Can You Play 'Yesterday'?: Music School Teachers And Informal Learning In Spain

Author(s):

Alejandra Pacheco(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

29. Research on Arts Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

29 SES 11, Music Education

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-24

17:15-18:45

Room:

W2.06

Chair:

Rolando Angel-Alvarado

Contribution

The paper proposed here is concerned with the informal learning practices among teachers in music schools in Spain. Its departure point is the current context of teaching in public music schools in Spain. In these schools, music tuition is almost free, provided in academic settings with a high degree of paperwork and regulation: study plans, curriculum and evaluation are regulated by the regional government and the schools themselves, in a very similar way to that of primary and secondary education. Moreover, this highly regulated tuition, that includes two to five additional and compulsory subjects (depending on the Grade) per year, runs parallel to the general educational system. Besides the many hours spent in both primary and music schools, students have to find time for their homework and practising. The result of these situation is a high level of academic failure and dropout (Díaz Alcaraz, 1997; Lorenzo Socorro & Escandell Bermúdez, 2003).

Our final aim is, in this context, to find some ways for applying informal learning practices in music schools, so students may find the connection between their music school practising and the music they listen in their everyday life, in order to improve their motivation and permanence.

Since the last years of the 20th Century onwards -although the interest had arose years before, as shown in Green (1990)- a great concern on the lack of motivation in secondary education music students has been detected (Wright & Kanellopoulos, 2010). Some different approaches were discussed, and in 2002 Professor Lucy Green wrote a foundational book that became the starting point of a methodological trend focused on the informal learning approaches in music education (Green, 2002). This book was followed by an increasing literature about the nature and approaches of informal learning practices in the music classroom (among many others, we can mention here Jaffurs, 2004; Söderman & Folkestad, 2004; Batt-Rawden & DeNora, 2005; and Folkestad, 2006).

Green’s research had a practical consequence: the development of a research project across the United Kingdom, involving more than 600 schools (Green, 2009). Since then, practical approaches have been carried out, such as Musical Futures, in many countries, and studies on the ways informal learning practices may be applied in different settings and educational stages have been developed (Wright & Kanellopoulos, 2010; Finney & Philpott, 2010; Feichas, 2010; Vitale, 2011; Karlsen, 2010; Karlsen & Väkevä, 2012, among others)

The strategies described by Green have been the starting point of some of these studies, and although they were firstly aimed to secondary schools, they have been adapted and applied in other educational stages, such as primary and higher education, as well as the specific music teaching provided in music schools and conservatories.

In the case of music schools and conservatories, research has focused on topics such as improvising and ear playing. For instance, research embedded in the Ear Playing Project (EPP, directed by Lucy Green, with the collaboration of David Baker and Maria Varvarigou) dealt with ear playing practices in instrumental music lessons -one-to-one or in group (Baker & Green, 2013; Green, 2014; Varvarigou & Green, 2014; Varvarigou, 2014).

In this context, our main research question is: In which way do teachers in music schools apply teaching approaches related to informal learning practices? Which approaches and resources do they apply?

From this question, some secondary questions are derived:

-What is the specific methodological training in instrumental teachers?

-What is the previous experience of these teachers in informal learning practices?

-Why these teachers use, or not, methodological approaches related to informal learning practices?

Method

The current research has been developed through a self-administered questionnaire, handled to music schools teachers on-line, using SurveyMonkeys. The teachers were giving lessons in music schools (Stages 1-8) in southern Spain (Sevilla and its surroundings), with a final simple of n=45. The questionnaire includes fifteen closed-ended questions, and one open-ended. Most of the items include a ten-point scale, and are distributed in the following sections: -Section I. Demographic information: items related to the stages currently and previously taught by the teacher, length of teaching experience, academic degree and professional status. -Section II. Previous expertise in skills related to informal learning practices. Teachers are asked about their experience as students and performers connected to peer learning, creativity, self-learning, ear playing and diversity of repertoire. -Section III. Methodological training. Teachers are asked about their specific teaching training, with special focus on their knowledge on methodologies from 1960 onwards. -Section IV. Informal learning practices in the classroom. Teachers are asked to describe how often they apply informal learning approaches in their teaching, developing skills related to peer learning, self-learning, creativity and ear playing. They are also asked about the relevance they think different skills (formally and informally developed) have in their students learning. In the items included in the questionnaire, especially in sections II and IV, a close attention has been given to the five informal learning practices described by Green (2009) as those more able to be applied in the music classroom: -Free choice of the music played by the musicians. This music is well known by the students, who understand it and are connected to it. -Importance of ear playing as the main way of transmission, opposed to notation reading. -Self and peer learning. Knowledge is acquired without the guidance of an adult or teacher. -Knowledge comes in a holistic way, hazardously. -There is a deep integration of listening, performing, improvising and creating. The items presented in this questionnaire, therefore, are directly derived from these five topics, and they became the basis of the kind of informal learning practices described in the questionnaire. Questionnaires were collected from March to June 2016. It was validated through an external previous test, as well as internal validity techniques, such as Chi-square test. Results were analysed using SPSS 24 software, applying descriptive and predictive tools of analysis.

