KUWAIT MUSIC EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVES
ON THE GENERAL GOALS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION IN KUWAIT
by
HAMED ALFARAJ
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Music
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
May 2017
2
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
We hereby approve the dissertation of Hamed Alfaraj, candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education*.
Matthew L. Garrett, PhD Committee Chair
Denise K. Davis, EdD Committee Member
Lisa Huisman Koops, PhD Committee Member
Nathan B. Kruse, PhD Committee Member
March 28, 2017
*We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein.
3
DEDICATION To my mother Maitha, my first teacher.
4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE ...... 13
Introduction ...... 13
The State of Kuwait: Geography, Cultures, and Political History ...... 15
Kuwaiti Musical Culture ...... 17
Middle-Eastern music...... 19
Education in Kuwait ...... 20
Music education in Kuwait...... 21
Music in Kuwaiti higher education...... 23
Scholarships and Kuwaiti graduate music ...... 23
Current Music Education in Kuwait ...... 25
Need for the Study ...... 26
Purpose ...... 27
Research Questions ...... 27
Terminology ...... 27
CHAPTER TWO ...... 29
Standards-Based Education ...... 29
The Goals of Music Education in the U.S. and the Development of National
Standards ...... 34 5
The Philosophy of the GGfME in Kuwait ...... 44
Recent Changes in Music Education Standards, Goals, and Curriculum in England
and Australia ...... 46
CHAPTER THREE ...... 50
Methodology ...... 50
Statement of Purpose and Research Questions ...... 50
Rationale for Basic Qualitative Study Design ...... 50
Qualitative approach...... 50
Natural setting...... 51
Researcher as key instrument...... 51
Multiple methods...... 51
Complex reasoning through inductive and deductive logic ...... 52
Participant’s meanings...... 52
Emergent design...... 52
Reflexivity...... 52
Holistic account...... 52
Basic Descriptive Qualitative Study ...... 53
Preliminary Considerations ...... 54
Researcher credibility...... 54
Sampling strategy and participants...... 55 6
Data Collection ...... 56
Interviews...... 57
Documents ...... 58
Focus group...... 58
Data Analysis ...... 59
Triangulation...... 60
Peer debriefing...... 60
Member checks...... 61
Content validity and translation...... 61
Participants...... 61
Results ...... 62
CHAPTER FOUR ...... 64
The Past ...... 64
Participants’ Background Knowledge of the GGfME ...... 64
The GGfME as a theoretical framework for music education...... 65
When Did You Learn about the GGfME? And How Important Are They for
Kuwaiti Music Education? ...... 66
The GGfME Are Important for the Music Education Profession ...... 68
Summary of Themes in This Chapter ...... 70
CHAPTER FIVE ...... 73 7
The Present...... 73
GGfME Effects and Benefits (Value) ...... 73
Which Goal Do You Use the Most? And Why? ...... 78
Which Goal Do You Use the Least? And Why? ...... 81
What Challenges Have You Experienced in Applying the Goals?...... 85
Summary of Themes in This Chapter...... 89
CHAPTER SIX ...... 91
The Future ...... 91
GGfME Strengths ...... 91
GGfME Weaknesses ...... 94
Possible Reforms ...... 98
Summary of Themes in This Chapter ...... 102
CHAPTER SEVEN ...... 103
Discussion ...... 103
Implications for Kuwaiti Music Education ...... 105
CHAPTER EIGHT ...... 109
Summary, Conclusion, and Potential Topics for Future Research ...... 109
Summary ...... 109
Research questions...... 109
Conclusion ...... 114 8
Suggestions for Future Research ...... 116
APPENDIX A ...... 118
APPENDIX B ...... 119
APPENDIX C ...... 121
APPENDIX D ...... 122
APPENDIX E ...... 123
APPENDIX F...... 124
APPENDIX G ...... 125
APPENDIX H ...... 140
APPENDIX I ...... 141
References ...... 143
9
List of Tables
Table 1. The new national standards vs. the old national standards in the U.S...... 121
Table 2. Complete worksheet for analyzing participants’ responses...... 124
Table 3. Complete worksheet for generating themes...... 140
10
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very grateful to those who helped and support me to during the past seven years. To my committee members Dr. Mathew L. Garret, Dr. Nathan B. Kruse, Dr. Lisa
Huisman Koops, and Dr. Denise K. Davis, thank you for taking time to attend to every detail of my work and and for striking the perfect balance of objectivity and support.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my research advisor Dr. Mathew
L. Garrett for the continuous support of my PhD study, for his patience, motivation, and generous knowledge. His guidance helped me in all time of research and writing this document.
Special thanks and endless gratitude goes to my course work advisor Dr. Nathan
B. Kruse. I enjoyed every second of our meetings. Thank you for supporting and helping me during the past four years.
I am grateful to my sibling and mother, who have provided me through moral and emotional support in my life. I am also grateful to my other family members who have supported me along the way.
I am particularly indebted to Jason Stuart my editor. Thank you for your editing guidance and valuable comments.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank my friends Ahmad Alnassar, Mishal Alobaid,
Mohammed Chahein, and AbdulAziz Alyoser for their constant encouragement and suppor.
11
Kuwait Music Educators’ Perspectives’ Regarding the General Goals for Music
Education in Kuwait
Abstract
By
HAMED ALFARAJ
Over the past few decades, many countries adapted a standards-based education in their schools. In 1967, the Music Education Supervisors Office in Kuwait published the
General Goals for Music Education (GGfME). In an effort to better understand the relationship between written standards and current teaching practices in Kuwait, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore Kuwaiti music educators’ perspectives regarding the GGfME. The research questions that guided the study include: (a) how did
Kuwaiti music educators learn about the GGfME?, (b) How and why do Kuwaiti music educators use the GGfME?, (c) What value do Kuwaiti music educators place on the
GGfME?, (d) What challenges do Kuwaiti music educators face in using the GGfME?,
(e) What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME?, and (f) What suggestions do Kuwaiti music educators have to change or improve the GGfME in order to better meet the needs of students in the 21st century?
Data collection included personal semi-structured interviews and a focus group interview with nine Kuwaiti music educators with varied professions and experiences.
Data analysis involved transcription and translating the recorded interview, and comparing results looking for common themes and categories. Findings indicated that
Kuwaiti music teachers focus on only a few points from the GGfME due to the 12 complexity, length, and impracticality of many of the goals. In addition, the emphasis on school band performance and lack of rehearsal time or a dedicated band class led Kuwaiti music teachers to focus only on students who participate in the band.
Implications encompassed the need for revising the GGfME to address simple, clear, and measurable goals that include appropriate performance goals for all students, the insertion of a band class or activity period separated from general music classes, and the necessity of professional development sessions and workshops for music teachers. More research
is needed to revise and renew the GGfME, including a bigger sample of participants,
comparisons between the GGfME and music education standards from other countries,
and investigating the musical preferences of Kuwaiti public school students 13
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
The development of learning goals and standards is a central component in formal education. Over the past few decades, policy makers and educators in many countries, including Australia, Kuwait, the U.S., and the U.K., have created and adopted national goals and standards for each core academic subject. These goals/standards provide various benefits: they set expectations for what students should know and be able to do; they provide common ground for teachers to share their knowledge among colleagues with a common vocabulary and practice; they guide professional development and allow it to be more firmly based on actual classroom situations; and they offer equity to students from different school districts around the country (Glidden, 2008). Further, educational goals and standards may evolve and change over time, keeping pace with changes in the social and economic status of the country. Initially, and for many years, the needs of the country served as the main factor influencing educational goals and standards (Tyack & Cuban, 1995). Yet in the twenty-first century additional influences have shaped goals and standards, including technological accessibility, the internet, social media, international educational test scores, and job requirements. Thus, music educators have created and revised learning standards and goals at the national, state, and local levels to reflect these societal and technological changes.
The United States and Kuwait were among the countries that adopted standards and goals for music education during the second half of the 20th century. In the U.S. in
1994, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) – then known as the
Music Educators National Conference (MENC) – published the National Standards for 14
Arts Education, which included nine content standards for music education (see
Appendix A). The nine content standards clarified the objectives of music education, and provided teachers with specific goals to work toward in their classrooms (MENC, 1994).
In Kuwait, the Music Education Supervisors Office established the General Goals for
Music Education (GGfME) in 1967 (see Appendix B). Similar to the U.S. national standards, the GGfME included 13 goals that guided Kuwaiti music teachers toward specific objectives (The General Music Education Supervisors, 2009). While the
GGfME tend to have moral and aesthetic philosophical bases, the U.S. music standards stressed performative aspects of music education, including singing and/or playing an instrument alone and with a group. Despite these differences, music educators in both nations utilize their national standards to justify their work with students and as references in their lessons. The GGfME and the national standards describe what students are expected to learn in the music classroom. In 2014, NAfME published new core standards for U.S. music education. Part of the revision was intended to incorporate technology, specific forms of assessment, and potential career requirements (Fehr, 2015).
The new standards for music education in the U.S. were intended to be an expanded and improved version of the 1994 standards (Shuler, Norgaard, & Blakeslee,
2014). They focus on the procedure rather than the final product, and include supplemental materials that teachers can use in their classrooms. In the U.S., there were several major events in music education that led to the establishment and revision of national standards, including the Yale Seminar in 1963 (Werner, 2009), the Tanglewood
Symposium in 1967 (Choate, Fowler, Brown, & Wersen, 1967), the Housewright
Symposium in 1999, and the Tanglewood II Symposium in 2007 (Mark, 2000, 2008). 15
The U.S. National Standards for music education remain a subject of continued assessment and evaluation by many music education researchers (Kruse, Oare, &
Norman, 2008). However, despite the fact that Kuwait’s GGfME were developed earlier than the U.S. national standards, there is no known research regarding the Kuwaiti music education standards. Furthermore, only one music education teachers’ organization—the
Department of Music Education Supervisions—arranges conferences for the music educators’ community in Kuwait.
Kuwaiti music educators adopted the GGfME in 1967. Since then, there have been many changes in Kuwait related to socioeconomics, population, and the influences of technology and the international community. Rapid growth in technology and the educational needs of 21st-century students have led music educators around the world to reevaluate and reform their music curriculum, goals, and standards to cope with these changes. What is the status of the GGfME in today’s music education in Kuwait? How helpful are these goals for Kuwaiti music educators? What are the possibilities to improve or enhance them from the perspectives of Kuwaiti music educators? What are the perceived strengths and weakness of the GGfME? These are some of the questions this study will address by exploring the perspectives of Kuwaiti music educators regarding the GGfME in the context of the modern Kuwaiti community. The following section includes a composite picture of the State of Kuwait, education in Kuwait, and music cultures and education in Kuwait.
The State of Kuwait: Geography, Cultures, and Political History
The State of Kuwait is an Arab country in the Middle East located at the northwestern corner of the Persian Gulf, with a surface area of 6,880 square miles. 16
Because of its location, many historical trade routes passed through Kuwait, and it long served as a seaport linking Asia and Africa to Europe (Abu-Hakima, 1983). The name
Kuwait was derived from kut – an Arabic word for fort or castle. The official language in
Kuwait is Arabic; however, English is widely used in business, restaurants, and banking.
Kuwait is bordered on the north by Iraq, on the east by Iran across the Persian Gulf, and on the south by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The population of Kuwait in 2014 was
3,441,813, consisting of 1,087,552 citizens, and 2,354,261 non-citizens from other Arab countries such as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and the K.S.A, in addition to a significant Asian population from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, and the Philippines
(Government of Kuwait, 2016).
The current AlSabah dynasty came to power in 1760 (Government of Kuwait,
2016), at a time when Kuwait was a small city surrounded by a protective wall with five gates that were closed at night (Abu-Hakima, 1983). In 1888, faced with the threat of an
Ottoman takeover, Amir (prince) sheikh Mubarak AlSabah sought and received a protection agreement from the British, which was agreed upon the following year. This agreement remained in place until 1961, at which point Kuwait became independent
(Alreshed, 1978). In 1962, 50 members of the Kuwaiti Parliament were elected by the citizenry to write what became the nation’s current constitution. This constitution established a division of three authorities: executive authority, assigned by the Kuwait sheikh; legislative authority, elected by Kuwaiti citizens every four years; and an independent judicial authority founded by the government (Council of Ministers General
Secretariat, 2016). 17
The population of Kuwait in general consists of two cultural groups: Bedouins and hadar – the Arabic word for urbanites. The Bedouins used to embrace nomadic desert living, often located near the Kuwait City wall, until the early 1950s (Alreshed,
1978). In modern Kuwait, Bedouins preserve their identity through their unique accent, poetry, social activities, and traditional music. The other cultural group in Kuwait, the hadar, was historically comprised of a seafaring people, living inside the wall of Kuwait
City, and village farmers living in the Alfuntas area south of Kuwait City (Alreshed,
1978). Like the Bedouins, the urbanites preserved their traditional music, which is considered an important part of Kuwait’s musical culture (Alyoser, 2016).
Music in general is appreciated in Kuwait, and the 1962 constitution included provisions for State support for and funding of the arts through education and independent art organizations (Council of Ministers General Secretariat, 2016).
However, the musical culture of Kuwait is far older than the modern State of Kuwait.
According to Al Manea (2008), a teacher in the Folk Department of the Higher Institute of Music Art in Kuwait (HIMA), Kuwaiti folk music may be traced back to the late seventeenth century.
Kuwaiti Musical Culture
Kuwaiti music consists of two major styles: folk music, which relates to the historic cultures that lived in old Kuwait (Bedouins and the two hadar groups), and popular Kuwaiti music, developed by young musicians during the 1950s. Folk music in
Kuwait has been preserved through local folk music groups funded by the government.
At present, there are several folk music groups in Kuwait that organize concerts and perform at weddings and special events. Usually, folk music groups in Kuwait specialize 18 in one of the cultural styles (National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters, 2016). For example, the Awlad Amer folk ensemble and the Aljahra folk ensemble specialize in
Bedouin music, while the Maioof mujali folk ensemble, the Bin Hussain ensemble, and the Alameiri ensemble perform mainly urban hadar music (The National Network of
Kuwait, 2016).
Bedouin music is primarily vocal, due to the nomadic life style of its practitioners.
Instruments are restricted mainly to percussion, which is common in other Kuwaiti musical styles, and just one tonal stringed instrument – the rababa – that accompanies the reciting of poetry (Al Manea, 2008). As with all Kuwaiti folk music, Bedouin music is categorized by its function in society, and additional divisions establish a repertoire performed by either male or female groups. Bedouin music includes war songs and social entertainment songs (Alderaiwaish, 2013).
Seafaring hadar and villagers used almost the same musical styles and instruments, with minor differences. Since the seafaring urbanities traveled to India and the southeast African coast trading dates, pearls, wood, and other goods, they brought back music from the regions they visited, and thus their music was greatly influenced by
Indian and East African styles. In the urbanites’ folk music, one can hear Indian scales,
African drums, and at times even the Swahili language. The urbanites use several tonal instruments including the oud, qanun, violin, sernay, and the African tambura, in addition to many percussion instruments. Urbanites’ music is categorized into entertainment or work music (Alyoser, 2016). Still, while it is important to note the influence of Indian and African music on Kuwaiti folk styles, the biggest influence on Kuwaiti music came 19 from the Middle-Eastern styles that flourished in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt
(Alderaiwaish, 2013).
Middle-Eastern music. In general, all Kuwaiti folk music styles were derived from Middle-Eastern music, including scales, rhythms, embellishment, forms, and instruments. Middle-Eastern music is characterized by the use of quartertones in its maqamat (plural for scale or mode). As in Western musical scales, most of the maqamat consist of a combination of two tetrachords; however, the maqam contains not only whole and half tones but also quartertones that distinguish the different Middle-Eastern scales or maqamat. There are eight main scales in Middle-Eastern music: Al-rast, Al- saba, Al-seika, Al-bayati, Al-hejaz, Al-ajam, Al-kurd, and Al-nahawand (Touma, 1996).
Middle-Eastern music has several musical forms, yet Kuwaiti music was affected mainly by the maqamat, and all Kuwaiti musical styles were based on these scales. In addition, modern Kuwaiti musicians, in general, use Middle-Eastern instruments in their concerts, including oud, qanun, nay, and violin, with Middle-Eastern tuning (Alderaiwaish, 2015).
Embellishment and improvisation are considered important features of Kuwaiti music, as they are in the performance of Middle-Eastern music. Darling (2004) explained these elements more thoroughly:
Unlike Western music, where an embellishment is used to highlight a note or
series of notes, embellishment in Arabic [Middle-Eastern] music is woven
organically into the music. A melody is almost never played in its simple form.
Embellishment varies with the individual, the maqam, and the type of instrument.
A player never repeats any melodic phrase the same way twice, using
embellishment as an improvisatory element in the music. (p. 80) 20
According to Dr. Alfaras, Associate Professor and Chair of Music at the Kuwait
College of Basic Education (personal communication, 2016), the influences of Middle-
Eastern music on Kuwaiti music increased during the late 1950s and throughout the
1960s and 70s, when music teachers from Egypt and Palestine were prevalent throughout
Kuwaiti classrooms. In order to further understand the context in which Kuwaiti music education was established, the following section includes specific information related to education in Kuwait.
Education in Kuwait
Until 1911, there was no formal education or schooling in Kuwait. Instead, children were taught by an Almutawa’a, a religious teacher in the mosque or in Kuttabs.
These one-room schools were considered to be Quranic schools. Children were separated by gender, with female motawa’a for girls and male instructors for boys. Children in these schools learned basic arithmetic, writing and reading, and the Quran. There were no textbooks in these schools, so Almutawa’a depended on aural/oral learning, in which he or she read loudly and students repeated the passage, trying to memorize it (Casey,
2007).
The first formal school in Kuwait, Al-mubarkia, was established in 1912.
Students received instruction in Arabic, religion, history, geography, and mathematics, although there was no structured curriculum. The development of structured curriculum started with the opening of the Al-ahmadya school in 1921 (Al-Sharah & Khabbas,
1987). In 1936, the Kuwaiti governor appointed a Council of Education, noting the growing number of students and the need to provide formal education for females, since both Al-mubarkia and Al-ahmadya were boys’ schools. Thus, formal education for girls 21 began in 1936; in addition, the Council of Education hired teachers from Palestine, who brought textbooks and new teaching strategies that expanded and enriched education in
Kuwait during the 1930s and 40s (Soulayman, 2001).
As the oil industry became the main source of income for the country during the
1950s, the Council of Education opened many schools in Kuwait and hired teachers from
Egypt and Palestine, who established the basis of the current education system (Alramzi,
1998). With the arrival of Egyptian and Palestinian teachers in 1955, additional subjects were added to the schools’ curriculum such as instruction in writing and reading, advanced mathematics, physical education, and art (music, visual arts, and drama). The current education system in Kuwait is similar to the education system in many western countries. And, as in much of the West, in 1965 the government of Kuwait established a law of compulsory education for all Kuwaiti citizens until the age of fourteen, and offered free public education for all Kuwaiti citizens including elementary, secondary, and higher education. Even though music was added to the school curriculum in 1953, there was no formal music curriculum, and there were only a few Egyptian and
Palestinian music teachers. Music teachers traveled to various schools and taught mostly vocal music that focused on educational, patriotic, and religious songs. Teachers established the content of the music curriculum, and not all schools offered music classes
(Alramzi, 1998; Soulayman, 2001).
Music education in Kuwait. Since the establishment of public education in
Kuwait, all students in grades K-9 have been required to attend a music class once per week. In 1958, with the formation of the Music Education Supervisor Office, the first formal music curriculum was created. It included four sections: playing, singing, music 22 history, and music appreciation. Most music textbooks were from Egypt, and included compositions and styles from both Western and Middle-Eastern music. In the early
1960s, with the increasing numbers of schools, the Ministry of Education—formerly the
Council of Education—noticed the lack of Kuwaiti teachers; roughly 90% of educators in the country were non-Kuwaiti (Soulayman, 2001). As a result, the Teacher Education
Institute (TEI) was opened in 1962. The TEI offered two-year diplomas in many academic disciplines, including music (Center of Kuwaiti Research and Studies, 2002).
