The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to education systems around the world, resulting in a ‘new normal’ for school music education in which teaching and learning can no longer rely only on conventional classroom practices. Concerns have also been raised over music teachers’ digital competencies, given the perceived importance of the use of technology within the new educational landscape. This article presents the results of a study that examined the challenges and experiences associated with the digital competencies of music teachers during the pandemic period. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with full-time music teachers (N = 18), all of whom taught music as a subject at mainstream primary or secondary schools in Hong Kong. The findings revealed challenges and upskilling of music teachers during the lockdown period, including the technological constraints imposed by the school and the online environment, how they made use of technology to teach music online, and the different ways they developed their digital competencies. Alongside with the catalyst effect of the pandemic that stimulated their upskilling, curriculum changes in teacher training programmes are necessary to better prepare music teachers for the digital transformation of music education and future challenges under the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ situation. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of musical activities carried out in preschools for children aged 3–6 years in two contrasting cultural settings: Spain, a Mediterranean European country, and Hong Kong, a special administrative region in China. Participants were 398 teachers in preschools, 199 in each location. We administered a survey in which we asked how often they carried out 19 musical activities. In our analysis, we considered these activities independently and clustered by content (based on the type of musical practice involved) and nature (based on the potential of the activity to foster creativity). Participants in Hong Kong reported carrying out eight activities most often while participants in Spain reported carrying out four activities most often. Regarding content, Singing and Voice activities were provided most often in Hong Kong, whereas Rhythmic Movement activities were provided most often in Spain. Regarding nature, Reproductive activities were carried out more often than Creative activities in both locations. Contrary to our expectations, Creative activities were carried out more often in Hong Kong than Spain. We conclude that there are mismatches between the curriculum for music and actual practices in both cultures, with repetitive musical practices being the most prevalent. Implications are discussed for curriculum designers, teacher educators, and teachers themselves. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).

The purpose of this study was to investigate Hong Kong preschool teachers’ music-specific professional development (PD) preferences and analyze the potential differences among teachers with varying levels of teaching experience (beginning, experienced, and advanced). A survey was developed to assess four music-specific PD preferences: content, facilitators, types, and activities/resources. We found that respondents (N = 1,019) preferred PD that was centered on musical creativity and curriculum integration; facilitated by experts in pedagogy and music performance; conducted as short workshops and mentoring sessions; and focused on observation, skill acquisition, and practice. The data also revealed significant differences between beginning, experienced, and advanced teachers and their PD preferences. Beginning teachers showed a higher preference for graduate studies and blended PD. Beginning and experienced teachers were more interested in playing instruments and in learning by observing other teachers. Advanced teachers showed preference for PD focusing on dance and music appreciation. The study shows that teaching experience is a crucial factor for determining preschool teachers’ music-specific PD preferences. Implications include considering teachers’ interests, motivations, and needs while planning and designing PD for preschool teachers. Further research should explore what teachers with different profiles require in specific educational settings. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s).

Although studying music at school can be an enriching and enjoyable experience, it is an unpopular choice for many Hong Kong senior secondary students. The purpose of this study was to examine the rationale behind the low enrolment of music as a Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) subject. A questionnaire was conducted among senior secondary school students (N = 121) studying music at the HKDSE level, collecting information about their learning experiences and their perceptions of the curriculum. The results provided evidence supporting the difficulties and struggles faced by the students, including degrees of familiarity with, and confidence about, subject matters of different musical cultures, which subjects were prioritised when it came to studying, and the amount of prior specialist knowledge needed as part of the decision-making process. Tensions were revealed between the driving forces behind curriculum change and the readiness of students to cope with these changes, along with perceptions of music as an elitist subject with low utilitarian value. Socio-cultural interventions, such as making music education more accessible for all, while simultaneously ensuring that stakeholders' voices are heard as part of the decolonisation process, remain fundamental challenges facing the curriculum. Copyright © 2022 Sage Publications.

To investigate music teachers' perceptions and concerns in fostering music creativity of students with intellectual disabilities, findings are presented from a study of nine music teachers purposely sampled from across all three categories (mild, medium, severe) of Hong Kong's special school for students with intellectual disabilities. Personal profiles identify respondents' displaying three professional knowledge gaps -- music expertise, special-education training and prior experience of being taught 'creativity'. Findings also indicate that respondents add to the creativity literature: first by supplementing Hargreaves' 2012. "Musical Imagination: Perception and Production, Beauty and Creativity." "Psychology of Music" 40 (5): 539-557] 'process' to include 'music making' and 'body movement', and second, that music creativity may be described as a spectrum that embraces various forms of expressions. Copyright © 2022 Routledge.

