The State of Music Education in British Columbia
Presented at the “Music: State of the Art Conference” in London, Ontario
May 25-28, 2005
by
Allan Anderson
and
Dennis F. Tupman
Context
To understand fully what the state of music education is in any particular province is a very difficult task as music education is forever changing. This report, then, is based on various major BC music education surveys (2005, 1995, 1973), as well as on anecdotal evidence gained by the writers over collectively seventy years of experience in this province.
Since education is a provincial jurisdiction, the zeitgeist of the province will in no small measure affect what is happening in any subject in school. Music education is no exception. BC has a well-earned reputation as being a province of extremes-politically and economically. Booms and bust in the resource-based economy, with the concomitant swings in budget largesse on the one hand contrasted with severe budget cuts on the other, have helped to polarize the political climate in various governments of the day. Furthermore, in this polarized environment schoolteachers, often feeling under attack and under appreciated, have sought support and voice from the powerful BC Teachers’ Federation. In the battleground of the various political upheavals between the government and the union, the case for the arts and music and have had challenges being heard, funded, and otherwise supported. Dr. Charles Ungerleider, notable scholar in the educational faculty of the University of BC, forcefully makes this point in a recent publication (Ungerleider, 2003).
To ensure that the message for the importance of music education in the schools was heard various music education advocacy coalitions were established in the province. BC was one of the first provinces to start effective and organized arts advocacy groups (Arts Action – 1973; Arts in Education Council - 1976, BC Coalition for Music Education -1990).
The net effect of the situation described in BC is that music and the arts have struggled to assert what they feel is their rightful place in public education. Many parents, becoming increasingly disenfranchised by what is happening in public education, are turning to home schooling where they can have their children study in the local music conservatories or academies, if there happens to be one in their neighborhood. As well, separate private schools have often marketed themselves as providing strong arts programmes (Ungerleider, 2003). Fine Arts specialty schools within the public system are also proliferating to some degree.
An additional challenge is the decline in student enrollment experienced by many districts. The bulge of the echo boomer generation of students is now leaving the senior secondary school level. This demographic phenomenon is a contributing factor in the decline of student population in the elementary and secondary school populations. Coupled with the shrinking of student populations, many school districts have had to deal with enormous financial cutbacks. In many school districts, especially where a music teacher may have moved, the school board officials may not have been able to hire a new qualified teacher from outside the district. Frequently they had to select instead from within the district a less qualified teacher chosen from a diminished pool of music teacher talent.
We hasten to add, however, that there are many fine music programmes in BC, mostly in the urban areas where there is a confluence of strong parental support, effective administrative leadership, and committed and well-trained teachers. Rural schools, however, often small, have had challenges in maintaining consistency in their music programmes. There are two main reasons for this. Rural school districts frequently have difficulty holding on to their teachers as they look for greener fields after a year or two in that position. Also the smaller rural schools find that there are too many conflicts on the timetable to allow students to elect music in sufficient numbers to make the music programme viable.
Music training opportunities in BC have steadily increased at the post-secondary level, after a relatively late start - as recently as 1959. There are strong music programmes in many of the colleges, private academies, and some universities. At the college level some of the programme administrators, however, have had to endure the debilitating exercise of annually justifying their programme’s existence.
Supporting music programmes in BC is a network of over thirty Performing Arts Festivals. In spite of the obvious benefit to the participants and community provided by these community arts festivals, most of their organizing committees complain of lack of volunteer help and leadership. This reduction of volunteer help is reflective of the situation all across Canada at the moment (Statscan 1997, 2000, 2003).
There is room for cautious optimism for music education in BC in the future, now that some of the severe budget cuts are lessening, and also the population influx and economy generally are improving. We take heart that BC author, Max Wyman, notes that the status of the arts and music are corollaries of a sustainable and livable society; and that the health of the arts and music in a society generally coincide with a healthy economy (Wyman, 2004). Furthermore, the advocacy efforts at the local and provincial levels have had a positive effect in getting the arts and music on the political agenda. A recent announcement made by the Premier of this province indicated that “the arts and music are important aspects of a comprehensive and effective education and should be supported. To that end this government dedicates 150 million dollars towards supporting the arts, special education and libraries in schools (Campbell, 2005).”
Positive Aspects
The following positive aspects of the BC music education scene in point form are listed below:
Ministry of Education
Existence of up-to-date curricula, from K-12.
Existence of up-to-date curricula, from K-12.Improved music facilities.
Improved music facilities.More money in many jurisdictions to support programmes.
More money in many jurisdictions to support programmes.BC Music Educators’ Association
A relatively strong, comprehensive BC Music Educators’ Association supports all music education areas, with a province-wide network of Local Specialist Music Teacher Associations.
A relatively strong, comprehensive BC Music Educators’ Association supports all music education areas, with a province-wide network of Local Specialist Music Teacher Associations.Excellent BCMEA communication networks of fax, email list serves, and electronic journals and newsletters.
Excellent BCMEA communication networks of fax, email list serves, and electronic journals and newsletters.Good working relations among the music organization (Orff, Kodaly, band, choir and BCMEA).
Good working relations among the music organization (Orff, Kodaly, band, choir and BCMEA).School Districts
Many excellent, comprehensive programmes.
Many excellent, comprehensive programmes.Many schools offer annual, stimulating tours to Europe, Asia, Cuba, South America, to name a few locations.
