The pedagogy of primary music teaching: talking about not talking

ABSTRACT

In English primary schools, provision of musical music lessons is often lacking. This paper focuses on whether a lack of clarity around primary music pedagogy might be a contributing factor. Some comparisons are drawn with the realm of second-language teaching. A small qualitative study is reported in which three teacher-educators with responsibility for primary music, from different higher education institutions, were interviewed to explore their pedagogic perspectives and articulacy. There was little evidence of shared pedagogy and interviewees often struggled to explain effective practice. However, one common theme was the implication that to teach musically a teacher needs to ‘feel like a musician’ at some level. It is suggested that teacher-educators might benefit from more clearly articulating ‘pedagogic content knowledge’ (Shulman, Lee. 1987. “Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform.” Harvard Educational Review 57 (1): 1–23) for primary music, including the dimension of ‘feeling like a musician’. This could, in turn, enhance work with student teachers and perhaps enable more teachers to teach musically.

KEYWORDS:

• Musical pedagogy primary-school music teaching

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to my interviewees for their participation, to my peer reviewers for their helpful comments and to colleagues and my partner Mark for their support and guidance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributors

Ruth Atkinson has been a lecturer in primary education at the Plymouth Institute of Education, part of Plymouth University, since January 2013. She holds the management responsibility for primary music and also for the broader curriculum as a whole. She teaches undergraduate and post-graduate student teachers, including those who take a major specialism in primary music (one quarter of their total course credits) within their BEd degree. Prior to her career in Higher Education Ruth was a primary-school teacher, school music leader, deputy head and headteacher. Her experience in primary schools spans over twenty years. Qualifications include BAHons(Oxon), PGCE, NPQH, MPhil(Ed) and PGCAP. An amateur musician, Ruth plays cello, piano, recorders, guitar, djembe, kit drum and spoons.