By the mid-1960s, Kuwaiti music educators found themselves needing to justify the existence of music in the public school system because of two factors: first, the expanding oil industry in Kuwait, and second, the international call to advance science and mathematics courses in schools because of the Cold War (Dean, 2007). According to
Islam Faris (personal communication, 2016), a music education supervisor in Kuwait, these issues, in addition to the need for a clear aim for music education, led to the creation of the GGfME in Kuwait (see Appendix B). The GGfME have provided the foundation of music education in Kuwait since 1967. Kuwaiti music teachers still use these GGfME as references for and justification of their work with students. A detailed analysis of the GGfME is included in chapter two.
The year 1972 was an important year for music education in Kuwait, as it saw the opening of the Institute of Musical Studies (IMS). The IMS offers four years of secondary-level study with a curricular focus on music (Alramzi, 1998). After the first group of students graduated from the institute with high school diplomas, Ahmad Baqer, a pioneer Kuwaiti music educator, argued for the opening of a higher institute for music. 23
His proposal was supported by the Kuwait Emir Shaikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, and the Higher Institute for Musical Art (HIMA) was established in 1976 (Alramzi, 1998).
Music in Kuwaiti higher education. In Kuwait, there are two institutions that offer a bachelor’s degree in music: The Higher Institute of Musical Art (HIMA), and the
College of Basic Education (CBE). Since 1976 many Kuwaiti music educators have graduated from HIMA with a degree in instrumental performance, vocal performance, or composition (Alramzi, 1998). In 1987, the TEI became the College of Basic Education
(CBE), and began offering four-year degrees, for which the students are required to take
130 credits, with 60 credits devoted to their field of specialization (Soulayman, 2001).
Both HIMA and CBE utilize a repertoire of Western and Middle-Eastern music in their curriculum. Currently, most Kuwaiti music educators obtain their training through either
HIMA or CBE, yet the Ministry of Education is still hiring non-Kuwaiti teachers because of the increasing number of schools in Kuwait; according to the Ministry of Education
(2013) the number of public schools in the country stood at 863 in 2013.
Since neither HIMA nor CBE offer a graduate study program, Kuwaitis were offered scholarships from the government and through HIMA and CBE to obtain music degrees in other countries. Early scholarships were focused on performance and musicology in Egypt, and since 1985 Kuwaiti graduate students have obtained degrees in music education, composition, musicology, and performance from various countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, the U.K, the U.S., and the Netherlands. As a result of these scholarships, the faculty of HIMA and CBE now feature several Kuwaiti professors.
Scholarships and Kuwaiti graduate music students in Egypt, the U.S., and
Europe. From the time graduate scholarships were first offered in the 1960s and up until 24
1985, they were limited almost entirely to Egypt. According to Dr. Alfaras (personal communication, 2016), the majority of Kuwaiti graduate students studied performance
(of both Western and Middle-Eastern music), while a few majored in music education and musicology. In the late 1980s, a few graduate students traveled to the United States to acquire degrees in music education. Since then, several Kuwaitis have obtained degrees in music education from the United States and the United Kingdom.
Kuwaiti graduate students’ research has included a great diversity of topics, including music history and curriculum development for both CBE and HIMA. The following are some examples of research topics conducted by Kuwaiti graduate music educators in the U.S. and in the U.K.:
Historical descriptive research that discusses the history, development, and current curriculum in the Institute of Musical Studies and the HIMA. The History,
Development, and Curriculum of the Institute of Musical Studies and the Higher Institute of Musical Art in Kuwait by Dr. Alramzi in 1998.
Descriptive research about current music education practices in Kuwait, including music appreciation and elementary music education methods at the CBE. A Survey of
Current Practices in the Teaching of College and University Music Appreciation Classes with Implications for Teaching the Course in Kuwait College of Basic Education by Dr.
Almujarreb in 2000; A Review and Survey of Current Practices in Elementary Music
Education Methods Courses with Recommendations for a K–4 Course of Study for the
College of Basic Education in Kuwait by Dr. Soulayman in 2001
Content-area curriculum proposals for starting a vocal program at the HIMA and a clarinet performance program at the CBE. A Proposed Four-Year Undergraduate 25
Vocal Performance Major Curriculum Guide for the Higher Institute of Musical Arts in
Kuwait by Dr. Faraj in 2000; Teaching the Clarinet in Kuwait: Creating a Curriculum for the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training by Dr. Alderaiwaish in 2013.
A quantitative descriptive study that examined a sample of American non-music major undergraduate students’ familiarities and preferences for Arabic music as compared to other world music including African Congo music, Latin American music, and Asian music. Undergraduates' Familiarity with and Preference for Arabic Music in
Comparison with Other World Music by Dr. Alkoot in 2009.
A qualitative descriptive study that discussed the current practices of adult learning in Kuwait. Self-Reported Attitudes and Practices of Music Instructors in Kuwait
Regarding Adult Music Learners by Dr. Alyoser in 2016.
In summary, music education in Kuwait went through different stages to reach its current state in the public schools. In the early 1950s, music was included in the public school program, albeit with no textbooks or structured curriculum. The late 1950s ushered in the first music curriculum, with the establishment of the of Music education
Supervisors Office. When education became mandatory for all Kuwaiti citizens by law in the 1960s, the TEI started to train teachers and provide them with a degree in diverse fields, including music education. The Office of Music Education Supervisors created the GGfME as the basis of music education in Kuwait. During the 1970s, the IMS opened as a specialized music high school, and later developed into HIMA as the equivalent of a music conservatory. The TEI also expanded in the 1980s to offer a bachelor’s degree in music education, among other academic disciplines.
Current Music Education in Kuwait 26
In Kuwait, there are now over 2,000 music teachers of different nationalities, including Kuwaiti, Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian; these include both men and women.
These teachers have different areas of specialization, including performance, vocal, and general music. Music is available for all students in Kuwaiti public schools, grades K-12.
The general music education supervisors of the Kuwait Ministry of Education require every school to have a student band perform every day at the morning meeting, a
15-minute period before classes during which all students meet in the schoolyard to participate in activities, play sports, sing the national anthem, and listen to announcements. This meeting concludes with the students marching to class with their teachers, accompanied by the band. The band also provides background music to accompany the national anthem, sports, and other activities. School bands are involved in many school events, and often play against other school bands from the same district in a musical competition organized by the general music education supervisors (The
General Music Education Supervisors, 2009).
The instruments provided at a typical school include synthesizers, accordions, xylophones, and percussion instruments. There are no string or wind instruments in elementary or middle school. However, some high school students have the opportunity to learn an Arabic instrument such as the oud, qanun, and nay; in addition, violin and piano are common in high school music programs in Kuwait.
Need for the Study
The General Goals for Music Education serve as the basis of Kuwaiti music education. These goals were created almost 50 years ago, and despite the fact that other subjects’ standards have been altered repeatedly—mathematics and Arabic, for example, 27 have both undergone four such revisions since 1991 (Ministry of Education, 2016)—the music education standards remain unchanged. In addition, the rapid advance of technology and social media has affected the international community in many aspects, not least in regard to education. There is no known research pertaining to the GGfME.
In this study, I will investigate Kuwaiti music educators’ perceptions regarding the applicability of these objectives for contemporary music education.
Purpose
In an effort to better understand the relationship between written standards and current teaching practices in Kuwait, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Kuwaiti music educators’ perspectives regarding the GGfME and how to improve the content of the goals. This study was guided by the following research questions:
Research Questions
1. How did Kuwaiti music educators learn about the GGfME?
2. How and why do Kuwaiti music educators use the GGfME?
3. What value do Kuwaiti music educators place on the GGfME?
4. What challenges do Kuwaiti music educators face in using the GGfME?
5. What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME?
6. What suggestions do Kuwaiti music educators have to change or improve the
GGfME in order to better meet the needs of students in the 21st century?
Terminology
In the research literature, authors used varied vocabulary to describe standards- based education, such as outcomes-based education and competency-based education 28
(Hamilton et al., 2008; Hawes, 2015; Williams, Ledeman, &Tancredo, 1994). Since these terms contain similar meanings, in this study I will use the term standards-based education to refer to education based on a set of objectives developed by education authorities to identify what educators want students to understand and apply in schools, and to identify the aim and goals of the curriculum.
Bedouins: Also spelled Beduin, Arabic Badawi and plural Badw; Arabic-
speaking nomadic peoples of the Middle Eastern deserts (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 2016).
Hadar: The plural of a person who lives in a city.
Kuttabs: Religious one-room schools that were used until the late twentieth
century in many Middle-Eastern countries as Egypt, Kuwait, Syria, and
Jordan. (Al-Sharah & Khabbas, 1987).
Oud: A pear-shaped stringed instrument with 11 or 13 strings grouped in 5 or
6 courses, commonly used in many Middle-Eastern countries.
Qanun: A Middle-Eastern stringed instrument, a type of large zither with a
thin trapezoidal soundboard that has seventy-two nylon strings grouped in
courses of three, and is played by two plectrums or fingers (Taqasim Music
School, 2016).
Nay: A wind instrument consisting of a piece of hollow cane or reed with 7
finger holes, one of which is on the back and usually closed with the thumb;
the player usually carries a set of seven nays to cover the different ranges and
scales he/she might use (Middle Eastern Music and Dance, 2016).
29
CHAPTER TWO
Standards-Based Education
The content of education and its concomitant teaching methods have been a constant matter of argument and discussion among policy makers and educators around the world—as they should be. As the societal priorities of international and local communities have changed over recent decades, so too have the needs of new generations of students. These changes have required continuous improvements in the education system. One major change in education over the last few decades has been the widespread adoption of standards-based curricula, which are considered a major feature of modern schooling in many countries, including Australia, Malaysia, the U.K., and the
U.S. (Burke, 2015; Mohayidin, 2008). Across cultures, educational standards are supposed to explain what students should know and be able to do, and provide teachers with sufficient measurement criteria (Burke, 2015). Contrasted with input-based education, which depends mostly on teachers’ skills in presenting information and students’ abilities to memorize and recall it, standards-based education requires teachers to focus on their ability to help each student to learn, and to observe student progress in meeting the standards (Davis, 2003). According to Sturgis, Rath, Weisstein, and Patrick
(2010), standards-based education emphasizes three ideas: a focus on student progress in obtaining mastery of skills; unambiguous measurable learning objectives; and meaningful assessment of students and teachers alike.
Despite their widespread adoption, educators have been debating the efficacy of standards-based education. Both supporters and detractors have their arguments for or against this approach. Many supporters of standards-based education consider education 30 equity as the main advantage of standards (Carmichael et al., 2010; Hamilton et al., 2008;
Kluth & Straut, 2001). The Education Commission of the States (2000) included two strong justifications for standards-based education:
First, all students—not just a few—are capable of achievement and entitled to
rich, challenging and engaging work. Second, the role of schools is not to sort
and track students as high or low achievers, but rather to see to it that as many
students as possible make it over the high bar. (p. 4)
Kluth and Straut (2001) supported the education equity feature of the standards movement by explaining that standards can guide teachers to create appropriate curriculum and instructions for the multicultural and heterogeneous students of the 21st century classroom. Similarly, Hamilton et al. (2008) described that providing equal opportunities for all students, including students with disabilities and low English proficiency, has been a main aspect of the standards-based movement since its early stages in the 1980s.
The second basis for the inclusion of standards as discussed by the Education
Commission of the States (2000) is that standards may expand the expectations of teachers for student achievement and performance. Robert Marzano, an American educator and education researcher, suggested that standards enhance teacher expectations for student achievement by providing guidelines toward specific content or skills, and also by serving as criteria that can be used in assessment (Scherer, 2001). In addition,
Fisher (2008) claims that the implementation of standards enhances the performance of schools by defining measured goals of instruction and clarifying what students need to achieve; thus, standards help teachers to assess student achievement. Schalock, as cited 31 in Girod and Girod (2012), summarized the changes that standards-based education engendered in U.S. education in seven points:
The alignment and integration of curriculum, instruction, and assessment;
Clarifying what students are to know and be able to do;
Tailoring instruction to foster the desired outcomes;
Designing assessment to match the desired outcomes;
Using assessment information to guide instructional planning and student
learning;
Adapting both instruction and assessment to accommodate differences in
learners and context, as well as differences in outcomes to be accomplished;
and
The wedding of instruction and assessment in the classroom. (p. 3)
Not all standards provide equity in education, however. According to Carmichael et al. (2010), “Standards are targets, or blueprints, or roadmaps. If the standards are vague, watered-down, or misguided, they can point our schools down perilous paths. If there are no standards worth following, there is no education destination worth reaching”
(pp. 1-2). Thus, establishing standards in education is not an easy task. Doing so requires clear language and measureable objectives. According to Carmichael et al.
(2010), Glidden (2008), and Hill (2004), many standards publications are too vague and complex. Glidden (2008) stated, “Some standards are full of empty rhetoric, unclear, and devoid of content” (p. 14). Hill (2004) explained that in many situations the language used in standards creates an issue between the interoperation and intent of the standards.
Some researchers, such as Marzano (1999) and Lehman (2008), have stated that most 32 standards cover too wide a scope of information, and instead should be more focused, with clearly adaptable parts. When standards include an overwhelming amount of required information and skills, teachers might not have time to cover all standards within the classroom time available to them.
Marzano (1996) believed educators must ask eight questions when creating standards: “Where we will get our standards? Who will set the standards? What type of standards should we include? In what format will standards be written? At what level will benchmarks be written? How should benchmarks and students be assessed? How will student progress be reported? And what will we hold students accountable for?” (pp.
1-4). Marzano (1996) also included recommendations to answer these eight questions.
He suggested that when establishing standards, committees of professional educators need to review national and state standards and employ them in more specific standards.
In regarding the types of standards that should be included, Marzano recommended establishing subject-area standards with essential skills and knowledge, and general reasoning skills standards such as problem solving and critical thinking. Furthermore, the format of educational standards, according to Marzano, needs to include explicit standards and benchmarks of skills and knowledge, as well as examples of instruction or activities to deliver them. Marzano argued that for K-8, standards should exist for each grade level to provide teachers with “a great deal of ‘itemized’ guidance regarding a clear hierarchy of knowledge and skills that is grade level specific” (p. 2); however, for high schools, where the curriculum structure is usually based upon courses rather than hierarchical knowledge and skills in specific grades, Marzano suggested standards be written as course descriptions for various subjects and grades. The last three ideas Marzano (1996) discussed are assessment, reporting student progress, and teachers’ expectations for students. He 33 proposed that teachers incorporate diversity of “frequent assessment technique…. as well as externally developed traditional tests and performance tests” (p. 3); these multiple tools of assessment may help ensure the validity of teachers’ evaluations of student progress.
Marzano advocated that teachers continue to give traditional grades in all levels but also report specific student progress using standards associated with the course. In addition, teachers should not expect all students to achieve all standards; however, all students can theoretically achieve a mix of what are considered basic content standards and more advanced standards. Marzano’s (1996) eight questions and recommendations addressed many issues that may enhance the development of educational standards, including aim, language, format, and assessment.
In summary, standards-based education has been a trend among educators around the world since the late twentieth century. Standards were made to explain the skills and knowledge students should acquire in the classroom, and they also help teachers to enhance their instruction and assessments. Yet, establishing standards requires clear language and goals that can be measured and understood by teachers as well as students. In addition, standards have been designed to improve education, and continued improvement will require continued change; thus, new standards may replace older ones to reflect changes in the community. For example, in 2014 the new National Standards for Music Education replaced the 1994 National Standards in the U.S. The following section provides information regarding music education in the U.S. and highlights the major events that led to the development of national standards for music education. 34
The Goals of Music Education in the U.S.
and the Development of National Standards
In the U.S., music education went through several distinct stages before arriving at its current state. During the Colonial period, the main rationale for learning music was simply to be able to sing in church; what public schools there were did not include musical instruction (Mark, 1982; 2008). By the early nineteenth century, a few public school systems in Boston included music as a subject, utilizing a curriculum based on the theories of the Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (Mark, 2008). Pestalozzi’s educational theories sought to help individuals improve their lives through the education of “head, heart, and hand” (Silber, 2016). This theory justified the existence of music in the public school system, wherein music served to enhance students’ three main capacities—mental, moral, and physical (Mark, 2008). The Boston School Committee made these aspects clear in its 1837 report putting forth the rationale for including music in the curriculum:
1. Intellectually. Music had its place among the seven liberal arts, which scholastic ages
regarded as pertaining to humanity.
2. Morally. It is unphilosophical to say that exercises in vocal music may not be so
directed and arranged as to produce those habits of feeling of which these sounds are
the type. Happiness, contentment, cheerfulness, tranquility—these are the natural
effects of music.
3. Physically. It appears self-evident that exercise in vocal music, when not carried to
unreasonable excess, must expand the chest and thereby strengthen the lungs and vital
organs. (Birge, 1928, p. 41) 35
In 1838, the Boston School Committee approved the inclusion of music in the public school program, and music became funded and treated as equal to other core school subjects. This event has been referred to as the “Magna Charta of Music
Education” (Birge, 1928, p. 55). In the same year, Lowell Mason, considered the “father of singing among children,” was assigned to be the first supervisor of music education in the U.S. (Mark, 2008). During the 1830s and 1840s, Mason and other pioneer music educators arranged a series of summer conventions that provided lectures about church music, teaching methods, and harmony, and were attended by church musicians, singing- school masters, professional singers, and others interested in vocal music methods (Mark,
2008). Following Boston’s lead, many school districts around the nation added music education to their programs over the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century, not only vocal but also instrumental music was common in public school programs
(Mark, 2008).
Professional organizations played an important role in the development of music education in the U.S. The first gathering of music education supervisors took place in
1910, and was called the Music Supervisors National Conference (MSNC) (Mark, 2008).
The theme of the first of these conferences was “mutual helpfulness and the promotion of good music through the instrumentality of the public school” (Mark, 2008, p. 91). The
MSNC advocated for instrumental music to be part of the public school curriculum.
Although instrumental music had begun to appear in public schools starting in the mid- nineteenth century, it expanded significantly in the early twentieth century due to both the
MSNC’s efforts and the growing popularity of concert bands and symphony orchestras
(Birge, 1928). According to Mark (2008), in 1918 Joseph Maddy was assigned to be the 36 first instrumental music supervisor in Rochester, New York. By the 1930s, school bands and orchestras were modeling themselves after their professional counterparts and playing repertoires of challenging music (Mark, 2008). The MSNC also published, among other things, teaching materials, including methods and topics for different grades to help music teachers across the nation (Mark, 2008). In 1934, the MSNC expanded to include music teachers, and not only supervisors, and so it became the Music Education
National Conference (MENC) (NAfME, 2015). MENC published a teachers’ guide that outlined a program of music education and suggested five core activities—singing, rhythm, listening, playing, and creating music (Mark, 2008). Music teachers used this outline widely on a national scale, and it brought some unity to music education in the
U.S. for many years (Mark, 2008).
With a growing community of music educators during the first half of the twentieth century, many musical education organizations were established, such as the
National Association of Schools of Music and the Music Teachers National Association, while other music organizations joined MENC, including the College Band Director
National Association, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion
Instructors, and the American Strings Teachers Association (Mark, 2008). Since the
1960s certain key events have changed music education in the public schools and provided an even stronger foundation for school music. Among these events are the shift to an aesthetic philosophy, the Yale Seminar in 1963, the Tanglewood Symposium in
1967, the establishment of National Standards for Music Education in 1994, the
Housewright Symposium in 1999, the Tanglewood II Symposium in 2007, and the development of the new National Standards for Music Education in 2014. 37
According to Mark (1982), until the mid-twentieth century, music education philosophy in the U.S. was mostly based on the utilitarian values of ancient Roman and
Greek philosophers. The utilitarian philosophy of music education was intended to enhance individuals and the community in general through music education. By the late
1950s, with the influences of new technologies and the Cold War, music educators in the
U.S. needed to redefine the place of music education in the public schools (Mark, 1982;
Phillips, 1983). Music educators came to embrace the aesthetic philosophy as the basis for music education, wherein music was put forth as valuable unto itself, above and beyond any secondary values that might accrue from its study (Mark, 1982). As Phillips
(1983) stated, “Music in itself was worthy of study because of its inherent qualities, and no excess baggage of utilitarian provisions were needed” (p. 30).
