Teachers' role in the transition and transmission of culture

Abstract

Globalisation is evident in every aspect of human activity. As a result of cross‐border information exchange, school music education policies in Asian countries have developed various trends. This paper investigates how these trends are adopted in music education policies and how they are influencing music teachers in Asian countries. The paper argues that the recent policy shifts in these countries reflect their desire to catch up with the global trend of educational values rather than responding to the realities of teachers in each respective country. It is also argued that the emphasis on cultural diversity has doubled music teachers' task in many Asian countries because teachers now have to cope with two different types of music: western music as a global common musical language as well as their own traditional music as the source of their national identity.

Keywords:

• music education
• education in Asia
• curriculum

Notes

1. Hong Kong is part of the PRC, but since its cultural experience is quite different from the main land in terms of westernisation, this paper treats Hong Kong separately.

2. There seems to be some variation of instruction hours depending on individual schools, but since Maryprasith's study covers virtually all lower secondary schools in Bangkok, teachers' comments are considered to have some generality. The Thai curriculum was revised in the 2000s, but integrated arts still exists as ‘art group studies’. For the information on the existing subjects, see Sedgwick (2005).