A survey of music teaching strategies in Ghanaian elementary schools as a basis for curriculum development

Changes occurring in the educational system of Ghana since independence in 1957 have been many and varied. The recent inclusion of the Cultural Studies program as part of the compulsory core curriculum is an example of such a change. The Cultural Studies program was designed to nurture cultural awareness and appreciation in the Ghanaian school child through music, drama, religion and social systems. The focus of this study was Music in the Cultural Studies program. The approach of the music teacher to music teaching and learning determines the successful realization of the curriculum. Music teaching strategies employed in Ghanaian elementary schools are many and varied. The content of the curriculum the teacher has to work with also enhances the realization of the program objectives. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe music teaching strategies and their degree of use in Ghanaian elementary schools and also offer suggestions for improving music instruction drawing on Ghanaian indigenous methods of music education, the Orff-Schulwerk, and Kodály pedagogy. In a survey involving fifty-six music teachers from five of the ten regions of Ghana, the researcher drew the following conclusions: a) the most frequently used teaching strategies included singing games, vocables, solfege, speech and poetry, movement and dance. b) there was evidence to suggest that the music teaching strategies of teachers are not related to their regional location, district, gender, teaching experience, or academic qualifications. c) It is feasible to combine the approaches of the Kodály pedagogy, the Orff-Schulwerk, and Ghanaian indigenous forms of music education in the development of a curriculum framework aimed at improving music instructional methodology in Ghanaian elementary schools.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat