The Future of Music Education in Kenya: Implementation of Curriculum and Instructional Teaching Strategies

This paper is an evaluation of the parameters of the concept of music curriculum that examines principles underlying the teaching and learning of music. The paper also discusses the practical nature of music education and the need for experiential learning. Music educators worldwide advocate for methods that allow for discovery learning and hence nurture creativity. Findings of other studies in this paper reveal a state of apathy toward music in Kenya and majority of teachers are handicapped in handling music in general. These studies also reveal a weakness in methodologies of teaching music and under-utilization of available resources in music teaching. In all cases, it is conceptualized that music is dismally performed due to the perennial challenges in the curriculum implementation. The study is a focus on Nairobi County, Kenya where secondary schools both private and public teaching and learning music were involved. A descriptive survey was conducted on both groups. Purposive sampling was used to select 23 schools that offer music and 23 music teachers that teach music in Nairobi County. Music students were selected using simple random sampling. A total number of 180 out of 360 form three music students and 23 teachers participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires, classroom observation schedule and focus group discussions. Content analysis was also done to establish some of the strategies as advocated by theorists in music education. Data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics and computation of the empirical data done using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). Keywords: Music education, Curriculum, Implementation, Teaching/ Learning strategies, Instructional