Music teachers' current practices and their attitudes toward teaching non -Western music in Japan's elementary and middle schools: A survey of Nagano Prefecture

The purpose of this study was to investigate Japan's elementary and middle school music teachers' current practices and attitudes toward teaching Japanese traditional music and other non-Western music in required music classes. The researcher focused on understanding the extent to which these musics were included in school music programs.;Based on data obtained, discussion focused on (a) the relationship between teachers' current practices and their attitudes, (b) the influence of recent trends in music education on teachers, and (c) problems inherent in teaching non-Western music.;Music teachers' current practices and attitudes toward teaching non-Western music were uniformly the same. The 1989 Course of Study, which emphasized "respect for Japanese culture and tradition" and "international understanding," has limited influence on music teachers' practices.;Although the majority of teachers think Japanese traditional music is necessary for students to learn, this thinking did not alter the amount of time teaching this music. What they intended to teach was an overview of Japanese music rather than focusing on particular musical genres. Teachers did not feel a keen need for teaching other non-Western music.;The research design utilized quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the first part of the study, a mail survey was adopted to obtain mass data from randomly selected 350 music teachers in Nagano Prefecture. Descriptive statistics became the main tool for data analysis. In the second part of this study, I interviewed 12 music teachers to obtain in-depth information.;Music teachers' proficiency in non-Western music, effective teaching methods, and appropriate materials for students are prerequisites for implementing these musics in the curriculum. Even when these conditions are met, other difficulties remain. Some teachers in interviews said that learning Western musical idioms is most important for students and put a high priority on teaching Western styled music within the limited instructional time.;Since the amount of instructional time for required music classes will be sharply reduced in 2002, future emphasis on non-Western music in schools is uncertain.;Findings suggest the need for (a) resources, (b) more opportunities for teachers to learn, and (c) reexamination of the content of music programs altogether.