Music Education in a Small Rural School

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of small rural schools and the possibilities of teaching music education in these schools. Small rural schools are schools with a small number of classes, where two or three school years are taught simultaneously in one classroom. Most of the time, these schools are established in small villages, at the primary school level. Teaching in small schools has its specificities, some of which can be seen as strengths and some as weaknesses in the teaching process. Today, in many countries, more and more young families are moving to the countryside to raise their children closer to nature. It can therefore be expected that interest in setting up small rural schools will increase. The article introduces the personal experience of the author of the thesis, who teaches all music education classes at a small rural school in the Czech Republic. We present here brief results of a research conducted in the form of a questionnaire among 34 teachers of small-class schools. The conclusions from her research are interpreted by the author of the thesis in such a way as to inspire other teachers of music education in small-class schools and possibly also teachers of full primary schools who are interested in the idea of pupils of different ages working together for a common musical outcome.