From music syllabi to teachers' pedagogical thinking : a comparative study of Estonian and Finnish basic school music education

Abstract

This study represents comparative educational research focusing on music syllabi in the National Curricula for basic schools and the pedagogical thinking of music teachers in those schools in Estonia and Finland. The thesis consists of six articles and a summary explaining the background of the research, the research methods, as well as the conclusions and further discussions about the results. The aim of the research was to study and compare the music syllabi and their influence on general music education and actual music practices in the two countries. The study also aimed at specification and comparison of pedagogical thinking of teachers teaching music in basic schools as well as tried to identify what objectives, content, practices and methods they used. The data came from three different sources: the current music syllabi in the National Core curricula in both countries, answers to a web-based questionnaire (N = 157) and semi-structured interviews (N = 10) for teachers teaching music in basic schools. The data were analysed using a mixed method, which became intertwined: the aim was to compare and obtain an overall idea about the role and meaning of the music syllabi on the music practices and to find out about the pedagogical thinking of the teachers music teaching. In the first stage, the music syllabi of both countries were compared using content analysis by themes and categories; next, the answers to the closed questions of the questionnaire were quantitatively analysed and the answers to the open questions were studied and qualitatively compared using content analysis. In the third stage, the data from the interviews were qualitatively analysed using directed content analysis. Finally, the entire data set was reviewed to obtain a more reliable overall picture, and the results of the analyses allowed to draw some conclusions. The results of the neighbouring countries of Estonia and Finland revealed several similarities as well as differences in their music syllabi and in the music teachers pedagogical thinking. The major differences were related to the level of prescription of the music syllabi, the optional status of the subject and the number of lessons. The music syllabus in the National Curriculum in Estonia provides more detailed explanations, and music is a compulsory subject throughout basic schooling. The music syllabus in Finland is more like a framework according to which teachers are expected to design the local curricula, and the subject is optional from grade 8 onwards. The number of music lessons per week also differs. The main objectives of the music syllabi in both countries confirm the idea of musicing: engaging pupils in the real world of music by singing, playing instruments, listening to various styles and genres of music, and expressing their own ideas through improvisation, composition and movement. The pedagogical thinking and use of music practices in the two countries also revealed similar tendencies. Thus, the use of Riho Päts approach to music teaching is naturally more widespread in Estonia, but as several Estonian music teachers also work in Finland, this approach has also become more popular here.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 5 citations exist upstream.