ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of the status of music education at a elementary school with respect to the teachers` understanding for the 7th curriculum and measures to achieve the goals of the musical training under the curriculum so that problems may be determined and remedies can be suggested. A survey was conducted for the purpose using a questionnaire. 184 teachers at 46 elementary school in Buchon were asked to fill in the questionnaire and analysis was made based on the 167 respondents The conclusions based on the findings were as follows: Firstly, rhythm and melody were much emphasized in the understanding while form, tempo and dynamic were de-emphasized. In singing and performing activities were emphasized while creating and listening activities were neglected. It was shown as a result that teachers were unable to find an equilibrium among different areas. Secondly, most of the teachers tended to reconstruct the contents of the music curriculum based on the school in question, the class and ability of the students to teach the students in class. And singing of a folk song was the area that teachers tend to emphasize in teaching traditional music to the students. It was discovered that `Sikimsae` introduced to the 7th curriculum was hardly taught in class, and traditional music took up too much of the curriculum, giving rise to the unbalanced teaching among areas of music education. Thirdly, almost all teachers conducted performance assessment in class to make sure that students learned what they were taught in class, but they were not satisfied with it. It was pointed out that they did not have sufficient time to conduct the assessment in class and that the reasonable and justifiable criteria for the assessment appraisal was not available. It is therefore suggested that development of the reliable and valid assessment methods and tools be made. Fourthly, teachers has not yet fully comprehended the newly introduced curriculum concepts, judging from their incapacity to utilize in class the scale of a folk tune, `Sikimsae`, chord change singing by memorization, singing a solo and part song as well as singing in chorus, singing evalution, creating using sounds of the surroundings and musical instruments, all of which were emphasized in the 7th curriculum. Fifthly, a survey of the teaching facilities at school showed that most of the schools had a music room, but it was very rare for the schools to keep a room for national classical music. It was noted that both the music room and the traditional music room were not equipped with the soundproofing system. Sixthly, extracurricular activities related to music at school, according to the survey, included a choir, instrumental music band, `Samulnorl`, traditional folk songs group and Korean instrumental music band. It was noted that most of the schools surveyed maintained a choir. Seventhly, the survey also indicated that most of the teachers has not received any teacher training related to music for the last two years. It is therefore very likely that the 7th curriculum will be difficult to be properly implemented.