The U.S. Office of Education’s Cooperative Research Program provided funds for the College Music Association and Yale University to arrange the 1963 Yale Seminar.
The seminar’s purpose was to discuss the gap between music educators and contemporary composers (Werner, 1979). The final report of the seminar included the following recommendations regarding music education: musicality as an aim of music education; a contemporary repertory; diverse music literature; varied performance activities; music analysis and theory; the participation of professional musicians to support classroom teachers; audiovisual aids; and teacher training (Werner, 2009).
In 1967, MENC held the Tanglewood Symposium to establish a clear vision for music education in response to social, economic, and technological changes in American society (Mark, 2000). The Tanglewood Symposium, according to Mark (2008), was 38 responsible for many changes in American music education, including the recommendations of the Tanglewood Declaration, wherein music educators agreed that:
1. Music serves best when its integrity as an art is maintained.
2. Music of all periods, styles, forms, and cultures belong in the curriculum. The
musical repertory should be expanded to involve music of our time in its rich
variety, including currently popular teenage music and avant-garde music,
American folk music, and the music of other cultures.
3. Schools and colleges should provide adequate time for music in programs ranging
from preschool through adult or continuing education.
4. Instruction in the arts should be a general and important part of education in the
senior high school.
5. Developments in educational technology, educational television, programmed
instruction, and computer-assisted instruction should be applied to music study
and research.
6. Greater emphasis should be placed on helping the individual student to fulfill his
needs, goals, and potentials.
7. The music education profession must contribute its skills, proficiencies, and
insights toward assisting in the solution of urgent social problems as in the “inner
city” or other areas with culturally deprived individuals.
8. Programs of teacher education must be expanded and improved to provide music
teachers who are specially equipped to teach high school courses in the history
and literature of music, courses in the humanities and related arts, and music
teachers equipped to work with the very young, with adults, with the 39
disadvantaged, and with the emotionally disturbed. (Choate, Fowler, Brown, &
Wersen, 1967, p. 50)
While the Tanglewood declaration included general aims for music education, it also established a foundation for professional music education in the American public education system. Piersol (2000) described the influence of this conference as “a wake- up call to our profession [music education]. Conferences like Tanglewood were wellsprings of clear, deep thinking about questions that deserved answers. They helped us to define our generation, our civilization, our profession, and ourselves” (p. 31).
The adoption of the National Standards for Music Education in 1994 was a result of several events and publications, including A Nation at Risk in 1983, the America 2000
Plan in 1989, and MENC’s publication of The School Music Program: Descriptions and
Standards in 1976 and 1986. Many researchers have referred to A Nation at Risk, a report that was published by the National Commission on Excellence in Education in
1983, as the starting point of the standards movements in American education (Conway,
2008; Mark, 2008). This report called for measureable standards for education and higher expectations for students’ academic performance (LeBlanc, 1983). MENC presented the National Standards for Music Education in 1994 to unify music instruction among the individual states and to define clear objectives for music education in public schools (Mark, 1995). For 20 years the National Standards for Music Education guided music educators in the U.S. to establish appropriate music instruction and assessments.
The 1994 National Standards had nine content standards and achievement standards for specific grade levels—K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The nine content standards (see Appendix A) included performance standards, composition, music notation, music history, and the 40 relationships between music and other arts and disciplines, while the achievement standards described the knowledge and skills associated with each content standard for specific grade levels. As a follow up, MENC published Opportunities-to-Learn
Standards that included a detailed description of the implementation of the National
Standards in public school programs including curriculum and scheduling, staffing, music material and equipment, and facilities (MENC, 1994).
By 1999, American music educators, as represented by MENC, the National
Association for Music Education, and the School of Music of Florida State University, believed that they needed to evaluate the status of music education and establish a futuristic vision that targeted the next twenty years (Mark, 2008). Vision 2020: The
Housewright Symposium on the Future of Music Education was held at Florida State
University in 1999, and was attended by over 150 music educators and industry representatives who agreed on several points that were included in the conference’s final report (Mark, 2008). The 1999 Housewright Symposium participants declared:
1. All persons, regardless of age, cultural heritage, ability, venue, or financial
circumstance deserve to participate fully in the best music experiences possible.
2. The integrity of music study must be preserved. Music educators must lead the
development of meaningful music instruction and experience.
3. Time must be allotted for formal music study at all levels of instruction such
that a comprehensive, sequential, and standards-based program of music
instruction is made available.
4. All music has a place in the curriculum. Not only does the Western art tradition
need to be preserved and disseminated, music educators also need to be aware 41
of other music that people experience and be able to integrate it into classroom
music instruction.
5. Music educators need to be proficient and knowledgeable concerning
technological changes and advancements and be prepared to use all appropriate
tools in advancing music study while recognizing the importance of people
coming together to make and share music.
6. Music educators should involve the music industry, other agencies, individuals,
and music institutions in improving the quality and quantity of music
instruction. This should start within each local community by defining the
appropriate role of these resources in teaching and learning.
7. The currently defined role of the music educator will expand as settings for
music instruction proliferate. Professional music educators must provide a
leadership role in coordinating music activities beyond the school setting to
insure formal and informal curricular integration.
8. Recruiting prospective music teachers is a responsibility of many, including
music educators. Potential teachers need to be drawn from diverse
backgrounds, identified early, led to develop both teaching and musical abilities,
and sustained through ongoing professional development. Also, alternative
licensing should be explored in order to expand the number and variety of
teachers available to those seeking music instruction.
9. Continuing research addressing all aspects of music activity needs to be
supported including intellectual, emotional, and physical responses to music. 42
Ancillary social results of music study also need exploration as well as specific
studies to increase meaningful music listening.
10. Music making is an essential way in which learners come to know and
understand music and music traditions. Music making should be broadly
interpreted to be performing, composing, improvising, listening, and
interpreting music notation.
11. Music educators must join with others in providing opportunities for meaningful
music instruction for all people beginning at the earliest possible age and
continuing throughout life.
12. Music educators must identify the barriers that impede the full actualization of
any of the above and work to overcome them. (Madsen, 2000, pp. 219-220)
According to Mark (2008), the Housewright Symposium restated the recommendations from the Tanglewood Symposium and indicated new challenges facing the profession, such as teacher music instruction issues, community music, technological advancement, and the lack of music teachers.
Once more, in 2006, the community of music educators in the U.S. noticed rapid change in American society: how technology affected the production, process, and delivery of music; demographic changes in the student population; the efficiency of music teacher training programs; and cuts to music programs in many urban and rural schools. Over three days in June 2007, an international group of distinguished music educators, researchers, and scholars gathered at Williams College in Massachusetts to discuss contemporary issues in the field of music education. The Tanglewood II
Symposium resulted in a declaration that called for changes in music education, with ten 43 recommendations and a detailed vision for each recommendation. The declaration discussed different topics including humans and music, music and meaning, the development of musicianship, the quality of musical experience, equity and access, curricular change and innovation, research relevance, music faculty responsibilities, admission and graduation requirements, mentorship, and professional development
(Tanglewood II, 2007).
With the increasing calls for changes in music education put forth in the
Housewright and Tanglewood II declarations, the National Association for Music
Education (NAfME, formerly MENC) presented the 2014 Standards for Music Education as an improvement of the 1994 standards. According to Shuler, Norgaard, and Blakeslee
(2014), “The current environment differs from 1994 in a number of respects, ranging from the greater availability of technology to increased emphasis on assessment and college and career readiness. The National Core Music Standards were consciously crafted to reflect such contemporary trends” (p. 41). The new standards focus on procedure rather than any final product, and highlight three musical activities: creating, performance, and responding to music (NAfME, 2014). The new standards are comprised of five sections covering a wide range of music topics including PK-8 general music, composition and theory, music technology, guitar/keyboard/harmonizing instruments, and ensemble standards. Shuler, Norgaard, and Blakeslee (2014) provided a detailed chart to compare the old and new national standards for music education (see
Appendix C). Beyond the standards themselves, a notable amount of secondary materials was published simultaneously as supports for teachers to adopt and implement the new standards; these include opportunities to learn standards, tutorials and educational videos, 44 a standards adoption toolkit, resources and workbooks, and assessment methods and tools. NAfME published the 2014 standards, along with the supporting materials, online at www.nafme.com.
In summary, from Colonial times through the establishment of singing schools, the adoption of music education in public schools. Then the rise of instrumental music, the increasing number of music education organizations, and the series of conventions and symposiums on music education beginning in the 1960s. The music education experience in American public schools has undergone almost constant growth and enrichment for both students and teachers.
The Philosophy of the GGfME in Kuwait
Within Kuwaiti music education, the philosophical strands behind the GGfME are similar to the earlier utilitarian philosophy of music education in the U.S. that was driven by ancient Greek and Roman philosophers and the utilitarian values of music.
Unfortunately, there is a lack of documents regarding the establishment of the GGfME of music education in Kuwait; as Alramzi (1998) explained, many crucial documents relating to the history and development of music education in Kuwait were destroyed in
1990 during the First Gulf War. However, the language and the general aim in most of the GGfME were clearly driven by a similar rationale as that used in the U.S. to support music education prior to the 1960s, namely, a utilitarian approach. In addition, the goals include performance activities, musical notation, and student creativity.
Bennet Reimer, a pioneer American music education philosopher and researcher, described examples of music’s utilitarian values in regard to education: “music is useful for raising test scores in the basic subjects…, for improving spatial and temporal 45 reasoning…, for supporting the teaching of a variety of other subjects, for installing discipline, [and] improving social skills” (Reimer, 2003, p. 63). All these examples are reflected in Kuwait’s music education goals. Goals number 1, 2, 8, 9, and 13, include “to deepen the faith in the principles of the Islamic religion…. encouraging the feelings of citizenship and cultural identity, to link students to their environment, to develop social skills, to improve the student’s self-confidence, and helping students to do well in other school subjects” (The General Music Education Supervisors, 1999).
Religious elements also exist within the goals, based on Plato’s idea that music participates in the development of civil community through the education of individuals
(Mark, 2008). In the 1960s, almost 100% of Kuwait’s population was Muslim; thus
Islamic values were considered to be among the civil targets that were included in the first goal. According to the official government website, in 2014, 25% of Kuwait’s population are non-Muslim, and many of them attend public schools (Government of
Kuwait, 2016).
The utilitarian ethos is also reflected in the 6th goal, balance between the students’ mental, emotional, and physical health, which interestingly shares the vision of the 1837
Boston School Committee report in applying Pestalozzi’s method (Mark, 2008). The goal focuses on students’ mental, emotional, and physical health, mirroring Pestalozzi’s theory of the education of “head, heart, and hand” (Silber, 2016).
Although musical instruments are not mentioned in the GGfME, most of which include singing, some goals embedded music performance through different wordings, as in goals 4, 8, and 10. These goals include students’ abilities to express themselves 46 artistically through music, participation in musical projects, and to give the students technical skills.
Goal 11 is to identify talented students and support them. It is common for educators to support students that show exceptional academic potential (Bucknavage &
Worrel, 2005). American educators undertook a similar goal in 1963, when MENC organized a program called Composers in Public Schools, in which professional composers supported music educators through educational workshops (Mark, 2008). The project had five purposes, one of which was to “discover creative talent among students”
(Mark, 2008, p. 147).
The GGfME have served as the foundation of Kuwaiti music education since
1967. They emphasize utilitarian values of music as well as performance, creativity, and musical notation. In general, the aim of Kuwait’s public music education as presented in the GGfME is quite similar to the foundation of music education in the U.S. from its very beginnings up through the establishment of performance-based standards in 1994.
However, the U.S. standards reflected numerous societal, technological, and educational changes that had been occurring for decades, and were themselves revised and improved just twenty years later, in 2014. Nor is the U.S. the only country to renew and refine its music education standards; in recent years several nations have adjusted their music standards or curriculum to serve the needs of 21st century learners.
Recent Changes in Music Education Standards, Goals, and Curriculum
in England and Australia
England introduced a new music curriculum in 2013. In the new curriculum, the
Department of Education included a brief rationale for including music education in 47 school, the aims behind the new curriculum, and three stages of subject content.
According to the Department of Education (2013), the main reason behind the new national curriculum is to provide equal opportunities for all students to experience high- quality music, and to learn from schoolteachers as well as from professional musicians.
As written, the national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical
periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great
composers and musicians.
Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their
own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use
technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next
level of musical excellence
Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated,
including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics,
tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
(Department of Education, 2013, p. 1)
In addition to the aim of the national curriculum, the short report of the national curriculum includes three stages with targeted skills that students are expected to learn, apply, and understand. The three stages offer a variety of musical activities that students can experience. Furthermore, the Department of Education published a pamphlet that describes every aspect of the new national curriculum, including a technology section with detailed musical technology activities such as sound recording, sampling, sequencing, and sharing/streaming audio. 48
The most prominent feature of the new national curriculum in England is that music education hubs, which will be funded and established by the Department of
Education, will replace the local authority music services. The music education hubs consist of local art organizations, professional instrumentalists, and musicians that will support music teachers and help in school music programs (Department of Education,
2013). According to the Department of Education (2013), it is difficult for music teachers alone to fulfill the varied needs of the modern classroom, so “a music infrastructure that transcends schools is necessary…. hubs will augment and support music teaching in schools so that more children experience a combination of classroom teaching, instrumental and vocal tuition and input from professional musicians” (p. 10).
The new national music curriculum in England is therefore at least in part an attempt to narrow the gap between music education and experience inside and outside schools.
Similar to the changes in the U.S. and England, in 2014 the Australian
Department of Education adopted a new national arts curriculum in dance, drama, media arts, visual arts, and music (Department of Education, 2014). A full description of the new Australian art curriculum is available online at www.australiancurriculum.edu.au.
The new music curriculum emphasizes musical technology, history, theory, and Western classical music, as well as Australian native music such as Aboriginal music. It also includes detailed objectives with supporting materials and examples for each grade from
K-10. The objectives are divided into two sections: general capabilities and cross- curriculum priorities. The general capabilities objectives include literacy, numeracy, information and communication technology, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capabilities, ethical understanding, and intercultural understanding. The cross- 49 curriculum priorities include topics such as local cultures in Australia and the interaction between Australian and Asian countries. As in many nations, the advancement of technology has driven educators to improve and refine educational programs, and technological change was a key impetus for the introduction of a new music curriculum in Australia.
The continued research, evaluation, and assessment of educational achievement in the U.S., England, and Australia led to the reconstruction of their music education standards/goals/curriculum. Such improvements and adjustments are vital for maintaining the high quality of music education and education in general; educators and researchers ought to use available resources and technologies to enhance their ability to meet students’ needs. As such, this study is intended to be the first step toward documenting and investigating the status of music education in Kuwait in relation to the
GGfME as established in 1967.
50
CHAPTER THREE
Methodology
This chapter describes the methodology used in this study, including: (a) statement of purpose, (b) research questions, (c) rationale for basic qualitative study design, (d) preliminary considerations, (e) data collection, (f) data analysis and reporting, and (g) limitations of the study.
Statement of Purpose and Research Questions
In an effort to better understand the relationship between written standards and current teaching practices in Kuwait, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Kuwaiti music educators’ perspectives on the General Goals for Music Education in Kuwait and how to improve the content of the goals. This study was guided by the following research questions:
1. How aware are Kuwaiti music educators of the thirteen curricular goals?
2. How frequently do classroom music educators use each of the thirteen curricular
goals? And why?
3. What are the perceived strengths and weakness of the thirteen curricular goals?
4. What challenges do Kuwaiti music educators face in using GGfME?
5. What suggestions do Kuwaiti music educators have to change or improve the
thirteen curricular goals in order to better meet the needs of students in the 21st
century?
Rationale for Basic Qualitative Study Design
Qualitative approach. The historic origin of qualitative research can be traced to anthropology, sociology, and evaluation (Creswell, 2014). The qualitative approach was 51 developed to understand human phenomena and interactions (Creswell, 2013, 2014).
According to Hatch (2002), a qualitative approach can help researchers to study complex interactions, such as those found in education. Further, Creswell (2013) included eight characteristics of a qualitative approach:
Natural setting
Researcher as key instrument
Multiple methods
Complex reasoning through inductive and deductive logic
Participant’s meanings
Emergent design
Reflexivity
Holistic account (pp. 45-47)
Natural setting. Qualitative research requires the researcher to collect data from its natural settings, where the participants interact with the case of the study. Qualitative researchers, rather than sending an instrument for participants to be completed as in survey research, instead collect data from “face-to-face interaction” with the participants
(Creswell, 2013, p. 45).
Researcher as key instrument. Qualitative researchers design their own instruments of investigation rather than use instruments developed by other researchers.
They obtain data themselves by inspecting artifacts, observing, and interviewing participants (Creswell, 2013).
Multiple methods. Qualitative researchers rely on multiple sources for their data, and then triangulate between all the data and organize it into themes or categories. 52
Complex reasoning through inductive and deductive logic. Qualitative researchers organize their themes and categories in ascending order by uniting ideas into more general themes. Researchers also incorporate deductive logic by creating themes and repeatedly comparing them with the data.
Participant’s meanings. In qualitative research the development of the themes in the report must reflect the thoughts of the participants; therefore, the researcher needs to focus on understanding the participants’ perspectives on the relevant issues.
Emergent design. The process of conducting qualitative research may change when the researcher starts collecting data. Questions, instruments, and sites of the study might be altered throughout the research process.
Reflexivity. In qualitative research the researcher must declare his/her personal biases, relationships with the participants, personal experiences with the topic, personal background, and how all that may influence their interpretation of the information.
Holistic account. Qualitative researchers attempt to establish a “complex picture” of the case and its interactions (Creswell, 2013, p. 47). This step includes identifying all the factors related to the issue, describing those relations, and then drawing the bigger picture that emerges from an understanding of those relations and their complexities.
I used a basic qualitative study design to examine the perspectives of Kuwaiti music educators on the GGfME in Kuwait (Merriam, 2009). The qualitative study inquiry may help illuminate and describe the status of the GGfME among music educators in Kuwait (Creswell, 2013; Colwell & MENC, 2006). 53
Basic Descriptive Qualitative Study
According to Merriam (2009), the basic qualitative study design is the most common design that researchers use in applied fields such as education, administration, and social work. In this design, the researcher seeks the “meaning constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interoperating” (Merriam, 2009, p. 23).
Furthermore, Sandelowski (2000) explained that by using this design the researcher might find “straight and largely unadorned answers to questions of special relevance to practitioners and policy makers” (p. 337). In addition, Merriam (2009) explained that researchers who use basic qualitative design are interested in:
1. How people interpret their experiences;
2. How they construct their world?
3. What meaning they attribute to their experiences (p. 23).
Because the purpose of this study was to investigate music educators’ perspectives on the GGfME, or, as Merriam puts it, “how people interpret their experience”; how Kuwaiti music teachers use the GGfME, i.e. “how they construct their world”; and their visions to improve the GGfME, or “what meaning they attribute to their experiences,” I chose this design because it is most suited to capture and contrast the ideas and thoughts of several music educators from different institutions and positions regarding the GGfME of Kuwait. Since the archive of the Ministry of Education was lost during the First Gulf War in 1990 (Alramzi, 1998), this study’s primary resources consist of in-depth personal interviews and focus groups with expert music educators in Kuwait
(DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006). 54
Preliminary Considerations
Researcher credibility. As suggested by Creswell (2013), reflexivity is a critical component of a qualitative approach, and therefore, it is imperative to describe my background and relationship with the topic of music education in Kuwait. I currently identify myself as a 36- year-old Kuwaiti music educator. I studied in Kuwaiti schools from K-12 and then obtained a degree in music education from the College of Basic
Education in Kuwait. For 7 years, I worked as a music teacher in Kuwaiti public schools, where I taught instrumental and general music to students in grades 5-12. I have substantial experience with the GGfME of music education in Kuwait, and in my daily teaching practice, I refer to at least one goal in each lesson. I also have personal relationships with most of the participants of this study, since I worked as a teacher with, or under the supervision of, some of the participants, while others taught me at the
College of Basic Education.
During my graduate study years, I have always been interested in the development and improvement of Kuwaiti public schools’ music curriculum. However, my interest in evaluating and improving the Kuwaiti music education goals grew with the announcement of new standards for music education in the U.S. in 2014, considering the
1994 U.S. national standards for music education were 20 years old, while the GGfME of
Kuwaiti were issued 50 years ago, in 1967.