Expected Outcomes

The results obtained from the questionnaires have been analysed using SPSS 24. They show a clear profile of teachers with a classical and formal training, obtained in music schools and conservatories. In most cases, teachers have a very slight experience in informal learning practices, such as ear playing, improvising, peer-learning and non-classical repertoire. Regarding their pedagogical training, teachers show a big interest in teaching training oriented to their own instrument, but they have a slight (or even don’t have any) knowledge of general music methodological approaches. Regarding the kind of the informal-learning strategies they apply in their lessons, we have found a clear distinction between two kinds of strategies. On the one hand, we find those considered “useful” in the instrumental teaching, such as self-learning strategies. On the other hand, there are some kind of strategies that may be useful for giving some diversity in the music lesson, such as ear playing and non-classical repertoires. And even when some of the teachers have some kind of experience in peer learning and improvising, these strategies have a lowest consideration. The kind and diversity of the strategies applied by teachers have a direct correlation with the previous experience of teachers. Two main conclusions may be outlined: -Strategies considered as “formal” have a better consideration than those coming from informal learning approaches. The dimensions of the different strategies have a clear link with the teachers experience and training. -Teachers have, in general, an important lack of pedagogical training, especially in current methodological trends. In addition to this fact, they show a slight experience in informal learning practices. In consequence, the difficulties for applying informal learning strategies in their teaching are huge. Teachers should receive specific training and be encouraged to get involved in informal learning experiences, in order to improve their own skills.

References

Barker, D. & Green, L. (2013). Ear playing and aural development in the instrumental lesson: Results from a “case-control” experiment. Research Studies in Music Education, 35 (2), 141-159. Díaz Alcaraz, F. (1997). Evaluación del rendimiento de las enseñanzas musicales Plan 92 en Albacete. Ensayos: Revista de la Facultad de Educación de Albacete (12), 235-250. Finney, J., & Philpott, C. (2010). Informal learning and meta-pedagogy in initial teacher education in England. British Journal of Music Education, 27(01), 7-19. Folkstead, G. (2006). Formal and informal learning situations or practices vs formal and informal ways of learning. British Journal of Music Education, 23, 135-145. Green, L. (1990). Music on deaf ears: Musical meaning, ideology, education. Manchester University Press. - (2002). How popular musicians learn: A way ahead for music education. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. - (2009). Music, informal learning and the school: A new classroom pedagogy. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. - (2014). Hear, Listen, Play! How to free your students’ aural, improvisation and performance skills. Oxford University Press. Jaffurs, S. E. (2004). The impact of informal music learning practices in the classroom, or how I learned how to teach from a garage band. International Journal of Music Education. Vol. 22 (3) 189-200. Karlsen, S. (2010). BoomTown Music Education and the need for authenticity–informal learning put into practice in Swedish post-compulsory music education. British Journal of Music Education, 27(01), 35-46. Karlsen, S., & Väkevä, L. (Eds.). (2012). Future prospects for music education: Corroborating informal learning pedagogy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Lorenzo Socorro, S., y Escandell Bermúdez, M. O. (2003). El abandono de los estudios musicales en el Conservatorio Superior de Música de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: La opinión de los profesores del centro. Anuario de Filosofía, Psicología y Sociología, 6, 101-116. Söderman, J., & Folkestad, G. (2004). How hip-hop musicians learn: Strategies in informal creative music making. Music education research, 6(3), 313-326. Varvarigou, M. (2014). ‘Play it by ear’ –teachers’ responses to ear-playing tasks during one-to-one instrumental lessons. Music Education Research, 16 (4), 471-484. Varvarigou, M. & Green, L. (2014). Musical ‘learning styles’ and ‘learning strategies’ in the instrumental lesson: The Ear Playing Project (EPP). Psychology of Music, 43 (5), 705-722. Wright, R., y Kanellopoulos, P. (2010). Informal music learning, improvisation and teacher education. British Journal of Music Education, 27, 71-87.

Author Information

Alejandra Pacheco (presenting / submitting)

UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLA

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS EDUCATION

SEVILLA

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