The Application of Critical Pedagogy to Music Teaching and Learning

This paper proposes a Critical Pedagogy for Music Education (CPME) and shows how the tenets of CPME enhance music teaching and music learning. Placed in a context whereby the purpose of music education is to empower children to be musicians and in the process transform both the students and their teacher, the paper is in four sections. The first part situates CPME in an historical context linking it to the writings and teachings of Paulo Freire and particularly his concepts of conscientization, connecting word to world and transformation that yields liberation. The next section demonstrates how critical theory, experiential learning and praxis work together to inform curricula in music education. Then, the author explains an eight-step teaching model whereby Critical Pedagogy for Music Education informs the delivery of music instruction. The paper concludes with concrete examples of Critical Pedagogy for Music Education in action inside the music classroom