A musical educational programme with a local band club for Primary schools in Gozo

Abstract

The provision of music education in schools is uneven and inadequate for those who wish to learn a musical instrument. A music education leading to the learning of an instrument is offered free of charge in the non-formal education sector of local band clubs, yet take-up seems to be declining. This exploratory research study consists of the implementation of a curriculum development project in a non-formal education setting in order to promote music education. This project was based on the curriculum design of three sequential music education workshops held for Year 4 pupils in the non formal music education setting. The workshops were based on a sequence of musical activities which culminated in ensemble playing and an encounter with local musicians. The project involved the participation of three primary schools – two state schools and one Church school. A local band club (the Leone Philharmonic Society) hosted the project as well as contributed to its development. This dissertation describes the planning, implementation and analysis of the non-formal music education project. It outlines the curriculum plan, discusses observational field notes made during the implementation process, and reports on the teachers’ focus group interview data to assess the learning experiences offered to learners through an introductory non-formal music education programme. Although it became evident that more research should be done on this subject, it was concluded that as an exploratory project it achieved its goal of music learning as well as of the promotion of the non-formal setting as a site for extending music education.