Travelling Drum with Different Beats: experiencing African music and culture in Australian teacher education

Abstract

This article reports on a study that examined the effectiveness of introducing African music and culture to Australian non-specialist primary teacher education students at Deakin University in Melbourne (Australia). The study demonstrates that African music enhanced the generic musical experiences, learning, motivation, interest, confidence and competence of students in their fourth year of teacher education. The research also addressed the significance and contribution of African music and culture as a cross-cultural experience for these beginning teachers who in turn could provide similar experiences for their own students. This study highlighted the author's role and cultural identity as a South African music educator in transmitting the music and culture represented in 'the travelling drum' to a cohort of students with a predominantly Eurocentric orientation. By extension, this curriculum initiative broadened students' understanding and application of indigenous methods of teaching and learning as part of a global experience. Such a curriculum represents a pathway to many other forms of nonWestern indigenous knowledge of music, culture and pedagogy that can be mapped out as a journey along a multicultural route towards 'internationalising the curriculum'.

Challenging constraints or constraining challenges: Preservice primary music education across the Tasman

“…Music is a wonderful context for acknowledging and celebrating similarities and differences. (Joseph, 2005;Joseph, 2009;Joseph, 2015 As ITE educators in our particular contexts, these narratives describe how we face the challenge of preparing our students for multicultural classrooms. We find that music is an effective vehicle to teach about difference and diversity through songs.…”