Nikos Kiliaris

This study investigates the available documentation on the teaching methods and teaching content used in secondary general music classrooms in Cyprus, and explores the historical memories and opinions of the Music Inspectors who have held this position since the formalisation of music education in Cyprus. While numerous methodologies have been developed for the general music classroom, this study examines only those related to the “parameters of musical experience”. Nowadays, secondary school music teachers are divided into two groups. A minority of them are under the influence of traditionalism, whereas the majority combine teaching methods and content based on both traditionalism and progressivism, since we do not have a completely autonomous “student-centred” model. According to the findings of my research, the “student-centred” approach does not exist in Cyprus in absolute terms, and the division was greater in the past because of the music teachers’ study background.

The balance between “formal learning” and “informal music teaching practices” is important in the twenty-first century, and must be taken seriously by music teachers in secondary music education. The Musical Futures special project sponsored in the UK by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation has set out to research this relationship. The five characteristics of the “informal learning” practices are not necessarily the only ones, or the only way to conceive of them, but together, they represent merely the definition of the “informal learning”. Therefore, “informal learning” in the popular music sphere which in brief include imitation, ear-playing practices on a trial-and-error basis and reperforming was based on five key principles as follows:

• Learning music that students choose, like and identify with, as opposed to “formal education”, where teachers or other experts choose most of the music for the learners, and where the music is often likely to be new and unfamiliar to them;

• Learning by copying recordings by ear, initially on a trial-and-error basis, as opposed to learning through notation or other written or verbal instructions;

• Learning alongside friends, instead of learning through instruction with continuous adult guidance;

• Assimilating skills and knowledge in personal ways according to their musical preferences, starting with whole, real-world pieces of music, as opposed to following a designated progression from simple to complex, involving specially-composed music, a curriculum or a graded syllabus;

• Maintaining a close integration of listening, performing, improvising and composing throughout the learning process, as opposed to “formal music education”, where we are liable to split skills up into different lessons or sections of lessons.

The balance between “formal” and “informal learning” is important, and must be taken seriously by music teachers in secondary music education.  The Musical Futures special project sponsored in the UK by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation has set out to research this relationship.  The five characteristics of the “informal learning” practices are not necessarily the only ones, or the only way to conceive of them, but together, they represent merely the definition of the “informal learning”. The five key principles are:
1. Learning music that pupils choose, like and identify with;
2. Learning by listening and copying recordings;
3. Learning with friends;
4. Personal, often haphazard learning without structured guidance;
5. Integration of listening, performing, improvising and composing.

Since September 2014, the Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus by implementing the suggestions of the Scientific Committee for the assessment of Detailed Plans, it proceeded to the preparation of Attainment Targets and Adequacy Targets which will consist of an essential and significantly useful tool that will contribute [most probably] to the improvement of the learning outcomes.  According to the 1st highlighted aim for the academic years 2014-2017, namely the improvement of learning outcomes, the “Attainment Targets refer to the learning outcomes which are expected to be reached, per class or combination of classes and per level of education, and the Adequacy Targets refer to what the student has to be taught in order to succeed to the defined learning outcomes”.