In order to acknowledge and counter researcher bias in this study, it was important to recognize my prior familiarity with the participants and the overall environment of music education in Kuwait. I aimed for objectivity during my analysis and explanation of the data. Further, throughout the study, I separated clearly the voices 55 of the researcher and the participants. Finally, during the interviews, I targeted understanding and learning, as opposed to judgment (Mehra, 2002).
Sampling strategy and participants. Nine participants in this study were chosen using purposeful sampling By using a purposeful sample, the researcher intentionally selects a group of participants that will help the researcher to understand most effectively the issue or topic of the study (Creswell, 2013). The participants were Kuwaiti music educators as following: two professors at the Kuwait Higher Institute of Musical Art
(performance), two professors at the Kuwait College of Basic Education (music education), two public school music advisors, two school music teachers currently teaching, and one retired music advisor who participated in the committee that developed the GGfME in 1967. Participants’ ages range from 32 to 81 years old, with teaching experience ranging from 10 to 40 years; the sample is further comprised of both male (n
= 6) and female (n = 3) music educators.
Study participants met three main criteria for selecting cases (participants), as provided Stake (2006):
1. Is the case relevant to the topic?
2. Do the cases provide diversity across contexts?
3. Do the cases provide good opportunities to learn about the complexity and
context? (p. 23).
First, each participant interacted directly with the main issue, namely the GGfME of music education in Kuwait. Second, the participants displayed a diversity of gender, age, and experience to maximum variation (Creswell, 2013). Third, the participants had different jobs and relationships with the goals of music education. For example, the 56 college professors might have been teaching these goals to students directly, while public school teachers were useing the goals as a reference for their daily lessons. A description of the participants’ experiences is included at the end of this chapter to enhance the eligibility of their responses. As suggested by Creswell (2014) regarding the privacy of the participants, participants’ identities were protected by substituting their names with
English names.
As required by Case Western Reserve University, the Institutional Review Board
(IRB) needed to approve any research that included interaction with human subjects. To do this, I completed an online application that included a detailed description of the research. Further, as suggested by the IRB, a committee of three professors at the
College of Basic Education in Kuwait reviewed and approved the Arabic translation of research and interview questions. Data collection began after I obtained signed consent forms from my participants.
Data Collection
For qualitative research it is crucial to use multiple sources of data to cover the main topic of the study from different points of view, and then to allow for triangulation during the analysis phase (Creswell, 2014). It is typical for qualitative research to incorporate interviews, observations, and document collections from research sites as main sources of data, in addition to field notes, notes taken during interviews, and physical artifacts (Creswell, 2013). In this study, I gathered my data through (a) semi- structured interviews with multiple individuals, (b) collected documents from the interview sites, and (c) focus groups with the participants. 57
Interviews. Including different perspectives is vital for qualitative research
(Creswell, 2014; Patton, 2002). Considering the diverse participants of this study, the outcomes of individuals’ in-depth interviews might cover varied perspectives on the research topic from all parties, including schoolteachers, performance and music education university professors, school district music supervisors, and retired supervisors who worked on establishing the GGfME in Kuwait.
I created sub-questions (see Appendix D) related to the four main research questions to guide the semi-structured interviews. The sub-questions included open- ended queries that allowed the interviewees to express their perspectives on the four main research questions. In addition, it is typical in qualitative research interviews to include questions that might emerge during the interview itself (Creswell, 2013; DiCicco-Bloom
& Crabtree, 2006). These individual in-depth interviews allowed the researcher to capture the personal views of these expert music educators.
The personal interviews and the focus group interview were the primary means by which I constructed an understanding of each participant’s perspectives regarding the
GGfME. I interviewed nine expert music educators with different experiences and professions, and the interviews lasted approximately an hour for each participant. I planned to interview ten music educators; however, one of my participants could not attend the interviews due to health issues. During the interviews, I altered some questions depending on the participants’ professions. For example, the music supervisors and performance professors would not work directly with the GGfME, so they were asked which goal they thought music teachers usee the most in public schools. A detailed protocol for the personal interviews is included in appendix D. 58
As Creswell (2013) suggested, all interviews were recorded and transcribed into written documents. The data were stored in personal devices belonging to the researcher.
I used Notability—a recording and note-writing program—to record the interviews and write comments and notes; the recordings were stored in Notability’s cloud storage, which requires a personal password to access, and a backup copy was kept in the personal laptop of the researcher. The interview transcripts were stored in the researcher’s personal laptop, which also requires a password to access. Only the researcher had access to the audio recordings.
Documents. According to Creswell (2013), collecting relevant documents from research sites can provide a key source of data pertaining to the problems of the study. I gathered educational documents from the participants to contrast and compare against the interview transcripts. For example, I collected copies of teachers’ lesson plans, three teachers’ manuals for elementary, middle, and high schools, song books, and a supervisor’s year plan.
Focus group. I conducted a focus group interview with seven of the participants
(as two of the participants were unable to attend the focus group for various reasons) at the Music Department of the College of Basic Education, Kuwait. While the individual interviews focused on the personal perspectives of the participants, the focus group produced a wider range of experiences and interactions (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree,
2006). The information and ideas generated from a discussion among the participants are considered vital to the research topic and can generate additional general perspectives
(Hatch, 2002). In the focus group, the participants discussed two main questions: 59
1. How can Kuwait music educators overcome and/or cope with challenges
related to the GGfME?
2. How can the GGfME be improved for 21st century students?
The protocol for the focus group interview is included in Appendix E.
Data Analysis
The first step in the analysis process was preparation of the data. I conducted the interviews in Arabic, so I transcribed into a Microsoft Word document and then translated it to English. The process of transcription and translation allowed me to have a deeper understanding of the participants’ responses, as I had to state their thoughts in both Arabic and English.
Second, I created a table for each of the participants’ responses, to organize the main ideas from the interview transcript (see Appendix F). I structured the data based on the sequence of research question/sub-questions, and included short phrases or sentences from each participant’s interview that related to each of the research questions. Finally, I compared the participants’ responses to the collected document and the transcript from the focus group. This process helped me to find the themes associated with each participant.
Next, I created another table to compare all participants’ responses and to find common themes (Appendix G). This process helped me to create the final themes in the following sequence. The past included participants’ background knowledge and acquisition of the GGfME. The present covered their actual usage of the goals, the values they place on the goals, and the challenges that might prevent them from 60 implementing the GGfME effectively. The future consisted of the strength and weakness points participants discussed about the GGfME, and their possible reform ideas.
Lastly, I compared the emergent themes to the collection of documents, including the teachers’ manuals, copies of teachers’ lesson plan books, and the schedules and programs of the school district concerts. In addition, I contacted the participants to confirm or discuss the final themes.
Limitations of the Study
This study is subject to limitations of time and funding. The study had a predetermined timeframe, which is one academic year; in addition, travel costs from the
U.S. to Kuwait, where I collected the data, proved a limiting factor. Data collection was limited to one interview with each participant, and one focus group interview. However, to increase the generalizability of the research, the participants have varied experiences and positions related to Kuwaiti music education, and each of them had the opportunity to share her or his perspectives regarding the GGfME in Kuwait (Stake, 2006).
Trustworthiness
I used several tools to increase the trustworthiness of my research, including (a) triangulation, (b) member checks, (c) peer debriefing, (d) a content validity committee.
Triangulation. I compared between the emergent themes from different sources
(participants) to ensure the validity of the themes (Creswell, 2013).
Peer debriefing. As an “external check of research process” (Creswell, 2013), two music education Ph.D. students had previous experience in qualitative data analysis reviewed the written drafts during the research process to minimize any researcher bias toward the topic. 61
Member checks. To increase the credibility of the findings and the researcher’s interoperation of the data collected, the participants reviewed and commented on the emergent themes and codes (Creswell, 2013). I contacted each participant by phone to discuss and confirm the emergent themes. They confirmed the accuracy of the emergent results and common themes.
Content validity and translation. Content validity in qualitative research helps researchers to determine the suitability of their instruments to effectively explore the main issue of the study (Creswell, 2014). To establish the validity of the interview questions, a committee of four college professors—three music education professors and one teacher education professor—in the United States evaluated the accuracy and clarity of the interview sub-questions (Patten, 2012). Furthermore, I translated the research questions into Arabic, and then a committee of three Music Education professors at the
College of Basic Education in Kuwait reviewed the two versions of research questions to maximize accuracy and eliminate errors.
Participants. To ensure the anonymity of the participants, I substituted their names with English names.
Dr. Douglas is a music performance professor at the Higher Institute of Musical
Arts (HIMA), and has more than 10 years of experience. He has additional administrative duties at HIMA. He graduated from HIMA in the late 1990s with a bachelor’s degree in Performance.
Dr. Jack is an experienced performance professor at the Higher Institute of
Musical Arts. 62
Dr. Maggie is a music education professor at the College of Basic Education, and she taught at Kuwait public schools in the late 1990s. She graduated from the
College of Basic Education with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education.
Dr. Simon is an experienced music education professor at the College of Basic
Education. He taught music in public school for a few years, and has held some administrative positions at the College of Basic Education.
Mr. Aaron is an experienced music education supervisor who graduated from the
Higher Institute of Musical Arts in the early 1990s. He taught in Kuwait public schools for 13 years.
Ms. Amy is a music education supervisor, with 12 years of teaching experience.
She graduated from the College of Basic Education in the early 2000s, and is working now on her MA degree in Music Education.
Ms. Jessica graduated from the College of Basic Education in 2003 and since then has been working as a middle school music teacher.
Mr. Mason is a recently retired music education supervisor who taught in public schools during the late 1960s.
Mr. Nicholas graduated from the Higher Institute of Musical Arts in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. Since then he has been teaching music in a
Kuwaiti high school.
Results
I organized the findings of this research in three broad chapters illustrating chronology of the GGfME: past, present, and future. In chapter four, I present participants’ former knowledge of the GGfME. I discuss participants’ present 63 experiences with the GGfME in chapter five. Participants’ thoughts regarding the possible improvement of the GGfME are discussed in chapter six.
64
CHAPTER FOUR
The Past
In this chapter, I present the participants’ responses to the first question, regarding their prior knowledge of the GGfME. The first research question was how did Kuwaiti music educators learn about the GGfME? The participants responded to this question by answering the following two sub-questions:
1. Describe your background information regarding the GGfME.
2. When did you learn about the GGfME? And how important are they for
Kuwaiti music education?
Participants’ Background Knowledge of the GGfME
There subthemes associated with the participants’ background knowledge of the
GGfME. The older generation of participants described the GGfME as the main characteristic of music education in schools. This view might have developed because they have worked with these goals since they were students; the participants explained that music teachers and supervisors focused more on the GGfME when they were first published than they do at present.
Dr. Simon:
The GGfME are the foundation of music education in Kuwait; they explain what we as music teachers do in class. The GGfME are included in the first few pages of music textbooks, I mean teachers’ manual and students’ books.
Mr. Aaron:
The GGfME are the main characteristics of music education, they explain exactly why we have music in our schools. They used to be a big thing back in the 70s and 80s. 65
Mr. Mason:
The GGfME are the fruit of school music, as farmers work hard to harvest the fruits; school music exists to achieve these goals. The school music curriculum was constructed based on these goals. Not only teachers, also students need to learn about these goals in order to understand why they do what they do in the music classroom. We used to print workbooks for students that included the GGfME on its first page.
The GGfME as a theoretical framework for music education. Four of the study participants defined the GGfME as something like general guidelines, rather than the literal foundation of music education. Their feelings developed from the emphasis of the GGfME in their classrooms; some teachers never put the GGfME into use in a classroom environment, while other teachers used only one or two goals.
Dr. Douglas:
In HIMA we do not include these goals in our curriculum, even though some of them are naturally happening in music classrooms. The GGfME in general represent general principles that public school music teachers are supposed to achieve.
Dr. Maggie:
These are the theoretical framework for music in school; although they include some good achievable goals, the majority of these goals are just on paper, not in reality… at least mine.
Ms. Amy:
I know these goals are the base of music education in Kuwait; however, they are just general ideas to guide music teachers in their lesson planning. Music teachers can 66 relate these goals to any music lesson as singing, performing on an instrument, listening, and music history.
Mr. Nicholas:
There is a big gap between paperwork and reality; these are [the GGfME] the headlines that we include in our daily lessons plans; yet, they contain goals that never been taught in classes or discussed among teachers.
When Did You Learn about the GGfME? And How Important Are They for
Kuwaiti Music Education?
The first part of this question also indicated the difference between the two generations. While the older generation of participants learned about the GGfME when they were students, the younger generation was introduced to the GGfME either during their last year of college or when they became teachers. Furthermore, most of the participants agreed that the GGfME are vital for the profession because they define why there are music classes in Kuwaiti public schools.
Participants who graduated from high school before 1990 used to have a music workbook provided by their school; these books included basic music theory or songs on the right-hand pages and music staff on the left-hand pages.
Dr. Jack:
Do you remember the old yellow music workbook? Or am I too old?..... The
Ministry of Education used to print small music workbooks, they were in yellow, pink, and blue. They included music theory and some basic scores, with a clean staff on the left pages for students to write music. The GGfME were in these books, and because I did not teach in public schools I have not seen these goals since I was a student. 67
Dr. Simon:
Oh, it was long time ago when I read these goals for the first time, maybe when I was in middle school we had a student’s book that included the music curriculum, these goals were written as an opener for the book.
Mr. Aaron:
I learned about the GGfME a while ago, from the workbook…when I was a student in middle or elementary school. The GGfME were printed in the student workbook.
The following responses were taken from those participants who graduated from high school after 1995. They did not have a music workbook in schools. Further, in general the CBE and HIMA students learn about the GGfME in the music teaching method class, and during their student teaching in school during their last year in college
Dr. Maggie:
In 1999 or 1998, I attended a music teaching methods class in which we were introduced to the GGfME, and then as a student teacher, we had to relate our lessons to the goals…. So back then we learned about the GGfME.
Ms. Amy:
When I was student teaching during my last year of college I had to do a lesson based on some goals of the GGfME over one semester. I remember that I used three goals in one lesson. My college professor explained the GGfME and she asked us to build our lesson based on these goals.
Ms. Jessica: 68
It was my last year before graduation, as fieldwork we had to teach in schools for a semester. During this semester I received the teacher manual and my professor explained the goals for me. I have been working with the GGfME since then.
In addition to the differences in acquisition of the GGfME between the younger generation and older generations of participants, those participants who graduated from the College of Basic Education learned about the GGfME in a methods class during their last year in college, while Mr. Nicholas was introduced to the GGfME when he started teaching. As Dr. Douglas mentioned, “In HIMA we do not include these goals in our curriculum.” In contrast, Dr. Maggie explained that they prepare lessons based on each of these goals during their teaching methods class.
Mr. Nicholas:
When I became a teacher and started writing my lesson plan, I learned about these goals because I had to write at least one goal in my lesson plan. I do not remember if I used the GGfME when I was student teaching during my last year at the HIMA.
The GGfME Are Important for the Music Education Profession
Even though only a few participants considered the GGfME central to the success of music classes, they all agreed that the GGfME define the profession of music teacher among the community; thus, they are vital for keeping music education as part of the public school curriculum. In many Middle-Eastern countries music is linked to nightlife, drugs, and alcohol, and some of these goals were used to counter such arguments put forth by community members and in the National Assembly. The GGfME include how music might help shape students’ personalities to become effective members of the community, and explain the effects of music on students’ psychological health. 69
Dr. Douglas:
The nice language of the GGfME might not affect the actual teaching in school, but they position music education in an academic place. The GGfME explain the hidden values in music education such as psychological balance, social skills, and self- confidence.
Dr. Jack:
In 2003, there was an argument in the National Assembly [the Kuwaiti parliament] about whether we needed music in our schools…. It might sound ridiculous to think about that after a half-century of music education in public schools, but the majority party of the National Assembly back then believed that music performance should not be part of the public school curriculum, like our neighbors [The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran]. The Minister of Education presented the
GGfME to the National Assembly to defend the music education in our public schools; it was a good argument among politicians, and school music survived.
The debate regarding music education in public schools was not new in 2003, and continues today because there are a minority of Muslims who believed that music is forbidden in Islam and should not be taught in schools. Alderaiwaish (2013) discussed this issue when he wrote, “Despite the longstanding relationship between the Kuwaiti people and music, there are some Kuwaitis who refuse to participate in listening to or performing music. These people believe that, according to Islam, music is haram.” (pp.
82-83). This might explain the emphasis on music’s utilitarian values and the inclusion of Islamic religious elements in the goals.
Dr. Maggie: 70
These goals have a nice tone and utilitarian values to represent music education to the community; otherwise, we might not have music in our schools.
Mr. Aaron:
These goals are so important if we want to keep our jobs….In Kuwait and the
Middle East, in general music was related to drugs, alcohol, and so on…. Even among educators and politicians, and that is exactly why you see all the psychosocial and patriotic values in the GGfME.
Mr. Mason:
The GGfME unite the lessons and ideas presented in music classes in public schools; they also explain to the parents what we do in the music classroom.
Mr. Nicholas:
Some people do not understand why we teach music in public schools, so these goals cover every possible activity students do in the music classroom. It is common among Kuwaitis that music is just an extra curriculum without a grade; they understand why their kids attend physical education class; yet, many of them needed actual written goals like the GGfME to accept music classes as a part of their kid’s education…. Many parents would prefer if their kids attended an extra math or science class during the time of music class.
Summary of Themes in This Chapter
In this chapter, I presented the themes from the first research questions. There were two sub-questions related to the first research questions, with three themes: participants’ background knowledge of the GGfMe, the acquisition of the GGfME, and how important they are for the profession. The participants’ responses indicated 71 subthemes for their background knowledge, three subthemes for the acquisition of the
GGfME, and one common theme that was mentioned by more than six participants.
First, participants’ background knowledge of the GGfME showed that the older generation of participants (+60 years old) thought of the GGfME as the base or main feature of music education; thus, they placed the GGfME as the highest priority of public school music education. On the other hand, the younger generation of participants argued that the GGfME are the theoretical frame of school music, and explained that in the actual practice of music teaching they would not always focus on these goals.
Second, the participants’ responses also indicated the gap between the older and younger generations, as well as between participants who graduated from the CBE and those who graduated from HIMA. The older generation learned about the GGfME from the students’ workbook when they were in middle school, while the younger generation studied the GGfME during their last year in college if they were in the CBE, or when they started teaching, for HIMA graduates. The Kuwait Ministry of Education used to provide a music workbook for all students before 1990; however, since then students have been required to bring their music notebooks with them to school (personal communication with Islam Faris, 2017).
Third, the participants of this study mostly considered the GGfME essential for maintaining the position of music education in public schools. The GGfME outline music education in the sort of academic way that is needed by the community and policy makers. As one of the participants explained, some in the National Assembly tried to cut music from public schools and replace it with other subjects. This argument is common in the Middle East because of some interpretations of Islam (Alderaiwesh, 2013). 72
In this chapter, I presented the finding regarding the participants’ background knowledge of the GGfME. The chapter included three main ideas. Description of the participants’ familiarities with the GGfME, the acquisition process, and the general values of the GGfME to music education in Kuwait.
73
CHAPTER FIVE
The Present
To plan for our future we need to understand our present. In this chapter, I present the current implementation of the GGfME in Kuwait public schools. I analyze participants’ responses to research questions two, three, and four, regarding their usage of the GGfME, the values of the GGfME, and the challenges they face in applying the
GGfME.
1. What value do Kuwaiti music educators place on the GGfME?
2. How and why do Kuwaiti music educators use the GGfME?
3. What challenges do Kuwaiti music educators face in using the GGfME?
The participants responded by answering the following sub-questions:
1. How are the GGfME affecting your job?
2. What benefits do you see to work with these goals?
3. Do you use all 13 goals of the GGfME?
GGfME Effects and Benefits (Value)
Due to the diversity of the participants’ professions and experiences, they had different perspectives regarding the effects and benefits of the GGfME. Participants did not consider all of the GGfME to be equally valuable on a practical level. First, some goals include too many ideas and topics, such as the first goal, while other goals contain philosophical rather than concrete ideas, such as the third, fifth, and sixth goals (see
Appendix B).
