Lived Experiences of Tertiary Music Teachers Teaching Musically Challenged Students

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences of tertiary music teachers teaching musically challenged students. The phenomenon refers to those who have the difficulty in music aptitude, rhythmic, tonal audiation, and music theory. Seven teachers explored their experiences and best practices in dealing with the phenomenon in which three turning points were identified and these are the ideal teacher, positive regard of the music teachers toward the phenomenon, and the opportunities in dealing with musically challenged students. Key informant interviews were conducted with the participants and were treated qualitatively using thematic analysis. The results confirm that musically challenged students are offshoots of insufficient support from the system, environment, and the student as a whole. The participants? behavior toward the students are rooted and dependent on their personality, skills, and experience in teaching musically challenged students. The results suggest that positive attributes in teaching musically challenged students is inherent in the phenomenon; thus, the experience is meaningful to the teachers. Consequently, the success of the learning process in teaching musically challenged students is clearly dependent on the issues of interest, support, facilities and equipment, and most especially, the quality of teachers handling musically challenged students who innovate strategies and are willing to accommodate the learners; thus, to deal with the phenomenon, music and its related elements should be appraised as a major subject where all components will be truly demonstrated with devoted teachers employing innovative strategies with integration of technology to allow learners to find out the values immanently to make them motivated and confident in the subject.