The aim of the study is to explore preschool teachers’ folk pedagogy as reflected in music education in Hong Kong by examining how Hong Kong teachers act, think and interact with their students when teaching music, and their response when stimulated by Japanese preschool culture. To illuminate the concept of folk pedagogy, the study investigates the tacit norms, views and values of selected Hong Kong and Japanese music teachers. This research is a multi-case study with an ethnographic design for cultural observation. A meta-aspect of this study is to provide a venue for teachers’ professional development, which consists of sharing videos from other countries, discussing their values and allowing these discussions to enlarge their sense of teachers. Through individual and group discussions and the teachers’ beliefs construction one year later, the teachers’ beliefs, teaching pedagogies and implicit behaviours are identified and analysed. The implications of the study will strengthen music teachers’ evaluations of Hong Kong’s folk pedagogy. All rights reserved.

The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected education and services geared toward young children and families, including early childhood music programs. While some programs were shut down, others were able to migrate to online formats and outdoor offerings (where allowed). Early childhood music programs are usually collective, with babies and young children often sharing and exploring common spaces, instruments, and props. These programs are also heavily based on singing, a behavior that is celebrated by early childhood specialists for its emotional expressiveness, communicative potential, and relevance for child development. Because the coronavirus can be transmitted via aerosol particles, singing became highly unsafe during the pandemic. Other challenges arose as early childhood music education programs were transferred into new formats, ranging from issues of logistics and access to technology to adherence to everchanging local and national policies, as well as cultural beliefs and behaviors. In this chapter, teachers, researchers, and program directors offer stories of adaptation and resilience in varied early childhood music programs in Kenya, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States. Accounts are presented first, followed by their juxtaposition, to reveal common themes and implications for early childhood music education in the post-COVID era. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The purpose of this study was to explore how instrumental teachers reflect their professional development pathways with reference to their own apprenticeship experiences. The participants were three female instrumental teachers who taught the piano and violin. Reflections of teachers’ own learning experiences on their career pathways and professional development were collected from the participants through interviews, teaching diaries, and field notes. Several themes emerged from the data collected over an approximately six-month period. First, all the participants experienced long musical apprenticeships. Second, the teachers rarely perceived pedagogical skills are ‘learnable’ skills as performing skills. Finally, all the teachers were only interested in practical, examination-oriented professional development programmes, as opposed to academic or pedagogically-oriented outcomes such as journals or conferences. The unitisation of professional development choices would appear to be the most urgent and pressing problem faced by instrumental teachers. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Transmitting traditional music for sustainability has been a common theme in global music education. Recently, the school systems of Hong Kong and Guangdong have been encouraged by governmental authorities to teach Cantonese opera aiming at enhancing the sustainability of the genre and promote a Chinese cultural identity within students. This paper details a survey of school music teachers working in Hong Kong and Guangdong examining the current state of Cantonese opera teaching in the schools of both regions and investigate how it is affected by teacher variables including their interest in Chinese opera, the confidence in teaching the subject, and their perceptions of their Chinese cultural identities. A total of 1,974 valid questionnaires were received and examined. Descriptive and inferential statistics including MANOVA and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data. Findings reveal that Cantonese opera teaching is limited in both regions. While teachers are modestly interested, confident, and knowledgeable about teaching the genre, there is a significant relationship between the music backgrounds of teachers and their interest in Cantonese opera. The article discusses the findings within the context of a historical predominance of Western music within music education curricula and wider societies. Implications for policy makers are proposed. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Many Hong Kong Chinese parents believe that music training enhances the academic achievement of their children. The current study investigates the relationship between the extent and outcome of students' music training, their perceptions of the value of the subjects they study and their academic achievement. A total of 286 students in Primary 4, 5 and 6 from one school in Hong Kong reported the extent and outcome of their music training, including the number of instruments they studied, the number of years spent training, highest grade and highest level achieved. For value, students completed a subscale of the Achievement Task Value Questionnaire to measure their "liking and interest," perceived "importance" and "usefulness" of their school subjects. A nested structural equation model showed that, for both boys and girls, the extent and outcome of music training positively predicts academic achievement in Chinese, English and mathematics. Furthermore, the model shows that for both boys and girls, students' perceived value of their school subjects negatively predicts academic achievement in Chinese, and age has a direct and negative effect on mathematics achievement. For girls, age positively moderates the extent and outcome of music training on academic achievement whereas the moderator effect of age on students' perceived value of academic subjects is non-significant. For boys, in contrast, the moderator effect of age on extent and outcome of music training is non-significant, whereas its effect on students' perceived value of academic subjects is negative. In broad terms, the results show that parents are justified in believing that music training is positively related to academic achievement. However, the results differ for boys and girls in connection to the role of age in this relationship.
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