Dr. Maggie: 74
I do not interact with the GGfME now, but when I was a teacher, they had some effects on my work when I planned my lessons. Not of all these goals are usable, for example the first goal includes to deepen the faith in Islamic principles; how am I supposed to do that?
Dr. Maggie, who taught in middle school, did not have any training in Islamic principles, nor do other music teachers who graduated from the CBE and HIMA. Dr.
Simon explained that in the curriculum, they include patriotic and special event songs, but not religious ones.
Dr. Simon:
These goals consist of nice words but not all of them are usable in our schools.
Here in the CBE [College of Basic Education] we prepare our students to be music teachers and we provide some classes to aid them with these goals. For example, students learn to sing and perform piano accompaniment for more than twenty songs that include some patriotic songs; yet, we do not teach any religious songs…. Maybe for special religious occasions such as Ramadan but not always. We have two classes in which students learn most of the Kuwaiti traditional music styles.
Mr. Aaron:
As a music advisor, part of my job is to ensure that music teachers are covering most of the GGfME, I say most because I understand that the GGfME were written in a different time…. For example, the first goal includes an overwhelming amount of topics for songs…. Islamic values, citizenship feelings, Arab nation, Islamic nation…. All these topics can be used in the classroom but the music teacher is not required to apply all these topics. 75
Mr. Nicholas:
Not all of the goals are affecting my job. There is some pleonasm in these goals…. and they are loaded with varied ideas such as Arab and Islamic nations…I do not know about that.
Again, here the GGfME include some focus on the concepts of a pan-Arab and pan-Islamic nation that might have been more appreciated in the 1960s and 70s because of the then-powerful tensions toward Israel among numerous Arab countries, including
Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Jordon, and Kuwait. As participants previously indicated, these ideas might not have a place in the curriculum for the newer generations of teachers and students.
Next, music teachers have limited time and classroom instruments to work with all students; thus, they cannot simultaneously prepare the school band and focus on the implementation of all these goals for all students. Some teachers explained that one fifty- minute period a week is not enough, while others discussed the musical instrument shortage in their schools. In addition, there are no specific times set aside for school band, so teachers use any available time to rehearse with school band students.
Dr. Douglas:
The GGfME do not have direct effects on my job here in HIMA [Higher Institute of Musical Arts]…. For music education in general, if teachers apply these goals the profession might gain a higher reputation that what it has right now…. There is limited time for music teachers, and I do not think they have enough instruments for every student unless they are vocal teachers.
Dr. Maggie: 76
As I explained these goals are mostly theoretical…. When a teacher has really planned her/his class on these goals they would call it a “Model class,” it happens once a year, while the rest of the year teachers focus on the “talented students” or school band. Again, in reality, the music class time is 50 minutes and the teacher must escort the students from their classroom to the music room and then take attendance, which leaves only 40 minutes to work with over 25 students.
Dr. Simon:
When our students become teachers they face a different reality where they are limited by 50-minute classes and they might not have the time to use the GGfME. ….
Again nice words, but where is the implementation?
Mr. Aaron:
If he [music teacher] was [going to apply all the GGfME] then it will take the full semester to apply only the first goal. I consider the GGfME as an identification card for music education.
Ms. Amy:
The GGfME have affected my job; when I was teaching, I based my semester plan on these goals…. I used to prepare a model class for new teachers on how to apply some of these goals. I believe the GGfME offer a selection of ideas for music teachers to choose from…. Music history including Kuwaiti, Arab, and world music history, instrumental music… a lot of singing, creativity, and development of students talent; but the question is do teachers have time to do all these activities? Not right now.
Ms. Jessica: 77
If I focus on each of these goals I would need way more than the class time, sometimes I combine two or three goals in one class…. I have fewer instruments than students in class, so my students share the classroom instruments…. With the excessive usage of the instruments, they need much maintenance, I had to take the classroom instruments to the maintenance department often. I found myself that I do not have time to maintain classroom instruments and focus on school band in addition to all these goals. I do my best in teaching music, not teaching these goals.
The instruments in Ms. Jessica’s school include a piano, three synthesizers, two accordions, a bass drum, a side drum, a crash cymbal, and three folk Kuwaiti percussion instruments. These instruments are the typical equipment for a music class in Kuwaiti middle schools. In addition, as mentioned by Ms. Jessica, some teachers might reserve these instruments for the use of the school band, preventing other students from having a chance to play them. From my personal experience, Kuwaiti schools used to have more music instruments, including Orff instruments, small synthesizers, and many percussion instruments. Students never needed to buy instruments; even in high school, they had
Middle Eastern and Western stringed instruments. None of the participants had an idea about why Kuwaiti schools have fewer instruments than they had in the 1980s and 90s.
Mr. Nicholas:
I do not have enough instruments nor classroom time to apply some of these goals. Let us take goal number seven as an example [creativity]…. I have 30 to 34 students in each class, and there are only few classroom instruments, not to mention I meet with these students once a week for 50 minutes…. That is not enough to focus on each student’s creativity. In addition, if we consider the school music band, I use most of 78 my time rehearsing with them, so the goal number eleven [talented students] has a big effect on my job…. Other than that they are a routine I must use in my lesson plan.
Lastly, some subjects in the goals were more appreciated by the community during the 1960s after the independence of Kuwait and the Arab-Israeli War, as included in the first goal (The Six-Day War, 2016). During the second half of the twentieth century, there was a movement in the Middle East toward a United Arab nation, including the union of Syria and Egypt in 1958 (Gadd & Hamaide, 2016).
Ms. Jessica:
These goals are too general to have a direct effect on my job, other than using them in my lesson plans; I do not think they have any certain effect on my job…. And they include some old ideas [that] maybe were preferred by the community in the 1970s when the United Arab Nation was a common topic in many Arabic countries.
Which Goal Do You Use the Most? And Why?
All participants agreed that music teachers do not use all the thirteen goals in the
GGfME. Further, when asked about the most-used goal, almost all responses shared the same idea. Goal number eleven – talented students – was the highest priority for music teachers because it is common in Kuwait that school bands are the focus of the music teacher. The teacher uses any available time to work with students to prepare them for the school contest. This yearly competition is supported by the Music Education
Supervisor Office, and usually sponsored by a higher authority such as the Minister of
Education or the Prime Minister of Kuwait.
Dr. Maggie: 79
For me it was the identification of talented students and improving their skills, I gave too much attention to the school band…oh, and sometimes I almost forget about other students in my school. Nevertheless, that was because of the music advisor who gave more credits to the schools with better performing bands. If I went back to teach in public school, I would not do the same, because it is unfair for other students.
Dr. Simon:
It might be the eleventh goal…. You know, school band is a huge thing in our schools and this issue might be common among music teachers in other countries…. The school band is a huge thing in the music education community; they consider it the physical advertisement for music education around the world. Still, this does not mean it is the right thing to do, all students have the right to learn music in their schools.
Mr. Mason:
The goal number eleven…. We have many talented students in our schools and music teachers do not have enough time to focus on the talented students during the classroom time. So we gather these talented students to create the school band, usually there are two school bands, one for the morning meeting and a bigger band that performs in a yearly concert. In 2002, we created the first student orchestra, it started with 70 students from different schools from all school districts…. Students needed to attend an audition to be part of this orchestra. The orchestra used to rehearse for two hours twice every week. The Ministry of Education provided five buses for students’ transportation.
This orchestra performed in Kuwait and other Arab countries such as Egypt, Oman, and
Jordan. Unfortunately, the orchestra project was terminated in 2014 due to the lack of financial support. Anyway, schools still have their own bands. 80
Mr. Aaron:
Some goals happen naturally in music classrooms, such as goal number five…and some parts of the first goal regarding the citizenship feelings might be occurring every morning meeting when students sing the National Anthem. However, the goal number eleven might stand higher than other goals; teachers tend to focus on the school band more than their actual teachings. You might not see this goal in their lesson plan books, yet this is what they do.
Ms. Amy:
Number 11 is the ultimate goal in our schools…. The talented students would automatically take part in the school band…. In fact, when the students enter middle school in 6th grade I used to go ask about students who were in school band in elementary school. These students might keep playing music forever…. Most of our famous musicians were in school band. I was in school band…. They perform in the yearly concert and if they do well they might perform in a bigger concert sponsored by the Minister of Education. Some students would rather use their art class time with their music teacher; others might do the same with the physical education, but not in boys’ schools.
Ms. Jessica:
I like to sing with my students so I would say the fourth goal…but wait, does the school band count? …. Then I must say the eleventh goal, you know these students become the school band for four years, during these four years they get really attached to the music room; so I would say this goal is the one that I use the most…because the 81 school band will perform in a contest with other schools…. You do not want to go there unprepared…it is also bad for your students’ self-confidence.
Mr. Nicholas:
The talents goal, I believe; not only me but my colleagues also put too much emphasis on the talented students. I do not have class for the school band, so I use break time to do my rehearsals, do you think 20 minutes are enough to prepare a high school band to perform a samaee [a Middle Eastern music genre]? …. So I use the time of other classes such as the art and physical education to work sometimes with one student. At the end of the year, the performance of my school band might affect my report.
As discussed by participants, Kuwaiti music teachers give special attention to the eleventh goal – to identify students with musical talent and to aid them in building upon that talent. Further, when I compared this theme to the two lesson plan copies I collected from the participants, I could not find this goal in any of their lessons. Indeed, Mr.
Aaron, the experienced supervisor, mentioned, “You might not see this goal in their lesson plan books; yet, this is what they do” (personal interview). When music teachers feel they will be evaluated based on their school band’s performance, it is logical to expect them to devote the majority of their time to the school band.
Which Goal Do You Use the Least? And Why?
While there are some goals that teachers tend not to use, most of the participants stated that they never use the last goal – to achieve integration between music and other school subjects, and assist different school subjects. The participants explained different reasons for this. Most of the participants argued that this goal is mostly associated with kindergarten education, and it does not exist in middle and high school music education. 82
In kindergarten, music class includes many educational songs relating to different subjects and events, while in other stages the repertoires consist mostly of patriotic and folk songs.
Dr. Douglas:
This goal is hard to achieve in middle and high school. Maybe in certain levels as in kindergarten and elementary school with the educational songs, for example the alphabet song.
Dr. Simon:
Some goals need an explanation, and teachers might not understand what it means. Not only music teachers; no one does. The last goal, how to assist other school subjects. This goal cannot be for all grades. All kindergarten teachers sing for their students, does that count as integration?.... No, it is just the nature of children’s education. I do not remember using this goal when I was teaching in schools.
Dr. Maggie:
The integration and the assistance of other school subjects [Dr. Maggie laughed for a moment]…. Sorry, but this does not mean anything. Yes, we do have educational songs in grades K-5; I am sure they did not mean these songs or did they? This goal is just vague…. Teachers do not use it.
Mr. Aaron:
My teachers do not always apply this goal [number thirteen]…only in the kindergartens and elementary schools, we have many educational songs.
Ms. Amy: 83
The last one, this goal is common in kindergarten, actually…. It is the first goal of the kindergarten music teacher. There are three music teachers in each kindergarten, the music teachers cooperate with other kindergarten teachers to work with all students.
In elementary level maybe with some educational songs, but not in middle or high school.
Therefore, I think middle and high school teachers would ignore this goal usually.
Others suggested music teachers do not have the means to deliver this goal. To achieve integration between school subjects requires supporting curriculum and teacher preparation. In addition, when inspecting the teacher manuals for middle and high schools and the songbook for middle schools, I could not find any section that included supporting materials for this goal.
Dr.Douglas:
Achieve the integration between music and other school subjects…. How? What subject? And by what means? If I was a teacher in a middle school, am I going to teach my students science or geography in my music class? There is no integration here, there is a science class and music class; each has its role in the school curriculum.
Mr. Aaron:
This goal [number thirteen] needs an understanding for music’s role in students’ education, and cooperation between many departments in the school. It also needs the supporting materials to be reviewed by music advisors and other subject advisors.
Mr. Nicholas:
I never have to use the last goal; I think there is no such thing as integration between music and all school subjects. Lately, we have seen many videos of teachers 84 using songs to teach students a mathematical equation or a poem, but not a music teacher that teaches chemistry.
Some participants explained that they ignored this goal because they prefer to use their limited time with students to teach music rather than teaching other schools subjects. Some participants argued that music is considered a secondary subject in school; thus, other schoolteachers might use the music classes’ time to review other subjects with students.
Mr. Aaron:
I am not sure of the last goal, right now in the school community, music, arts, and physical education are at the end of the list of school subjects. Other schoolteachers and administrators might use any of these classes as an additional time to review his subject with the students. If this is how we are assisting other subjects then we might be wrong
Ms. Jessica:
The last goal, I do not really work on my class to assist other school subjects, I have my subject. Other schoolteachers ask to take my class for their review and sometimes I have to cooperate with them because I need this time to work with the school band, so there is cooperation between school music teachers and others, just not the literal integration and assistance in this goal.
Responses from both the individual and focus group interviews indicated that in middle and high schools, music teachers do not use this goal at all. They explained different reasons for the absence of this goal in their lesson plans; however, most of these echoed the fact that the goal is associated with kindergarten education rather than higher levels. Furthermore, when I reviewed the three teacher manuals for elementary, middle, 85 and high schools, I found a chapter in each manual that includes instructions regarding some of the goals. Even though the eleventh goal is included in all these manuals, only the elementary manual discussed it specifically.
The elementary teachers’ manual includes a paragraph on connecting music to other school subjects such as Arabic language, geography, science, mathematics, and physical education. The participants already mentioned the educational songs in K-5, which the teachers’ manual discussed using as a method of integrating music with
Arabic, science, and mathematics. It also described dancing and rhythmic movement as a way to integrate music and physical education. In addition, the manual indicated that learning about world music and music from different cultures links music education to geography class.
What Challenges Have You Experienced in Applying the Goals?
As described by the participants, Kuwaiti music teachers face many challenges in applying the GGfME. First, some goals were written in an ambiguous language or are too general, making it difficult for teachers to understand or implement them effectively.
Dr. Maggie:
It is not hard to implement some of the goals; the challenge is to implement the exact literal goal. For example, the 1st goal - How can we deepen the faith in Islamic religion if some Muslims think the music is a bad thing linked to drinking and drugs?
What is the relation between music and Islamic religion? …. I can mix the citizenship identity from the 1st goal with the 2nd goal to teach Kuwaiti traditional songs, but again these are parts of the goals, not what they exactly say.
Ms. Amy: 86
As I explained earlier, I used to provide a model class for new teachers on some of these goals. For example, the second goal is widely used when teaching any Kuwaiti folk songs…still there are some goals I might not understand how music teachers are supposed to implement them …. Let us talk about the sixth goal, balancing students’ mental, emotional, and physical health. How can teachers assess this goal? No one can.
Ms. Jessica:
I feel that some goals cannot be easily implemented directly in the classroom. To be more clear the fifth and sixth goals, maybe some musical activities do that such as playing or singing one’s favorite piece or song but not always.
Mr. Nicholas:
If we are here to discuss the literal language of the GGfME, then I think the authors of the GGfME used broad ideas and words. For example, the first, third, fifth, and sixth goals – some with too many ideas, other were so vague for me. In a listening class where I play a record of Bach’s composition, am I implementing the 3rd goal [To develop a musical sense in the students toward certain aspects of beauty, the creativity of
God, and human life]. How can I give grades on this goal?
Mr. Nicholas was referring to Bach’s composition as a religious composition; yet in Kuwait, Bach’s music is presented as Western classical music and never as related to
Christianity or the worshipping of God. Mr. Nicholas was referring to the impracticality of the third goal in Kuwaiti music education.
Second, the focus on the school band and the time limits music teachers face might prevent them from employing these goals for all students. The school bands’ yearly concert is the focus of the school district and supervisors; thus, teachers felt that 87 school band is their priority. Actually, in the three teachers’ manuals, a whole chapter was devoted to the school band including appropriate repertories for each educational stage, yearly concerts and events school band must participate in, and most importantly the school activity time. School activity time was a period just before the end of school day when each group of students participates in different school activities including sports, arts, poetry, sculpture, carpentry, drama, and music. In 2003, the Ministry of
Education substituted the school activity time with extra primary subject classes such as mathematics, languages, and general sciences.
Dr. Jack:
It is all about the concert, all other goals a teacher can use in model class with prepared students.
Dr. Simon:
I think the biggest challenge is not in the goals, it is the focus on the school band and the district’s concert.
Mr. Nicholas:
I will talk about my situation in high school…. Time is not enough. Elementary and middle school students would not be affected by their arts and physical education grades, so a music teacher can have extra time with his student, and even in break time; however, in high school I have limited time with my students. Before the school district concert we stay in school for an extra hour to rehearse with our students, sometimes we come in on weekends and [it is] still not enough time.
Third, the majority of the participants felt that music teachers do not have the means or the tools to fulfill some of these goals. In general there are supplementary 88 materials for some goals including songs, theory, Kuwaiti folk music, and music appreciation books; however, there were two major complications: (a) there are no supporting materials for the psychological and philosophical goals, and (b) the Egyptian teachers, who are the majority of Kuwaiti music teachers, were not trained in Kuwaiti folk music, and the supervisor office provides only one Kuwaiti folk music workshop for all new music teachers prior to their employment.
Dr. Jack:
These goals need books and teacher preparation to implement them; our schools’ teachers do not have time or tools to focus on all students.
Dr. Simon:
Some of these goals would be nice if they were supported by materials and implementation ideas for teachers.
Mr. Aaron:
The majority of music teachers are Egyptians, and we have much traditional music in our goals. Egyptian music teachers are well-educated; however, most of them do not get our traditional music with complex time signatures. The music education supervisor’s office provides a one day workshop for new music teachers, which is not enough to explain Kuwaiti traditional music for new learners…. I always tell them do what you can do; you do not have to follow all goals, because I did not have an example for some of these goals or how to assist them in high school.
Even though Egypt and Kuwait are both Arab countries that use the same language and have very similar cultures, their respective folk musics are quite different.
Kuwaiti folk music includes many compound and complex time signatures, which are not 89 common in Egyptian folk music. In addition, the curriculum of music education in
Kuwait is supposed to include a fair amount of Kuwaito folk music, according to the teacher manuals.
Ms. Jessica:
Nevertheless, the teacher manual does not give any instructions regarding the implementation of these goals [the fifth and sixth goals].
Mr. Nicholas:
I have 30 to 34 students in each class, and there are only few classroom instruments.
Summary of Themes in This Chapter. In this chapter, I presented the participants’ responses regarding the GGfME’s value to music educators, the implementation of the GGfME, and the challenges that face music teachers when applying them. The GGfME were published almost 50 years ago, and offered varied general ideas for music teachers to use in the classroom. Yet the participants of this study explained that the GGfME comprise some outdated propaganda and unexplained philosophical goals, and teachers have limited resources to implement them; thus, the
GGfME, rather than being the base of music education in Kuwait, are instead largely considered to be routine work or to be used in a model class, rather than in everyday teaching.
Next, the complexity of the goals, and the fact that teachers’ evaluations are associated mostly with the performance of the school’s band, forced teachers to focus on one goal and ignore others. The eleventh goal – identification and development of talented students – stands alone as the first priority of Kuwaiti music teachers’ duties. 90
Some participants explained that these students deserve their time because they appreciate music more than other students do. In addition, other participants focused on this goal because their evaluations depend heavily on it. In contrast, most of the participants never implemented the last goal – integration between music and other subjects. Some participants clarified this point and explained that this goal is only associated with K-5 education.
Last, the participants discussed different challenges associated with the implementation of the GGfME. Among these challenges is the ambiguous language of some of the goals. The focus on the school band requires teachers to devote their time primarily to students who play an instrument in the band. In addition, there are no supporting materials for teachers to implement some of the goals.
91
CHAPTER SIX
The Future
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” - Abraham Lincoln
In this chapter, I present the participants’ perceived strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME and possible reforms. The findings from these responses might be considered when revising the GGfME. The original research question were:
1. What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME?
2. What suggestions do Kuwaiti music educators have to change or improve the
GGfME in order to better meet the needs of students in the 21st century?
