“We learnt lots in a short time”: Cultural exchange across three universities through songs from different lands

Abstract

Establishing strong connections between universities within initial teacher education (ITE) programs not only takes time, but it also presents opportunities and challenges. Tertiary music educators are called to prepare ITE students/pre-service teachers to be culturally responsive. This article forms part of our wider study “See, Listen and Share: Exploring Intercultural Music Education in a Transnational Experience Across Three Universities (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia; Deakin University, Australia; and Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, Spain). For this article, we draw on student web survey data, anecdotal feedback, and our reflections. We employ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as a tool to thematically group our surveys into three broad overarching themes to inform our findings and discussions. We argue that music education is an effective vehicle for exploring culture and diversity through song. Our findings show that our ITE students built positive attitudes about using songs in their generalist primary and early childhood classrooms. They also recognized the importance of collaborative sharing using face-to-face and Skype. This project proved a worthy experience for all concerned, it formed a rich part of our professional learning. We encourage others to consider the approach as one way to promote multicultural music and cultural diversity within ITE programs and across other educational settings.

Shifting from offline to online collaborative music-making, teaching and learning: perceptions of Ethno artistic mentors

“…Klopper (2010) identifies the importance of good preparation by music educators as well as the need for 'supportive encouragement'. This concurs with the observations of Josef, Nethsinghe, and Cabedo-Mas (2020), who noted some frustrations by participants, particularly when it came to technical complications and their unfamiliarity with online engagement. Tobias (2020) also recognises the importance of providing skills to students for effective online engagement.…”

“…The benefits of online musical collaborations are identified by Josef, Nethsinghe, and Cabedo-Mas (2020) and Klopper (2010). Klopper (2010) identifies the importance of good preparation by music educators as well as the need for 'supportive encouragement'.…”

‘Staying Apart Yet Keeping Together’: Challenges and Opportunities of Teaching During COVID-19 Across the Tasman

“…During the COVID-19 lockdown period we each faced similar challenges in maintaining the integrity of our teaching units that were designed to be interactive, based on our philosophical beliefs about the importance of experiential, embodied learning through group music making (Conway, 2012 ). We found group singing and playing experiences were compromised in relation to time lags, synchronised performances were not as viable (Joseph et al, 2020 ). When working from home, we had a lack of resources such as music instruments that would normally be used in F2F teaching contexts.…”

“…In saying this, COVID-19 propelled all educators to engage and embrace the digital platform during this exceptional time. Music educators extended their pedagogical approaches and repertoire by learning from others as well as inviting external experts to the online class (Joseph et al, 2020 ; Maher, 2020). In doing so, the integrity of the subject area is preserved, and the discipline retained within programs, securing employment of teachers.…”

“I did not know what to expect”: Music as a means to achieving work-life balance

“…As higher education institutes in Australia increase their international student intake, the workshops served as a useful way for staff to engage, value, and appreciate their own culture and that of others (Joseph, 2016; Joseph et al, 2018a; Miettinen et al, 2018; Thompson, 2018). By sharing music and cultural understanding, the participants may have a better sense of others (Fitzsimmons et al, 2017; Joseph et al, 2019).…”