Analyzing instrumental music education models: a four-dimension tool

Abstract

While Instrumental Music Education (IME) is offered to students in most developed countries, its rationale and implementation differ significantly due to the sociocultural values and expectations of each society, which tend to remain implicit within educational policies. In this article, we argue that each society should be fully aware of the characteristics of their IME models, which requires self-reflection and careful examination of alternative models. To facilitate this process, we propose a framework to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of IME models. The field of comparative education provides strategies to analyze similarities and differences in policies around the world. With the goal of identifying the various dimensions involved in IME models, we provide a detailed analysis of three contrasting cases: Spain, the United States of America, and Singapore. The variables considered are educational philosophy, presence of IME within schools, curriculum and assessment, and teacher education. Based on a documentary analysis, these cases lead to the identification of four analytic dimensions: Accessibility, Value attributed to IME, Professionalization and Specialization, and Teacher’s Qualification and Requirements. We encourage policymakers around the world to utilize this four-dimension framework to gain awareness of the role IME plays in their respective countries.