During the interviews, the participants answered and discussed the following sub- questions:
1. What are the perceived strengths of the GGfME? And why?
2. Do you think there are some weaknesses in these goals? What are they?
3. How can these goals be improved or renewed? Do you suggest
adding/removing or revising some of these goals? Which ones? And why?
GGfME Strengths
The participants indicated several strengths. First, the inclusion of different music cultures from around the world helps create musically literate students. In the first goal, students might learn about Kuwaiti, Arab, and Islamic countries’ music, which includes
22 Arab countries and more than 40 countries with majority Muslim populations, all of which, taken together, provides a varied repertoire of music. In addition to the world music in the fourth goal, music teachers can use any world music under this goal.
Dr. Douglas: 92
The music diversity, Kuwaiti, Arabic, Islamic countries’ music, and world music, they are all here in the GGfME. When our students learn about different kind of music they become musically literate, which I believe is a good goal to aim for in teens’ education.
Second, the participants appreciated the creativity goal in general, and one participant explained that among all school subjects the music class has the greatest potential for the development of students’ creativity. Improvisation is one of the main features of Middle Eastern music as discussed by Darling (2004) and highlighted in the first chapter.
Dr. Jack:
The encouragement of student’s creativity is a respectful goal…. that must be enforced in all school subjects, not only music. Musicians need to experience composition, improvisation, arrangement/ rearrangement, accompaniment, and perform solo or with groups; the earlier they practice these activates the faster they become musicians.
Ms. Jessica:
That they included performance, psychological, and philosophical goals, they are deep goals…. The authors also remind us to give students opportunity for their creativity. Music is a great tool to express students’ creativity.
Third, even though the GGfME included few performance activities, the participants considered these few performances activities as well as the development of talented students are important for the new generation of Kuwaiti musicians. The 93 performance activities included singing, playing instruments, music notation, and participating in music projects.
Dr. Maggie:
The musical activities such as singing, listening, and performing on an instrument; they did not focus directly on these activities but that does not mean they do not exist.
Dr. Simon:
The few performance points as singing, listening in the 2nd goal, and the performance goal. They also include Kuwaiti folk music…the psychological goals are good but as I said, they need some supporting materials and implementation ideas for teachers.
Ms. Amy:
The identification of talented students and providing opportunities for them to develop their talent. I had many talented students who do not have musician parents and without school music, they would not try or learn an instrument at that early age.
Fourth, the focus on Kuwaiti folk music was considered to be a point of strength by the participants; they explained that only folk bands practice this traditional Kuwaiti music and it should be the responsibility of music education to share this music with all students. In Kuwait, there are several folk groups that perform traditional Kuwaiti music; however, only a few are actively performing bands. In addition, during the last few years the music production in Kuwait has moved away from local styles and rhythms to more
Western ones. 94
Fifth, musical activities such as singing, listening, and performing on musical instruments offers different musical experiences for students; yet, these activities were not the focus of the goals. For example, the music performance in the 10th goal is related to how students spend their free time, and is not designed to improve their performance skills.
Mr. Aaron:
The GGfME include some important goals for education in general through music education. For example, they link students to their heritage by learning about and performing traditional Kuwaiti music…they acknowledged the role that music can play in shaping the students’ personalities by performing with the band in front of an audience.
Mr. Nicholas:
There are some strengths here in the 2nd goal, many of the new generations did not learn about our lovely music. We still sing old songs and keep forgetting the new songs because they do not sound Kuwaiti at all. Through the second goal students can learn about much of our folk music…. Some students now do not know the names of many Kuwaiti instruments. We need to focus on this goal…even the Egyptian teachers can work with other Kuwaiti teachers to teach our folk music. We cannot depend only on the folk band to perform and preserve our music.
GGfME Weaknesses
The participants pointed out a number of what they considered as weaknesses in the GGfME. Most of these were consistent across the participants’ responses. First, many participants stated that some of the goals in the GGfME involve unrelated ideas packed into one goal; thus, music teachers might use a goal for one small topic included 95 in it, while the rest of the goal is not related to the actual lesson. For example, even though the first goal includes more than the development of citizenship, music teachers primarily use it to teach patriotic songs (Appendix B). Dr. Douglas, Dr. Simon and Mr.
Aaron discussed the inclusion of several ideas in the same goal, which confuse the teacher regarding the aim of the goal.
Dr. Douglas:
The mixture of different ideas in one goal…. That might confuse the teacher, it
[could] confuse any reader. For example, goal number four, it includes helping students to express themselves through music performance…. that is good, then they added world music! Is this goal to learn about some world music, their cultures and history, or develop performance skills?…. This is the confusion I am talking about.
Dr. Simon:
They include some unnecessary wording…. When implementing the performance- based goal and then explaining that students learn performance for the sake of spending their free time, then we are not taking performance as a serious matter…. Which is not a surprise—art education is secondary in Kuwait [and] does not effect students’ final GPA.
Mr. Aaron:
Maybe we need to unpack some of these goals…for teachers; but I would keep them for the community if they want to read about what music education does for our students.
The music education supervisors understand the complexity of the GGfME, so they do not require teachers to use all the goals. Mr. Aaron explained, “I always tell them do what you can do; you do not have to follow all goals, because I did not have an 96 example for some of these goals.” In addition, the teacher manuals did not include any passage that suggests the inclusion of all 13 goals. Therefore, it is common for music teachers to choose which goals to use and which to leave out.
Ms. Jessica:
Some goals are too complicated…. I think I mentioned the fifth and sixth goals are pure psychological goals and not all music teachers would understand what to do with these goals. My supervisor did not mind me using these goals [goals number five and six] when I prepared a listening class, but I do not think this is the right way to apply these goals. I am not supposed to use all the goals as my supervisor told me, I can choose from the goals what is suitable for my students.
Mr. Nicholas:
I think having these goals for all grades is the main weakness of these goals. That is why they are loaded with different ideas in the same goal. If we take the first goal as an example, we can have three different goals, one for each stage…. In elementary, we teach students about their environment and Kuwaiti traditional music; later in middle school and high school we might add Arabic and Islamic music…. The rest is not my job
[deepening the faith in the principles of Islam]. I do not have to apply all the goals in my teaching.
Second, the participants agreed that the GGfME are missing obvious performance activities. In some of the goals, performance activities such as playing an instrument or singing are secondary goals, while the main goals are of a psychological, philosophical, and/or sociological nature. For instance, goals 2, 3, 5, 8 , and 10 contain music activities as a secondary concern. 97
Dr. Jack:
They lack clear performance goals, I see some performance activities…. In general, other than the talents’ goal [number eleven], performance is not the center of the GGfME.
Ms. Amy:
They need more music and less other philosophical and psychological goals….
We want our students to play music first.
Third, the evaluation of students’ progress toward the GGfME is difficult at best, and almost impossible for some goals. They include unmeasurable goals, such as those related to psychological and philosophical achievements. The participants explained that difficulties with evaluations would not be a problem in elementary and middle schools because music, art, and physical education grades are not included in the students’ GPAs; however, in high school the grades are counted, and every teacher must provide a clear assessment plan for her/his class.
Dr. Maggie:
They include some impractical goals that cannot be taught directly, and teachers will not be able to evaluate their students’ accomplishment of these goals. How will they
[teachers] assess the lesson’s effects on students’ psychological health? Or in the first goal, evaluate students’ progress toward the principles of Islam?
Ms. Amy:
They also include some unmeasurable goals, so teachers might not be able to evaluate the students based on these goals. As in numbers 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 13. 98
While most people agreed, Ms. Jessica argued that the first goal is culturally or racially problematic, because it specifies the Arab nation. In fact, the Kuwaiti community includes many people of Persian or African descent, and who are not Arabs; thus, why are only Arab Kuwaitis mentioned in the GGfME?
Ms. Jessica:
In addition, the old ideas might be renewed; instead of deepening the feeling of belonging to the Arab Nation, we can just learn about the music and cultures in other
Arab countries. I consider these ideas [to] implant seeds of racism in the students. We have many non-Arabs in our schools; not all Kuwaitis are Arabs.
Possible Reforms
The participants suggested many ideas to be considered when revising the
GGfME. First, the revised GGfME, because they are general guidelines for a wide range of ages (K-12), might include fewer and shorter goals. During the focus group discussion, the participants argued that the revised GGfME would be the base from which specific goals will be developed for each educational stage. In addition, the shorter the goal, the easier it is to focus on and understand.
Dr. Maggie:
They are supposed to be general goals for all K-12 music education, [so] they should be fewer and shorter.
Second, the revised GGfME might include clearer measurable aims and unambiguous language. As explained in the weaknesses section, many of the participants considered some of the current GGfME confusing, in many cases because of the wording, and hard to evaluate. 99
Dr. Douglas:
I would review and revise all of these goals…. Either we create simple direct goals, or we need to include a description and detailed clarification of complex psychology and philosophy goals. Either way the GGfME must have attachments that include supporting materials and implementation ideas or tools.
Ms. Amy:
I would also stay away from complicated, unmeasurable goals.
Ms. Jessica:
All goals must be clear and practical in [the] music classroom.
Third, the revised GGfME might focus on musical-based goals that include singing, listening, performance, and music theory, rather than psychological and philosophical goals. As discussed earlier, some participants pointed out that the musical activities are not clear in the current GGfME.
Dr. Jack:
The Kuwaiti opera house was opened few months ago, we will need many dedicated musicians to work there, and I think we need to focus on our craft in our class.
In other words, we need performance goals to develop students’ skills to professional levels…. That would need to start at an early age. Our music class can be as it should be…the place in which young musicians learn and improve their musical skills.
Dr. Simon:
If the aim of the GGfME is to guide music teachers, and if the music teachers will follow these goals, then we have to focus on the musical goals such as performance and music notation. They [the goals] did not even mention the word notation in the only 100 notation goal number, and it is at the end of the list, number 12 [read and write music in the simplest forms]. Music notation is important and should not be at the end of the goals.
Ms. Amy:
I would add more appropriate musical goals [that] contain singing, playing on an instrument, and music notation goals. And my goals will include all students, but I would keep the talented students goal, maybe in a separate class; in one way or another we must not ignore the talented students.
Ms. Jessica:
Further, not all students like to play an instrument, some students prefer to listen or sing, so we must include as many musical activities as possible that satisfy [the] different needs of students.
Fourth, the revised GGfME might add specific goals devoted to Kuwaiti folk music, then Middle Eastern, and finally world music. Kuwaiti folk music would link students to their heritage and culture, while Middle Eastern music would cement cultural ties to the wider Middle East. Likewise, world music would expand the students’ musical awareness.
Dr. Douglas:
I think we need to start with our local music to our neighbors’ music to Arab and world music. This way the repertories will make more sense for students.
Dr. Simon:
Further, we must give more attention to our folk music. Our folk music contains many arts that are forgotten from our school curriculum. 101
Mr. Nicholas:
I always say that our traditional music was almost forgotten in our school curriculum. I would focus on our folk music, including sea and Bedouins. I do not only mean the music but also the story and history of this music. I would have goals for the history and circumstances of each traditional art; some is working music, others might be for entertainment. Students would love to understand these details. Other goals would be the performance of this folk music, this way [we] will cover the theory and practice sections of each art [it is common in Kuwait to use the word art to refer to any traditional folk music.]
Last, the revised GGfME might move away from religious and racial concerns.
These two points have also been discussed earlier, when some participants explained that in music class, teachers need to focus on music rather than religion, while others explained that specifying a single race in the goals might been viewed as discriminatory against other ethnicities who share Kuwaiti nationality and the public school system.
Dr. Maggie:
I suggest a committee that includes music teachers, advisors, and music performance and education professors to work on revising these goals…. The religious sections need to be removed.
Ms. Jessica:
I would revise some of the goals that include inappropriate ideas …[such as] the first goal.
Mr. Nicholas: 102
In addition, the religious [ideas] do not have a place in music class. I mean, no one is teaching Islamic principles in music class now. Unless we will teach the Quran reciting, music and Islam are not related at all …. Let us just stay with the music goals.
Summary of Themes in This Chapter
The focus of this chapter was to indicate the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME, and possible reform ideas proposed by Kuwaiti music educators. The participants discussed several strengths and weaknesses. Among the strengths were the varied repertoire of music, the students’ creativity, the inclusion of Kuwaiti folk music, and the musical activity goals. In contrast, the weaknesses included that the GGfME have too many topics in each goal, they lack enough performance-based goals, student achievement is difficult to evaluate, and they might contain inappropriate ideas relating to ethnicity and culture.
Furthermore, the participants suggested five recommendations to be considered when revising the GGfME. The revised GGfME might include fewer and shorter goals, clearer measurable aims and language, more music performance goals, more Kuwaiti folk music, and should eliminate or reduce religious and racial goals. Considering these five points might provide the revised GGfME with a solid foundation that would prove practical and helpful for Kuwait’s music education.
103
CHAPTER SEVEN
Discussion and implication for Kuwait music education
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to explore Kuwaiti music educators’ perspectives regarding the GGfME in Kuwait. The findings include several points that might prevent
Kuwaiti music teachers from implementing the GGfME; the same challenges were discussed in the review of literature.
First, some standards include unclear language and aims. Carmichael et al.
(2010) and Hill (2004) mentioned these exact issues as an argument against standards- based education. Carmichael et al. (2010) stated, “If the standards are vague, watered- down, or misguided, they can point our schools down perilous paths” (pp. 1-2). Some of my participants indicated that music teachers ignore many of the goals because of the complexity and confusion inherent in their language and aims. Ms. Jessica argued,
“Some goals are too complicated.” Dr. Simon noted that, “These goals included unnecessary wording that might confuse music teachers.” Hill (2004) believed that in many situations the language used in education standards creates an issue between the interoperation and intent of the standards. Dr. Simon added that in the GGfME,
“Students learn performance for the sake of spending their free time.” He was referring to goal number ten – To give the students music performance skills that will help them to utilize their free time. In this goal, music performance is a secondary matter designed to help students spend their free time.
Next, many of the participants discussed how some goals contained an overwhelming mixture of ideas, giving them far too broad a focus to be useful in the 104 classroom. Dr. Douglas explained, “The mixture of different ideas in one goal…. That might confuse the teacher; it [could] confuse any reader.” Mr. Nicholas also indicated
“the authors of the GGfME used broad ideas and words.” In many of the GGfME this claim was obvious. For instance, the first goal includes the principles of Islam, citizenship, and Arabic culture; it attempts to link all these topics through song. Music teachers might understand the aim of this first goal as any of the three topics included, rather than developing students’ singing skills, which is its actual aim. Marzano (1999) and Lehman (2008) suggested that rather than covering a wide scope of information, education standards should be tightly focused, with clearly adaptable parts.
Furthermore, the results indicated that the GGfME contain philosophical, psychological, and utilitarian goals that might be impractical and unmeasurable in music classes. Ms. Amy discussed the challenges in these goals when she stated, “there are some goals I might not understand how music teachers are supposed to implement them.”
Ms. Jessica expressed similar concerns: “I feel that some goals cannot be easily implemented directly in the classroom. To be more clear, the fifth and sixth goals.” Goal number five aims “To achieve a psychological balance—a happy, tranquil one—between students, by allowing opportunities to interact with one another through music,” while number six seeks “To strike a balance between the students’ mental, emotional, and physical health.” These were two goals that participants described as confusing for music teachers, and which they considered impractical and unmeasurable. Glidden (2008) discusses this point; “Some standards are full of empty rhetoric, unclear, and devoid of content” (p. 14). Some of my participants described the content of several goals as the natural result of interaction with music, and thus they might not be needed to be stated in 105 the GGfME. Glidden (2008) indicated these types of goals are “better suited to a mission statement than to a standards document” (p.14). When revising the standards, Kuwait music educators might consider this point in differentiating the music teacher mission statement from practical measurable standards.
Implications for Kuwaiti Music Education
I concluded the following four implications for Kuwait music education based on the results of this study, combined with the suggestions and discussions established by seven of the participants in the focus group interview. The main discussion in the focus group was about:
1. How can Kuwaiti music educators overcome current challenges they face in
the classroom?
2. How to improve the GGfME for 21st century students’ needs?
First, the GGfME might include outdated and complicated ideas that need to be revised by a committee of music educators from the Ministry of Education, HIMA, and the music department of the CBE. Kuwaiti music educators tend to ignore the majority of these goals, often because they need to be rewritten. The revised goals might include:
(a) fewer and shorter goals; (b) clear language and measurable aims; (c) performance- based goals; (d) local folk music, Middle Eastern music, and world music; and (e) an avoidance of racial and religious concerns. Considering these points might help in revising the GGfME as follows. With fewer and shorter, goals the easier they would be to focus on and implement. Clearer and more measurable aims would result in a better understanding of whether targets are being met. In addition, rather than having psychological, philosophical, and utilitarian goals, the revised goals might focus on 106 students’ musicality. The participants felt that it would make more sense for students to start with local folk music, then proceed to Middle Eastern music, and finally move onto world music. Lastly, while many of the participants suggested a reconsideration of the religious content of the goals, Ms. Jessica explained that the inclusion of a specific race in the goals might discriminate against many students. The first goal of the GGfME highlighted Arabic culture, which might have been acceptable during the 1960s; yet the
Kuwaiti population now includes many Persian, African, and Asian citizens, so it would be inappropriate to include such a goal. In addition, Marzano (1996) suggested eight questions to consider when creating standards that might help when revising the GGfME:
“Where we will get our standards? Who will set the standards? What type of standards should we include? In what format will standards be written? At what level will benchmarks be written? How should benchmarks and students be assessed? How will student progress be reported? And what will we hold students accountable for?” (pp. 1-
4).
Second, Kuwaiti music education cannot provide only one general music class and expect teachers to achieve everything, including the school band duties, in such a restricted allotment of time. Because many Kuwait music teachers believe the performance of the school band affects teacher evaluations, they tend to focus on school band members to the detriment of other students. One of the participants explained that during the general music class, some teachers focus on just one or two students who are members of the school band, while asking their other students to do homework from other classes. The participants indicated that music teachers sometimes might use pull- out lesson strategies, where students skip their physical education or visual arts courses to 107 practice with the school band. Other teachers use the students’ break time to rehearse with the band. In many cases, these strategies lead students to stop participating in school band. All Kuwait schools used to have an activities period, during which students could practice their hobbies, including sports, visual arts, drama, poetry, and music. The activities period was removed from the school curriculum to double other subjects such as languages, mathematics, and sciences. An additional performance class or providing more time for school bands to practice with their teachers may reduce the stress of finding time for rehearsals, and could encourage students to participate in school band.
In addition, it would help teachers to provide appropriate learning experiences for students who are not members of school band.
Third, music teachers need development sessions and workshops to renew their educational skills, and learn new methods and tools. Since Kuwaiti music teachers do not need a teaching license, music teachers graduate with a bachelor’s degree and might teach in Kuwaiti school for a long period without attending any professional development sessions or workshops. In addition, the majority of Kuwait’s music teachers are
Egyptians who studied in Egypt and might not have any training in Kuwaiti folk music.
The Music Education Supervisors Office offers some workshops, including Kuwait folk music, piano accompaniment, and technology. Bauer (2003) concluded that teachers’ usage of technology increased after a professional development workshop and then declined overtime if not followed by support and access to technology. Thus, workshops need to be attended regularly and required for all Kuwaiti music teachers to ensure the quality of education they can provide. The Music Education Supervisors Office might 108 consider cooperation with HIMA and the music department of the CBE to create and conduct these workshops.
Lastly, small musical instruments are vital for any music teacher; in a country as wealthy as Kuwait, the education budget provided by the government is more than enough to provide the schools with ample musical instruments. Some teachers explained that in some schools they have only two or three synthesizers and a piano. In Kuwaiti schools, each class normally contains 25 to 30 students. Providing enough instruments would help all students participate more fully in musical activities. These instruments could be varied depending on the grade level and community preference. For example, melodicas, Orff instruments, and simple percussion instruments in elementary school, and stringed instruments including Middle Eastern/Western instruments such as the oud and the violin, in addition to wind instruments, in middle and high school. Furthermore, all Kuwait schools have two to three computer labs; these labs can be used for music production and notation software with the addition of small MIDI keyboards. Providing these instruments and software programs might enhance the quality of music education in
Kuwaiti schools.
