Abstract
In Western countries, music educators have made efforts to revitalise enthusiasm for music education by integrating more mainstream and culturally-relevant genres into their curriculum. Conversely, current research indicates that popular music pedagogy in mainland China is not encouraged and faces many obstacles, as school music education is used to promote Chinese traditional music and bolster nationalism. This qualitative case study investigates how popular music pedagogy in an international school, based in China, accommodates the diverse cultural backgrounds of its Chinese and non-Chinese students when teaching Western and Chinese popular music. For 6 weeks, I had the privilege of closely observing a music class containing a mixture of 12 Chinese and non-Chinese students at an international secondary school based in Shanghai, China. Findings revealed that students were given autonomy to engage with their preferred music genre during lessons that focused on music performance and composition. Interestingly, Chinese students gravitated towards studying C-pop on their own accord, a domestic and sanitised form of popular music. However, the study of modern popular music genres was not prevalent during the music appraisal lessons. The challenges of integrating Chinese popular music pedagogy in an international classroom setting are also discussed.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
