Beyond a constructivist curriculum : a critique of competing paradigms in music education

The distinction between learning to perform on an instrument or voice and learning music in a wider sense is one that is made in many countries, and is especially pertinent in England in the context of recent policy developments. This article argues that, whilst this distinction has come to represent curricula based on the opposing paradigms of behaviourist and constructivist approaches to learning, this opposition does not necessarily extend to the pedagogy through which the curricula are taught. A case study of the National Curriculum in England highlights the characteristics of a curriculum based on constructivist principles, along with the impact this has when taught in a behaviourist way. It is argued that conceiving the curriculum in terms of musical competencies and pedagogy in terms of musical understanding would provide a basis for greater continuity and higher quality in the music education experienced by young people. Iミ ヲヰヱヰ Eミェノ;ミSげゲ デエWミ ミW┘ “WIヴWデ;ヴ┞ ラa “デ;デW aラヴ ES┌I;デキラミが MキIエ;Wノ Gラ┗Wが キミキデiated a review of マ┌ゲキI WS┌I;デキラミ デエ;デ エキェエノキェエデWS デエW ェラ┗WヴミマWミデげゲ ヮヴキラヴキデ┞ デエ;デ W┗Wヴ┞ IエキノS ゲエラ┌ノS エ;┗W デエW opportunity to learn to play an instrument and sing (Henley 2011). This shone a spotlight on a fault line that runs through music education, not only in England, but in many countries around the world: the distinction that is made between learning to perform and learning music in a wider sense. In England, this has been in part an institutional distinction, with Local Authority music services (now music hubs) and conservatoires primarily concerned with teaching instruments and singing, and ゲIエララノゲ ;ミS ┌ミキ┗Wヴゲキデ┞ マ┌ゲキI SWヮ;ヴデマWミデゲ ヮヴキマ;ヴキノ┞ デW;Iエキミェ さマ┌ゲキIざく Tエキゲ キミゲデキデ┌デキラミ;ノ SキゲデキミIデキラミ plays out in the distinction between a curriculum based on learning particular musical skills (primarily performing, but also composing and studio production for example) and a curriculum in which the principal focus is on cultural, contextual and theoretical knowledge (in which composition also plays a part). Behind these differences in practice is an ideological distinction, however, that reveals two fundamentally different paradigms of education. One is a paradigm based on behaviourist psychology, in which learning music consists of becoming proficient in a range of musical behaviours or skills. The other paradigm is based on constructivist psychology, and considers musical learning to be essentially to do with cognitive development. This article will argue that these distinctions of practice and paradigm do not simply align with one another, but that both ヮWヴaラヴマ;ミIW ;ミS さ;I;SWマキIざ I┌ヴヴキI┌ノ; I;ミ HW aラ┌ミSWS ラミ WキデエWヴ ; HWエ;┗キラ┌ヴキゲデ ラヴ Iラミゲデヴ┌Iデキ┗キゲデ