109
CHAPTER EIGHT
Summary, Conclusion, and Potential Topics for Future Research
Summary
Formal music education in Kuwait schools started in the early 1950s, with only a few schools and music teachers. An increasing number of schools were offering music courses by the late 1960s, and, as a result, the Music Education Supervisor’s Office of the
Kuwait National Assembly published the General Goals for Music Education (GGfME) in 1967. These goals were designed to unify music education in Kuwait schools and included psychological, philosophical, and musical goals. In addition, the GGfME helped to justify the existence of music education in Kuwaiti schools. In an effort to better understand the relationship between written standards and current teaching practices in Kuwait, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Kuwaiti music educators’ perspectives regarding the GGfME and how to improve the content of the goals. This study was guided by the following research questions:
Research questions.
1. How did Kuwaiti music educators learn about the GGfME?
2. How and why do Kuwaiti music educators use the GGfME?
3. What value do Kuwaiti music educators place on the GGfME?
4. What challenges do Kuwaiti music educators face in using the GGfME?
5. What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME?
6. What suggestions do Kuwaiti music educators have to change or improve the
GGfME in order to better meet the needs of students in the 21st century? 110
As the opposite of input-based education, many countries, such as Australia,
Malaysia, the U.K., and the U.S., adopted standards-based education (SBE) as a modern system for education (Burke, 2015; Mohayidin, 2008). SBE is intended to describe what students should know and be able to do, and provide teachers with sufficient measurement criteria (Burke, 2015). In addition, supporters of SBE explained that it promotes equity in education and raises the expectations for student achievements (Kluth
& Straut, 2001). In contrast, some researchers explained that in many cases, education standards might be too complex and include unclear ideas and content (Glidden, 2008;
Hill 2004).
Music education in the U.S. went through several stages that included different goals and philosophical bases. Music education in the U.S. started with a simple goal, which was to teach students how to sing in church (Mark, 1982). Then, from the eighteen century to the mid-twentieth century, utilitarian philosophies and values were the basis of the music education in the U.S. (Mark, 2008); these values were meant to shape individuals in society. In the mid-twentieth century, with the increasing numbers of music education professional organizations and influenced by technology growth and the Cold War, U.S. music educators redefined the bases of music education to shift toward an aesthetic philosophy. Music education became geared toward music for music’s sake, and was no longer associated with any secondary values as had been the case earlier (Mark, 1982; Phillips, 1983). In 1994, as a result of several events, conferences, and publications during the second half of the twentieth century, MENC published the National Standards for Music Education to unify music instruction among the individual states and to define clear objectives for music education in public schools 111
(Mark, 1995). The National Standards guided American music teachers for 20 years. In
2014, with increasing calls for changes in music education from music education conferences, NAfME revised the 1994 National Standards and presented new standards for music education. The 2014 music standards reflect contemporary educational trends such as technology, assessment, and employment issues; in addition, the standards are focused on procedures rather than any final product (Shuler, Norgaard, & Blakeslee,
2014).
Further, in the review of literature, I examined the philosophical bases of the
GGfME and compared other philosophies and theories existing in U.S. music education.
I concluded that the GGfME were mostly based on utilitarian values as explained by
Reimer (2003, p. 63). The GGfME also included religious goals as well as a few musical activity goals.
At the end of the review of literature, I discussed recent changes in music education standards and curriculum in England and Australia. In 2013, the Department of Education in England published a new music curriculum that reflected equal opportunities for students to experience high-quality music education from professional musicians. The new curriculum in England was based on three stages for students: learn, apply, and understand (Department of Education, 2013). Australia followed the U.S. and
England and likewise revised their music curriculum. The new Australian curriculum emphasizes musical technology, history, theory, classical music, and Australian native music. The new curriculum includes clear objectives and supporting materials
(Department of Education, 2014). 112
The revision of the U.S. national standards for music education as well as the recent changes in the U.K. and Australia motivated and inspired me to investigate the status of the GGfME in Kuwait among Kuwaiti music educators.
Methods. To answer the six research questions I used purposeful sampling
(Creswell, 2013) to identify 10 Kuwaiti music educators with varied experiences, ages, and professions who have experience with the GGfME. I traveled to Kuwait and conducted semi-structured interviews with 9 of the 10 participants – a formal music supervisor could not participate in the study due to a health issue (Creswell, 2013). The participants in this study included two music education professors, two music performance professors, two music supervisors, two music teachers, and one recently retired supervisor. During all interviews, I recorded the conversation and typed notes and observations using an iPad Air 2 and the Notability application. For a diversity of data sources, I collected teachers’ manuals that are provided for all new music teachers by the
Music Education Supervisor office, copies of teachers’ lesson plan books, and curricular materials. After conducting all interviews I met with the participants in a focus group interview in which we discussed the challenges facing Kuwaiti music educators in applying the GGfME, and possible ideas for reform. Interview data were originally transcribed in Arabic and later translated into English.
The process of analyzing the data included transcribing and translating the data, organizing the data based on research questions, extracting the important ideas and point from each participant’s interview, and comparing it with the collected document. Then, I compared between participants’ responses to find common theme and categories. Later, I 113 compared the emergent themes with the collected documents to confirm the final themes
(Patten, 2002).
Findings. In response to the first research question, “How did Kuwaiti music educators learn about the GGfME?”, modern Kuwaiti music educators learned about the
GGfME during the last year of college, while earlier generations used to read about the
GGfME in their music class workbooks that were provided by the schools. Second, when participants were asked about their usage and implementation of the GGfME, responses indicated that during the past few years Kuwaiti music teachers have used the GGfME only as routine goals to be included in lesson plans without practical implementation of most of the GGfME.
Third, in regard to the value of the GGfME, the participants explained that modern Kuwaiti music educators consider the GGfME as a theoretical base for music education, mostly impractical for actual teaching. Further, in responses to the challenges associated with the implementation of the GGfME the participants discussed several: (a) ambiguous, over-loaded, and overly-general goals that are hard to understand; (b) the focus on school bands consumes much of music teachers’ attention and time; and (c) most of the participants indicated that in many cases public school music teachers in
Kuwait lack the means and tools for achieving much of the GGfME.
Fourth, responding to research question number five, the participants discussed the perceived strengths and weakness of the GGfME. Among the strengths were the varied repertoire of music, the students’ creativity, the inclusion of Kuwaiti folk music, and the musical activity goals. In contrast, the weaknesses included that the GGfME have too many topics in each goal, they lack enough performance-based goals, student 114 achievement is hard to evaluate, and they might contain inappropriate ideas relating to ethnicity and culture.
Fifth, the participants suggested five recommendations to be considered when revising the GGfME. The revised GGfME might include fewer and shorter goals, clearer aims and language, more music performance goals, more Kuwaiti folk music, and should eliminate or reduce religious and racial goals.
Discussion of themes. Many of the themes were related to certain points included in the literature review of this study. Critics of standards-based education such as Carmichael et al. (2010), Glidden (2008), and Hill (2004), argued that if standards were vague, complex, or included impractical theoretical ideas, they might misguide both teachers and students. The participants’ responses included similar claims regarding the
GGfME; thus, they tend to apply only a portion GGfME in their teaching. Furthermore, the suggestions to be considered in the revised GGfME included points that were also discussed in the review of the literature, such as fewer and more focused goals (Marzano,
1999), and clearly adaptable aims (Lehman, 2008).
Conclusion
In this basic descriptive qualitative study, I investigated the status of the General
Goals for Music Education among Kuwaiti music educators. Through the analysis and comparison between interviews and collected documents, I created the themes associated with the six research questions. Furthermore, through the focus group interview, combined with my analysis of the results, I established four implications for Kuwait music education. 115
First, there is a need to revise the GGfME by a committee of professional Kuwaiti music educators due to the ambiguity, density, and impracticality of some of the current goals. These issues with the current GGfME led music Kuwait music teachers to rarely or never use some of these goals; in addition, they were viewed as theoretical representations rather than practical goals for music education. Revising these goals might enrich and refresh music education in Kuwaiti schools.
Second, the weight Kuwait music teachers place on school bands is affecting the opportunities for many other students in the school to learn music. Kuwaiti music teachers need either a dedicated band class or more time devoted to school band that does not interfere with their duties to include all students in class and not only “talented students.” The school activity time that used to exist in all Kuwait schools prior to 2003 was a very effective toward this end. The current situation is not fair for many Kuwaiti students. Music education is a personal right for every Kuwaiti student, not only those students who play music instruments.
Third, the Music Education Supervisor’s Office might seek assistance from
HIMA and the music department at the CBE to provide professional development and workshops to help music teachers maintain and increase their proficiency. As explained earlier the majority of Kuwaiti music teachers are from Egypt, and they are not necessary familiar with Kuwaiti folk music. In addition, teaching music in Kuwait only require a bachelors’ degree without a teaching license to renew, so in many cases teachers might not have attended a workshop or read any music education books since they were in college. Providing professional development sessions and workshops with professional 116 performance and music education teachers from HIMA and the CBE might help improve music education in Kuwait and increase teachers’ standards and experience.
Fourth, Kuwaiti schools have a need for appropriate musical instruments to provide opportunities for future musicians to pursue musicianship in the early stages of their lives – “Our music classes can be as they should be…. the place in which young musicians learn and improve their musical skills.”(Dr. Jack). The shortage of available instruments is detrimental to student learning and likewise hampers music teachers’ effectiveness.
Suggestions for Future Research
The establishment of coherent education standards is not an easy task; it requires the author/s to understand the needs of the students, community, and teachers’ background knowledge, as well as the required tools and supporting materials for applying the standards. Due to the limitation of this study in which I interviewed a few participants over a limited time, the repetition of this study to include a bigger sample might uncover different results. The sample of professions might also affect the result; for example, to investigate the perspectives of only music teachers who might be teaching at different levels, perspectives of music education professors, or advisors. Second, a comparison between Kuwaiti music education standards and other countries’ music standards might help when revising the Kuwaiti standards. Lastly, investigating the musical preferences of Kuwaiti public school students might help Kuwaiti music educators to compose and include an appropriate repertoire for students.
Many athletes, visual artists, actors, and musicians in Kuwait developed their passion for their professions in schools. 117
In the Persian Gulf area, Kuwait used to be the capital of arts and especially music. It has the oldest music institute among its neighboring countries. Yet there are orchestras in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, but not in Kuwait.
The Kuwait Opera House was opened only last year. It is time to develop a clear aim for music education to rebuild the position of music in the community, to provide opportunities for future musicians to find their path in music, and to include all students in the music classroom. It is my hope that this descriptive study provides insight to the past, present, and the potential future of music education in Kuwait. After all, it is our job as music educators to share the glory of music with our students; to do so we need a good plan. 118
APPENDIX A
The National Standards for Music education (MENC)
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside
the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Retrieved from http://www.nafme.org/wp-content/files/2014/06/Archived-1994-Music-
Standards.pdf
119
APPENDIX B
The General Goals for Music Education in Kuwait. (The General Music Education
Supervisors, 2009)
1. To deepen the faith in the principles of the Islamic religion and its values while
encouraging the feelings of citizenship and cultural identity of the Arab nation and
the Islamic world through songs and other subject areas.
2. To link students to their environment through exploring different types of Kuwaiti
folk music and playing appropriate popular games by singing, moving, and listening.
3. To develop a musical sense in the students toward certain aspects of beauty, the
creativity of God, and human life.
4. To develop the students’ abilities to express themselves artistically through music
performance and singing music from different cultures and world music.
5. To achieve a psychological balance—a happy, tranquil one—between students, by
allowing opportunities to interact with one another through music.
6. To strike a balance between the students’ mental, emotional, and physical health.
7. To improve the students’ creativity.
8. To develop social skills in students by their participation in musical projects and
building a positive self-image.
9. To improve the student’s self-confidence and help them to be part of the community.
10. To give the students music performance skills that will help them to utilize their free
time.
11. To identify students with musical talent and to aid them in building upon that talent. 120
12. To provide students with more information about musical culture, so they can read
and write music in the simplest forms.
13. To achieve integration between music with other school subjects, and assist different
school subjects.
121
APPENDIX C
The new national standards vs. the old national standards in the U.S.
(Shuler, Norgaard, & Blakeslee, 2014, p.44) 122
APPENDIX D
Interview Protocol
Length:
Date and location:
Name:
Profession and experience:
Interview Questions:
1. Describe your background information regarding the GGfME.
2. When did you learn about the GGfME? And how important are they for
Kuwait music education?
3. How are the GGfME affecting your job?
4. What benefits do you see to work with these goals?
5. Do you use all of the thirteen goals of the GGfME?
6. Which goal do you use the most? And why?
7. Which goal do you use the least? and why?
8. What challenges have you experienced in applying the goals?
9. What do you think is strong about these goals? And how?
10. Do you think there are some weaknesses in these goals? What are they?
11. How can these goals be improved or renewed? Do you suggest
adding/removing or revising some of these goals? Which ones? And why?
Emerging questions:
1., 2., 3., 4.
123
APPENDIX E
Focus Group Interview Protocol
Length:
Date and location:
Participants:
Discussion Questions:
1. Emerging question from personal interviews
2. Emerging question from personal interviews
3. Emerging question from personal interviews
4. What challenges do Kuwaiti music educators face in using the GGfME?
5. How can Kuwait music educators overcome and/or cope with these challenges?
6. What suggestions do you have to change or improve the GGfME in order to better
meet the needs of students in the 21st century?
124
APPENDIX F
Worksheet template for analyzing participants’ responses
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background educators learn about the information regarding the GGfME? GGfME.
When did you learn about the GGfME?
And how important are they for Kuwait music education?
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the thirteen music educators use the goals of the GGfME? GGfME? Which goal do you use the most? And why?
Which goal do you use the least? and why?
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME affecting educators place on the your job? GGfME? What benefits do you see to work with these goals?
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you music educators face in using experienced in applying the the GGfME? goals?
What are the perceived Strengths strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME? Weaknesses
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be music educators have to improved or renewed? Do you change or improve the suggest adding/removing or GGfME in order to better revising some of these goals? meet the needs of students in Which ones? And why? the 21st century?
125
APPENDIX G
Completed worksheet for analyzing participants’ responses
Dr. Douglas
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background They describe why we teach educators learn about the information regarding the music in Kuwait and explains GGfME? GGfME. the school music curriculum.
When did you learn about the Maybe last year in the GGfME? undergraduate program, I don’t remember, I didn’t teach in schools. we don’t use them in HIMA
And how important are they for General principles Kuwait music education? Some of them are natural happening in any music class.
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the thirteen We don’t use them in HIMA, music educators use the goals of the GGfME? Eleventh goal maybe I am GGfME? Which goal do you use the not sure, I do not teach in most? And why? public schools
Which goal do you use the least? Integration, how and what and why? subjects we should help? Each subject has its role in school so is music. Implacable in kindergarten and elementary educational songs.
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME affecting No direct effect on my job educators place on the your job? GGfME? What benefits do you see to No direct benefits, work with these goals? Situate music education in academic place
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you Mixing different ideas is just music educators face in using experienced in applying the confusing for the teachers. the GGfME? goals?
126
Dr. Douglas
Research question Sub-question Response What are the perceived Strengths Music diversity leads to strengths and weaknesses of musically literate students the GGfME? Weaknesses Ideas mixture Confusing and complex Without clear aim What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be Revision music educators have to improved or renewed? Do you Simplicity in the new goals change or improve the suggest adding/removing or Direct goals GGfME in order to better revising some of these goals? Detailed description of meet the needs of students in Which ones? And why? psychological and the 21st century? philosophical content Supporting material Implementation tools
127
Dr. Jack
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background Aim of music educators learn about the information regarding the GGfME. education GGfME? When did you learn about the Elementary/Middle GGfME? school Students workbook
And how important are they for National Assembly Kuwait music education? debate! Saved school music!
How and why do Kuwaiti music Do you use all of the thirteen goals educators use the GGfME? of the GGfME? It is all about concert! Which goal do you use the most? And why?
Which goal do you use the least? Goals are used mostly and why? only in model class!
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME affecting your No direct effect educators place on the GGfME? job?
What benefits do you see to work …. with these goals?
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you School band music educators face in using the experienced in applying the goals? Limited tools GGfME? Limited time Teachers preparation
What are the perceived strengths Strengths Creativity goal and weaknesses of the GGfME? Weaknesses Unclear performance goal
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved Focus on music rather music educators have to change or renewed? Do you suggest than other subjects or improve the GGfME in order adding/removing or revising some Performance goals to better meet the needs of of these goals? Which ones? And students in the 21st century? why?
128
Dr. Maggie
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background Goals on paper but not in educators learn about the information regarding the reality GGfME? GGfME. Theoretical framework
When did you learn about the General music teaching GGfME? method class.
CBE last year
And how important are they for Represent music Kuwait music education? education for the community in a nice tone. Utilitarian values For policy makers!
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the thirteen Not all goals are usable music educators use the goals of the GGfME? Talented students in GGfME? Which goal do you use the most? school band because of And why? my evaluation is related to the school band performance.
Which goal do you use the least? Integration might be and why? related to K-5 education. No direct effects, I used SOME of them in my What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME affecting lesson plan educators place on the your job? GGfME? What benefits do you see to work Represent M.E. to the with these goals? community
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you Complex goals music educators face in using experienced in applying the Too many ideas in one the GGfME? goals? goal Impractical goals
What are the perceived Strengths Performance activities strengths and weaknesses of the GGfME? Weaknesses Impracticality Cannot be evaluated
129
Dr. Maggie
Research question Sub-question Response What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved Fewer Shorter music educators have to or renewed? Do you suggest Revision committee change or improve the GGfME adding/removing or revising some No religious concern in order to better meet the of these goals? Which ones? And needs of students in the 21st why? century?
130
Dr. Simon
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music educators Describe your background They explain what learn about the GGfME? information regarding the GGfME. music teachers do in class
When did you learn about the Middle school GGfME? Music workbook
And how important are they for Foundation for music Kuwait music education? education
How and why do Kuwaiti music Do you use all of the thirteen goals Some unusable goals educators use the GGfME? of the GGfME? (teacher preparation) Which goal do you use the most? Eleventh goal And why? because of school band
Which goal do you use the least? Integration goal not and why? for all grades Kindergarten’s goal
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME affecting your ….. educators place on the GGfME? job?
What benefits do you see to work Ideas for music with these goals? teacher to prepare a lesson plan
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you Some goals need music educators face in using the experienced in applying the goals? explanation and no GGfME? one can understand
What are the perceived strengths Strengths Performance points – and weaknesses of the GGfME? singing, listening,
Weaknesses Unnecessary wording that confuse the aim of the goal
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved or Performance goals music educators have to change renewed? Do you suggest Music notation or improve the GGfME in order adding/removing or revising some Kuwaiti folk music to better meet the needs of of these goals? Which ones? And students in the 21st century? why?
131
Mr. Aaron
Research question Sub-question Response
How did Kuwaiti music Describe your Main characteristics of Kuwait music educators learn about the background information education GGfME? regarding the GGfME.
When did you learn about Elementary/ Middle school the GGfME? Music workbook
And how important are Explains the reasons of having music they for Kuwait music education in our schools for the policy education? makers and community Identification card of Kuwait music education
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the Teachers are not required to apply all music educators use the thirteen goals of the the goals GGfME? GGfME? Goal number Eleven Which goal do you use the most? And why? Which goal do you use Number thirteen , K-5 education the least? and why? In higher stages it needs supporting material and constructed curriculum to apply Music teacher prefer to use their limited time to teach music rather than other subjects
What value do Kuwaiti How are the GGfME I ensure that teachers use most of the music educators place on affecting your job? goals not always in classroom, the GGfME? morning meetings etc.…
What benefits do you see Offer many topics can be used in class to work with these goals?
What challenges do What challenges have you Egyptian teachers training in Kuwaiti music educators experienced in applying traditional Kuwaiti music face in using the GGfME? the goals? Only one workshop
132
Mr. Aaron
Research question Sub-question Response
What are the perceived strengths Strengths students to heritage and weaknesses of the GGfME? Explains the role of music in shaping students personalities
Weaknesses Too many ideas in one goal
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved or Revision music educators have to change or renewed? Do you suggest Unpack some of the improve the GGfME in order to adding/removing or revising some of goals better meet the needs of students these goals? Which ones? And why? in the 21st century?
