Elementary teachers’ expressed beliefs and observed practices of music education in Vancouver and Hong Kong : a descriptive, exploratory study

The aim of this study was to document the expressed beliefs and observed practices of elementary school teachers involved in music instruction in Vancouver and Hong Kong. It is important to understand beliefs and value systems of teachers since they form the basis for their educational practices. These beliefs are shaped by various contextual factors in a society. The music of a society is one such factor that constitutes both cultural and educational practices in that society. Therefore a cross-cultural, comparative study concerned with music education was undertaken so as to better understand the underlying contextual factors that shape teachers' overall understandings and practices of teaching music in the elementary schools. The present investigation is the only study of this kind to date. This study was designed as a qualitative multiple-case study, including five cases in Vancouver and five cases in Hong Kong. The tools for data collection were in-depth interviews and repeated classroom observations. The results of this study suggest that teachers' expressed beliefs and their classroom practices about music education are informed by the following major factors: (1) teachers' personal experiences, (2) social and cultural factors of the societies in which they live, and (3) the music curriculum as set by the school systems. Furthermore, these results shed light on ways in which music education is implemented in these two cosmopolitan cities and demonstrate interesting interplay of various cultural influences. The findings of this study add to the knowledge of Western and Chinese ideas, especially educational thoughts and music education, through presentations and analysis of beliefs and classroom practices of teachers from these two cultures.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat