Teacher perceptions of A-level music: tension, dilemmas and decline

Abstract

A-level music, a qualification taken most often in English and Welsh school contexts around the age of 18, has been a long-standing feature of the musical training of many musicians. Historically bound up with Western European Art Music, the qualification has somewhat broadened its horizons in recent times, though with mixed success in opening up new ways of thinking about music. Recent research has highlighted the seemingly precarious nature of A-level music in many English schools. The reasons for this picture of decline are highly complex and difficult to disentangle, and are part of a much broader diminishing of creative subjects in the school curriculum. Decreasing numbers of A-level music entries run somewhat counter to popular policy discourse, which celebrates flagship announcements of £79 million given to Music Education Hubs in 2019–2020, and 2018 survey results that reported more than 700,000 children learning to play a musical instrument through music hub provision. However, behind these headlines, although there are many children having the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, few continue through to A-level and beyond. Despite its declining numbers, A-level music is recognised as a valuable qualification amongst music teachers, offering something distinct from graded music examinations and other Level 3 musical qualifications. This article presents the results of a recent nationwide survey of A-level music teachers to offer an insight into teacher perceptions of current A-level music specifications, the extent to which it prepares students for entry into higher musical education, and its appropriateness for aspiring young musicians.

<p>Music in Early Childhood Education: generalist teachers versus specialist teachers [Música en Educación Infantil: profesores generalistas versus profesores especialistas]</p>

“…Music teacher education has been reduced in other parts of the world, in Finland, for example, music subjects have 5 ECTS credits, so that many content areas are not sufficiently addressed or are overlooked (Suomi et al, 2022). The decline of music education is also reflected at all levels of education and in other countries such as England (Savage, 2020;Whittaker, 2021), Sweden (Mateos-Moreno, 2022), Australia (Barret et al, 2019) or New Zealand (Browne, 2022). This reality of music education is leading to an impoverishment of music in public education and an expansion of private provision (Aprile, 2021;Young, 2021).…”