The teaching of music in the integrated expressive arts curriculum in Malawi: a case of selected primary schools in Mzimba district

Abstract

This study aimed at exploring Music teaching in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum in Malawi primary schools. The study was inspired by the general challenges associated with subject integration such as ineffective teaching and content dilution. The research focused on three objectives: to assess the perceptions of teachers on how they were prepared in their pre-service teacher training to teach Music in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum; to examine the challenges which teachers face in teaching Music in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum and to explore how Music can be effectively taught in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum. Utilizing Stufflebeam's Context Input Process Product (CIPP) model, Lingard et al.'s theory of Productive Pedagogies and Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as the theoretical frameworks, the study employed an interpretivist research paradigm and a case study design. It followed a qualitative approach and data was collected from four primary schools in Euthini Zone of Mzimba North District, where 4 Head teachers, 4 Section heads, 8 teachers and 48 learners were involved in the study. Data was analysed thematically using deductive and inductive approaches. The study’s findings show that teachers were ineffectively prepared in their pre-service training to teach Music in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum. Consequently, Music in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum is ineffectively taught due to the challenges which teachers face such as teachers’ inadequate understanding of Musical concepts, resource limitations, teachers' inability to adapt Music lessons to address learner diversity, teachers lack of use of effective methods in assessing learners, ineffective use of Music specific teaching strategies and inadequate official time allocated to the teaching of Music. In order for Music to be effectively taught in the integrated Expressive Arts curriculum, the study has found that there is need to work on a number of areas, for example provision of adequate teaching and learning resource materials for Music. The study recommends that Ministry of Education (MoE) needs to revise the way Music teachers are trained so that Music in pre-service teacher training is handled by competent Music educators in order to improve the training of Music teachers in Malawi.