
• “...a music teacher never meets musically
ignorant, untutored or uneducated pupils.”
(Folkestad, 2006:136)
But on the other hand…
• Music teachers have the potential to be
influential mentors who recognise and affirm the
developing interests of their students, nourishing
a sense of musical identity and providing
opportunities for the acquisition of skills and the
growth of confidence. They are remembered
fondly where their own passion for music was
evident, spreading enthusiasm and offering a role
model for aspiring musicians. At their best, they
are inspiring, nurturing and apparently
tireless .’
What do we value in
music education?
• Are we assessing what we value or valuing
what we assess?
• What do you value in a Music education?
Stage NOT age !
• The Music in your school might look very
different to the other schools near you…
• Remember that this curriculum offers
opportunities for the learning to be relevant
to the learners in YOUR school and is locally
appropriate, not age dependent.
In music, though music
or both?
• ‘The arts are increasingly seen as a way of
joining up the curriculum and making it
meaningful to young people. Through the arts
children express their feelings, thoughts and
responses. The arts have the potential to
stimulate open-ended activity which
encourages discovery, exploration,
experimentation and invention.’
Duffy (2006: xvi)
Making meaning
• ‘When students believe the text possesses a single
correct meaning, it is not difficult to understand why
they would regard their task as discovering the correct
one…being smart means being right, and being right
means knowing the answer to questions posed. Such
an attitude toward understanding does little to
promote intellectual values that celebrate multiple
perspectives, judgements, risk taking, speculation and
interpretation. Visual images, music, dance, and other
non-literal forms can invite modes of thinking that
reflect the foregoing values. When everything is
specified, the need to interpret is diminished.’
Eisner (1994, 71)
References
Daubney, A. & Fautley, M. (2014) The National Curriculum for Music – an assessment and progression framework. Published by ISM at
www.ism.org/nationalcurriculum
Daubney, A. & Mackrill, D. (2013) Music technologies in education – playing the home advantage. Music Education UK and Music Education Asia magazines
Daubney, A. & Fautley, M. (2014) The National Curriculum for Music – an Assessment and Progression framework. Available online at
www.ism.org/nationalcurriculum
Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum.
Duffy, B. (2006) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years: Second Edition, Open University Press.
Eisner, E. (1994) Cognition and curriculum reconsidered, 2nd Edition. Teacher’s College Press, Columbia University, New York & London.
Folkestad, G. (2006) Formal and informal learning situations or practices vs. informal ways of learning. British Journal of Music Education. 23 (2), 135 – 145.
Lehmann, A., Sloboda, J. & Woody, R. (2007). Psychology for musicians: Understanding and acquiring the skills. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
NAHT (2014) Report of the NAHT Commission on Assessment. Online at http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/news-and-media/keytopics/assessment/profession-takes-lead-on-assessment-after-the-end-of-levels/
Ofsted (2012) Wider, Still and Wider. Online at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/music-schools-wider-still-and-wider
Ofsted (2013) Music in Schools: What Hubs Must Do. Online at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/music-schools-what-hubs-must-do
Pitts, S. (2009) Chances and Choices: Exploring the Impact of Music Education. Oxford University Press, Oxford