133
Ms. Amy
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background Supposed to be the base of M.E. educators learn about the information regarding the They are general ideas for GGfME? GGfME. teachers to choose from
When did you learn about Last year in college (CBE) the GGfME?
And how important are To explain M.E. for the parents they for Kuwait music education? How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the No one does! music educators use the thirteen goals of the GGfME? GGfME? Number 11 (the talented students Which goal do you use the made additional efforts to most? And why? participate in music)
Which goal do you use the The last one least? and why? It is the 1st goal for kindergarten music teacher Educational songs in elementary level Middle and high school teachers ignore it
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME I used to organize the semester educators place on the affecting your job? plan based on the goals GGfME?
What benefits do you see to Offers selections of ideas for work with these goals? music teacher
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you Complicated impractical goals music educators face in using experienced in applying the the GGfME? goals?
134
Ms. Amy
Research question bup-question Response What are the perceived strengths Strengths Identification of and weaknesses of the GGfME? musically talented students to help them start their music journey
Weaknesses Too much philosophical and psychological goals and few musical goals Some goals are immeasurable
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved Add appropriate music educators have to change or renewed? Do you suggest musical goals –singing, or improve the GGfME in order adding/removing or revising some playing on an to better meet the needs of of these goals? Which ones? And instrument, and notation students in the 21st century? why? Goals for all students Do not forget the talented students Stay away from the complicated and immeasurable goals
135
Ms. Jessica
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your Teachers guide educators learn about the background information GGfME? regarding the GGfME.
When did you learn about Last year in College (CBE) the GGfME?
And how important are Theoretical guide not always they for Kuwait music implemented education?
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the No time to do so music educators use the thirteen goals of the Fourth goal GGfME? GGfME? Eleventh goal if school band count, Which goal do you use School band will contest against other the most? And why? school and they need to sound good for their self-confident
Which goal do you use Last goal, no integration the least? and why?
What value do Kuwaiti How are the GGfME Too general to have direct effect on music educators place on affecting your job? my job the GGfME?
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have Complex impractical goals music educators face in you experienced in Some goal does not have supporting using the GGfME? applying the goals? materials and implementation tools in the teachers’ manual
What are the perceived Strengths They include selection of ideas as strengths and weaknesses of performance, psychology, and the GGfME? philosophy The creativity goal
Weaknesses Complicity Old ideas Cultural inappropriate and racial ideas can be consider as discrimination (not all Kuwaiti are Arab)
136
Ms. Jessica
Research question Sub-question Response
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved or Clear and practical music educators have to change or renewed? Do you suggest goals improve the GGfME in order to adding/removing or revising some of Divers music better meet the needs of students in these goals? Which ones? And why? activities to satisfy the 21st century? students’ need Removing the culturally inappropriate ideas
137
Mr. Mason
Research question Sub-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background Fruit of school music educators learn about the information regarding the GGfME? GGfME.
When did you learn about the When they were published GGfME? back in the 1960s
And how important are they for The base of music Kuwait music education? education curriculum
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the thirteen …… music educators use the goals of the GGfME? Talented students ( goal GGfME? Which goal do you use the most? number eleven ) And why? To find talented students and help them to improve their talent by participating in the school band then district orchestra
Which goal do you use the least? …. and why?
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME affecting educators place on the your job? GGfME?
What benefits do you see to work Unite the music curriculum with these goals? in Kuwait schools Explain M.E. for parents
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you Maybe the limited time and music educators face in using experienced in applying the tools for music teachers the GGfME? goals?
What are the perceived Strengths Explain the music strengths and weaknesses of curriculum the GGfME? Weaknesses ……
What suggestions do Kuwaiti How can these goals be improved Revision by a committee of music educators have to or renewed? Do you suggest music teachers and change or improve the GGfME adding/removing or revising supervisors in order to better meet the some of these goals? Which needs of students in the 21st ones? And why? century?
138
Mr. Nicholas
Research question Sup-question Response How did Kuwaiti music Describe your background Headlines to include in lesson educators learn about the information regarding the plan GGfME? GGfME.
When did you learn about When I start teaching (HIMA the GGfME? grad)
And how important are they To explain M.E. for the for Kuwait music education? community
How and why do Kuwaiti Do you use all of the thirteen No, too many pleonasm music educators use the goals of the GGfME? Lack of instruments and time GGfME? Which goal do you use the Talents goal, effect on teachers most? And why? evaluation
Which goal do you use the The last goal least? and why? Impractical in high school
What value do Kuwaiti music How are the GGfME Not all goals affecting my job educators place on the affecting your job? GGfME? What benefits do you see to The headlines that we include work with these goals? in our lesson plan
What challenges do Kuwaiti What challenges have you Broad ideas and wording music educators face in using experienced in applying the Unclear aim the GGfME? goals? Limited time for school band I have between thirty and forty and few music instrument less than six
139
Mr. Nicholas
Research question Sup-question Response
What are the perceived strengths Strengths Kuwaiti folk and weaknesses of the GGfME? music
Weaknesses The goals are for all grades
Leaded with ideas What suggestions do Kuwaiti music How can these goals be improved or Unpack some educators have to change or renewed? Do you suggest goals to create improve the GGfME in order to adding/removing or revising some of shorter goals better meet the needs of students in these goals? Which ones? And why? Folk music the 21st century? history and performance Removing the religious ideas
140
APPENDIX H
Worksheet template for generating themes
Participant Subject Subject Subject Subject Subject Subject Subject Subject Subject Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 question
1
2
3
4
5
6
141
APPENDIX I
Completed worksheets for generating themes
Participant Dr. Douglas Dr. Jack Dr. Maggie Dr. Simon Research question 1 General principles Aim of M.E. Theoretical Foundation for College Students framework M. E. Describe M.E. workbook College Students For policymaker For policy maker workbook and community and community Explain M. E. 2 Lesson plan In a model class Lesson plan Lesson plan Talented students All about concert Talented students Eleventh goal Integration Integration Integration
3 No direct effects No direct effects No direct effects No direct Situate M.E. in an Represent M. E. to effects Academic place the community Ideas for music teachers 4 Complicity School band Complicity Unclear goals Ideas mixture Time limits Loaded with ideas Lack of tools Impractical goals Lack of teacher preparation
5 Diversity of music Creativity Performance Performance activity activity
Complicity Unclear aim Impractical Unclear aim Ideas mixture Unmeasurable Unclear aim
6 Revision Musical focused Revision Performance Simple Fewer goals Clear Performance goals Shorter Notation Supporting material w/o religious Kuwaiti folk Implementation tools concern music
142
Participants Mr. Aaron Ms. Amy Ms. Jessica Mr. Mason Mr. Nicholas Research question
1 Main General ideas Theoretical Fruit of M. Headlines characteristics for teachers guide E. First year of of M. E. College College Publication teaching Students Explain M. E day Explain M.E. workbook for parents Base of for the Explain M. E. M.E. community to the curriculum community
2 Using some No one use all No time for Talented Lack of tools goals goals all goals students and time to Talented Talented Talented apply the students students students goals Integration Integration Integration Talented students Integration
3 Curriculum Help Organizing Unite music No Effects base organizing lesson plan curriculum Organizing Ideas for lesson plan Describe lesson plan teachers Ideas for M.E. to the teachers parents
4 Teacher Complicity Complicity Time limits Loaded with preparation Impractical Impractical Tools ideas goals goals Unclear aim Lack Time limits supporting Lack of music materials and instruments tools
5 Folk music Helping Provide Explain the Folk music talented teachers with M.E. students ideas curriculum
Too many ideas Few musical Complicity For all grades goals Old ideas Unmeasurable Racial Loaded with Impractical concern ideas
143
References
Abu-hakima, A. M. (1983). The modern history of Kuwait: 1750-1965. London: Luzac.
Alderaiwaish, A. (2013) Teaching the clarinet in Kuwait: Creating a curriculum for the
Public Authority for Applied Education and Training. (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation).University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
Al Manea, H., (2008). "Kuwaiti Folk Music” (paper presented at the Colloquium of the
Higher Institute of Music Art, Kuwait, March 10, 2008).
Almujarreb, K. M. (2000). A survey of current practices in the teaching of college and
university music appreciation classes with implications for teaching the course in
Kuwait’s college of basic education. (Doctoral dissertation) Retrieved from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. (Order No. 9992496).
Alkoot, H. A. (2009). Undergraduates' familiarity with and preference for Arabic music
in comparison with other world music (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. (Order No. 3389973).
Alramzi, S. (1998). The history, development, and curriculum of the Institute of Musical
Studies and the Higher Institute of Musical Art in Kuwait. (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Miami).
Alreshed, A. (1978). History of Kuwait. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Maktabat Alhayat.
Al-Sharah, Y., & Khabbas, D. (1987). Development of learning strategies for literacy,
post-literacy and continuing education in Kuwait. In R. H. Dave, A. Ouane, &
A.M. Ranaweera (Eds.), Learning strategies for post-literacy and continuing
education in Algeria, Egypt, and Kuwait: Outcomes of an international research
project of the Unesco Institute for Education organized in co-operation with the 144
German Commission for Unesco, Bonn (pp. 125-210). Hamburg: Unesco Institute
for Education.
Alyoser, A. Z. (2016). Self-reported attitudes and practices of music instructors in
Kuwait regarding adult music learners. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Case
Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Bauer, W. I., Reese, S., & McAllister, P. A. (2003). Transforming Music Teaching via
Technology: The Role of Professional Development. Journal of Research in Music
Education, 51(4), 289. doi:10.2307/3345656
Bedouin (2016). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bedouin
Birge, E. B. (1928). History of public school music in the United States. Reston, VA:
Music Educators National Conference.
Bradley, J. (1993). Methodological issues and practices in qualitative research. Library
Quarterly, 63(4), 431-449.doi:10.1086/602620
Bucknavage, L. B., & Worrell, F. C. (2005). A study of academically talented students'
participation in extracurricular activities. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education,
16, 74-86.
Burke, H. (2015). Once more around the parade ground: Re-envisioning standards-based
music education in England, the USA and Australia. Australian Journal of Music
Education, 2, 49-65.
Carmichael, S. B., Martino, G., Porter-Magee, K., Wilson, W. S., Fairchild, D., Haydel,
E.,Senechal, D., Winkler, A. M., Finn, C. E., & Petrilli, M. J. (2010). The state of
state standards—and the Common Core—in 2010. Washington, DC: The Thomas 145
B. Fordham Institute. Retrieved from
http://www.math.jhu.edu/~wsw/FORD/SOSSandCC2010_FullReportFINAL.pdf
Casey, M. S. (2007). The history of Kuwait. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Center of Kuwaiti Research and Studies. (2002). Tareekh al-taaleem fi dawlat Al-
Kuwait: Derasah tawtheqeiah [History of education in the State of Kuwait:
Documentary study]. Kuwait: Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Science.
Choate, R. A., Fowler, C. B., Brown, C. E., & Wersen, L. G. (1967). The Tanglewood
symposium: Music in American society. Music Educators Journal, 54(3), 49-80.
doi:10.2307/3391187
Colwell, R., & Music Educators National Conference. (2006). MENC handbook of
research methodologies. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Conway, C. (2008). The implementation of the national standards in music education:
Capturing the spirit of the standards. Music Educators Journal, 94(4), 34-39.
Council of Ministers General Secretariat. (2016). Kuwait Constitution. Retrieved from
https://www.cmgs.gov.kw/
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publication.
Darling, L. (2004). From West to East: An introduction to Arabic string playing.
American String Teacher, 45, 78-83.
Davis, M. (2003). Outcome-based education. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education,
30(3), 258-263. doi:10.3138/jvme.37.2.178 146
Dean, C. (2007, September 25). When science suddenly mattered, in space and in class.
The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/science/space/25educ.html?_r=0
Department of Education. (2013). The National Curriculum in England. Framework
document. Retrieved from https://www.education.gov.uk/schools
Department of Education. (2014). Review of the Australian curriculum: Final report.
Retrieved from http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/strengthening-
australiancurriculum.
DiCicco‐Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006). The qualitative research interview. Medical
Education, 40(4), 314-321. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02418.x
Education Commission of the States. (2000). Setting the standard: Will higher
expectations improve student achievement? The Progress of Education Reform,
1(5).
Faraj, M. A. (2000). A proposed four-year undergraduate vocal performance major
curriculum guide for the Higher Institute of Musical Arts in Kuwait. (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuestDissertations & Theses A&I. (Order No.
9972544).
Fehr, R. C. (2015). The national core music standards move from theory to practice.
Teaching Music, 23(2), 9.
Fisher, R. (2008). Debating assessment in music education. Research and Issues in Music
Education (RIME), 6(1). Retrieved from http://www.stthomas.edu/
rimeonline/vol6/fisher1.htm 147
Gadd, C. J., & Hamide, A. (2016). Syria. In Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved
from https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/The-union-with-Egypt-1958-61
The General Music Education Supervisors. (2004). The curriculum of music elementary
school in Kuwait. (2004). Kuwait: The General Music Education
Supervisors/Kuwait Ministry of Education.
The General Music Education Supervisors. (2009). The elementary music teachers'
handbook. (3rd ed). Kuwait: The General Music Education Supervisors/Kuwait
Ministry of Education.
Girod, G. R., & Girod, M. (2012). Standards-based schools. In Example Chapter 4.
Retrieved from: http://www.wou.edu/~girodm/100/brief_history_of_standards.pdf
Glidden, H. (2008). Common ground: Clear specific content holds teaching, texts, and
tests together. American Educator, 32(1), 13-19. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolinfosystem.org/2008/03/27/common_ground_c/
Government of Kuwait. (2016). The State of Kuwait. Retrieved from
http://www.e.gov.kw/
Hamilton, L. S., Stecher, B. M., Yuan, K. (2008). Standards-based reform in the United
States: History, research, and future directions. RAND Corporation. Retrieved
from http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/2009/RAND_RP1384.pdf
Hatch, J. A. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press.
Hawes, K. M. (2015). An examination of standards-based education relative to research-
based practices in instruction and assessment (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved
from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. (Order No. 3688510). 148
Hill, P. (2004). Music, philosophy, and the Civil War: National standards 8 and 9 for
middle and high school. Teaching Music, 12(1), 42.
Jackson, K. M., & Trochim, W. M. (2002). Concept mapping as an alternative approach
for the analysis of open-ended survey responses. Organizational Research
Methods, 5(4), 307-336. doi:10.1177/109442802237114
Kluth, P., & Straut, D. (2001). Standards for diverse learners. Alexandria: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Kruse, N. B., Oare, S., & Norman, M. (2008). The influence of the "national standards" on research
trends in music education. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (176),
51-61.
LeBlanc, A. (1983). Nation at risk: Opportunities within the essentials report. Music
Educators Journal, 70(1), 29-29
Lehman, P. (2008. Music Educators Journal, 94(4), 28-32.
doi:10.1177/00274321080940040103
Madsen, C., (2000). Vision 2020. The Housewright Symposium on the Future of Music
Education, ed. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference.
Mark, M. L. (1982). The evolution of music education philosophy from utilitarian to
aesthetic. Journal of Research in Music Education, 30(1), 15-21.
doi:10.2307/3344863
Mark, M. L., (1995). Music education and the national standards: A historical review.
The Quarterly, 6(2), pp.34-43.
Mark, M. L. (2000). From Tanglewood to Tallahassee in 32 years. Music Educators
Journal,86(5), 25-28. 149
Mark, M. L., (2008). A concise history of American music education. Lanham, Md.: Rowman &
Littlefield Education.
Marzano, R. J. (1999). Building curriculum and assessment around standards. The High
School Magazine, 6(5), 14-19.
Marzano, R. J. (1996). Eight questions about implementing standards-based education.
Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 5(6). Retrieved from
http://PAREonline.net/ getvn.asp? v=5&n=6
Mehra, B. (2002). Bias in qualitative research: Voices from an online classroom. The
Qualitative Report, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR7-
1/mehra.html
Merriam, S. B., & Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and
implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Middle Eastern Music and Dance. Arabic nay. Retrieved September 18, 2016, from
http://arabicmusicband.com/instruments/arabic-nay
The Ministry of Education, Kuwait, (2013). Education statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.moe.edu.kw/news/Pages/Details.aspx?id=69327
The Ministry of Education, Kuwait (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.moe.edu.kw/about/Pages/History.aspx
Mohayidin, M. G., (2008). Implementation of outcome-based education in University
Putra Malaysia: A focus on students' learning outcomes. International Education
Studies, 1(4). 150
Music Educators National Conference. (1994). Opportunity-to-learn standards for music
instruction: Grades pre K-12: Curriculum and scheduling, staffing, materials and
equipment, facilities. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference.
National Association for Music Education, (2014). The new national 2014 music
standards - here’s what NAfME wants you to know - National Association for
MusicEducation (NAfME). Retrieved from NAfME News,
http://www.nafme.org/the-new national-core-music-standards-are-out-and-heres-
nafme-wants-you-to-know/
National Association for Music Education. (2015). NAfME’s history, the evolution of
music education–and Taylor Swift!. Retrieved from NAfME News,
http://www.nafme.org/nafmes-history-the-evolution-of-music-education-and-
taylor-swift/
National Association for Music Education. (2016). National standards archive. Retrieved
from http://www.nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/national-standards-archives
National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters. (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.nccal.gov.kw
The National Network of Kuwait. (2016). Kuwait folk ensembles. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalkuwait.com/forum/index.php?threads/65987/
Patten, M. L. (2012). Understanding research methods. (8th ed., pp. 9-10). Glendale, CA:
Pyrczak Publishing.
Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage. 151
Phillips, K. H. (1983). Utilitarian vs. aesthetic. Music Educators Journal, 69(7), 29-30.
doi:10.2307/3396296
Piersol, J. (2000). Wiley Housewright on music's changing times. Music Educators
Journal, 86(5), 29-31. doi:10.2307/3399633
Reimer, B. (2003). A philosophy of music education: Advancing the vision (3rd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Sandelowski, M. (2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in
Nursing & Health, 23(4). 334–340. doi: 10.1002/1098
240X(200008)23:43.0.CO;2-G
Scherer, M. (2001). How and why standards can improve student achievement: A
conversation with Robert J. Marzano. Educational Leadership, 59(1), 14-18.
Shuler, S. C., Norgaard, M., & Blakeslee, M. J. (2014). The new national standards for
music educators. Music Educators Journal, 101(1), 41-49.
doi:10.1177/0027432114540120
Silber, K. (2016). Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss educator. In Encyclopedia
Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-
Heinrich-Pestalozzi
Six-Day War. (2015). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War
Soulayman, M. A. H. (2001). A review and survey of current practices in elementary
Music education methods course with recommendations for a K–4 course of study
for the College of Basic Education in Kuwait. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved
from ProQuest Dissertation & Theses A&I. (Order No. 3032395). 152
Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. New York: Guilford.
Streubert, H. J., & Carpenter, D. R. (2007). Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing
the humanistic imperative. (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &
Watkins.
Sturgis, C., Rath, B., Weisstein, E., & Patrick, S., (2010). Clearing the path: Creating
innovation space for serving over-age, under-credited students in competency-
based pathways. Retrieved from http://www.inacol.org.
Tanglewood II Charting the Future. (2007). Tanglewood II declaration. Retrieved from
http://www.bu.edu/tanglewoodtwo/about/index.html
Taqasim music school. The Qanun. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from
http://www.taqasim.net/en/a/15.html
Touma, H. (1996). The music of the Arabs (New expanded ed.). Portland, Or: Amadeus
Press.
Tyack, D., & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering towards utopia: A century of public school reform.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Werner, R. J. (1979). The Yale Seminar: From proposals to programs. Bulletin of the
Council for Research in Music Education, 60, 52-58.
Werner, R. J. (2009). A review of the 1963 Yale seminar. College Music Symposium, 49-
50,101-104.
Williams, D., Ledeman, E., & Tancredo, T. (1994). The ABCs of OBE: What’s wrong
with outcome-based education. Independence Institute, Colorado. Retrieved from
https://www.i2i.org/the-abcs-of-obe-whats-wrong-with-outcome-based-education/ 153
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications.
Zhang, Y., & Wildemuth, B. M. (2009). Qualitative analysis of content. Applications of
social research methods to questions in information and library science, 308-319.