Teachers’ music performance skills and the implementation of the new lower secondary school performing arts curriculum in selected schools in Bushenyi, Uganda

Abstract

This study was about how Music teachers’ performance skills would influence learning of Performing Arts in secondary schools in Bushenyi district, Western Uganda in ways that are prescribed in the New Lower Secondary School curriculum. The study was guided by three objectives: To find out the teachers’ music performance skills that affect the effectiveness of teaching different components of new Lower Secondary School Performing Arts curriculum as required to implement the new Lower Secondary School Performing Arts curriculum, to find out the specific challenges that music teachers face when teaching specific components of the new Lower Secondary School Performing Arts curriculum, to suggest practical solutions to the challenges faced by the teachers of Performing Arts when teaching specific components of the new Lower Secondary School Performing Arts curriculum. The researcher incorporated both Phenomenological and Ethnographical research designs to collect qualitative data using documentary analysis, observation, interview and focus group discussion. The study used the thematic content analysis to analyze data. This involved summarizing and noting the frequency of participants’ responses and observed accuracies. It was found out that teachers of performing arts need to have a combination of competences in order to implement the new Lower secondary School Performing Art curriculum. These, among others include pedagogical skills such as knowledge to interpret the curriculum, ability to structure the teaching and learning processes well, practical competences of reading staff and solfa notes, writing melodies, organizing learners to compose their own melodies, engaging learners, demonstrating to the learners. Besides inadequate music skills, limited instructional resources, serious lack of support from school management to teachers, lack of practical performance skills were some of the major challenges teachers of Performing Art. The study recommended that as a matter of solutions to the challenges teachers of Performing Art face, teachers need to be retooled to equip them with relevant Performing Arts skills, school heads need to support Performing Art teachers and students with appropriate equipments and materials. The study concluded that, a combination of professional pedagogical and performance music skills were necessary for teachers to implement new Lower Secondary School Performing Art curriculum. The professional skills included; interpretation of the curriculum and structuring teaching, whereas performance skills included playing different music instruments, singing, listening, pitching, rhythm keeping, demonstration, directing as well as music writing in both solfa and staff.