Many schools offer annual, stimulating tours to Europe, Asia, Cuba, South America, to name a few locations.Strong cultural and multicultural activity–especially in parts of Metro Vancouver.
Strong cultural and multicultural activity–especially in parts of Metro Vancouver.Elementary and Secondary Fine Arts Schools starting in several districts.
Elementary and Secondary Fine Arts Schools starting in several districts.Post Secondary
Several excellent college music programmes are developing.
Several excellent college music programmes are developing.University of BC and University of Victoria have excellent music performance programmes. Simon Fraser offers an integrated education option in their professional development programme that may include music.
BC Coalition for Music Education
Well-established advocacy strategies, newsletter, meetings with Ministry and local officials, links to various media.
Well-established advocacy strategies, newsletter, meetings with Ministry and local officials, links to various media.Strong support for the Music Monday project sponsored by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada.
Strong support for the Music Monday project sponsored by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada.Distribution of a music education survey that was sent to every school in the province (1860 schools).
Distribution of a music education survey that was sent to every school in the province (1860 schools). “Principals of Music” annual award presented by Bramwell Tovey of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at one of their performances.
“Principals of Music” annual award presented by Bramwell Tovey of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at one of their performances.Music Educators
Highly trained and experienced core of elementary and secondary music teachers. Most are trained to teach a variety of music pedagogies.
Highly trained and experienced core of elementary and secondary music teachers. Most are trained to teach a variety of music pedagogies.Job opportunities opening up in increasing numbers as the baby boomers are retiring in numbers.
Job opportunities opening up in increasing numbers as the baby boomers are retiring in numbers.Negative Aspects and Challenges
Ministry of Education
Communication with the Ministry has been over the years notoriously poor, now more than ever, as it has minimal staff time left to assist in curriculum writing. The Fine Arts Coordinator position in the Ministry is very tenuous, and this position includes a number of other responsibilities in addition to the arts.
In the schools as of September, 2005, students will not have to take an arts course past Grade 9. Elimination of the compulsory Fine Arts 11 requirement has also had a negative effect on overall arts enrollments.
BC engages in province-wide government testing in both the elementary and secondary schools. Teachers are complaining that they have to teach to these tests to a greater degree. Hence since the arts and music are not included in this testing programme these subjects tend to suffer (Ungerleider, 2003). (Synovate Study, 2005).
Literacy is currently the main push at all levels, and in many jurisdictions assigned times for literacy and mathematics programmes have been increased while time spent on music has declined (Synovate Study, 2005). To further exacerbate the problem, schools are ranked ordered with these placements being displayed prominently in the local media. This ranking is not based on data including arts and music courses, and so there is a further disincentive from studying music and the arts.
In the most recent round of budget cuts, 130 schools in BC have been closed. There was also a recent hike in pupil/teacher ratio. These two factors led to a loss of 2,300 teacher positions over the past three years.
BC Music Educators’ Association
The BC Music Educators’ Association is a specialist association within the BC Teachers’ Federation, was started in 1959, and serves all aspects of the music curriculum. In the past many of the BCMEA presidents and other executive positions of this association were held by school district staff and university educators. Today this is not the case. Most of the music and arts district staff positions have been lost. Additionally, university music education professors are now outside the jurisdiction of the BC Teachers’ Federation and hence are not allowed to become presidents of the BC Music Educators’ Association. As a result it is progressively harder to find teachers who will serve in leadership positions, or who are even willing to host a music conference. As the baby boomer generation of music teachers retire in considerable numbers it will be increasingly more difficult to replace their leadership experience.
BCMEA conference numbers are gradually going down. At one time there used to be 1,000 teachers attending the annual BC Music Educators’ Conference; now there are fewer than half that many in a good year.
School Districts
Many school districts are counseling their students to take a preparatory study block in order especially to achieve higher grades in their Grade 10-12 years. This practice has led to a loss of another elective option where music is usually offered. The mandated Planning 10 as a compulsory course has also put pressure on enrollments and elective time. At this moment of writing there are rumours that other compulsory planning courses are going to be offered in Grade 8 and 9 that will likely cause a further reduction in elective time.
School counsellors and administrators in a number of middle and junior secondary schools encourage student broad course sampling. That practice is putting pressure on long-term, sequential music study in schools (Synovate Study, 2005). This sampling outlook has flown in the face of music education that significantly depends on a long-term, sequential development of performance skills leading to high performance standards.
This cafeteria, sampling approach has had a mixed effect. While there has been a drop in the number of some music electives, musical theatre courses have proliferated. In these music theatre courses skill development in the respective art is secondary to the overall excitement of the integrated experience of “the show.” Music theatre courses are in danger of also being another medium for further sampling of a number of experiences, likely none to any depth.
There is also a marked difference between urban and rural schools and the relative diversity and course opportunity that each can offer. Rural schools, with proportionately smaller school populations, are finding it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to offer any music course at all. Students who have to catch a bus are usually unavailable for most extra-curricular music activity like sectionals, concerts, and even classes. Over 60% of BC school music programmes have classes out of the regular classroom time (Synovate Study, 2005.)
Post Secondary
Increasingly teacher training has become more generalized, not concerned with the intensively distinct methodologies of teaching any given subject, music included. The BC College of Teachers governs teacher certification. At the elementary school level, music is not considered by the College of Teachers for certification purposes a teachable subject in BC schools. As a result elementary methodology music teaching courses are becoming rare in BC teacher training facilities. Meanwhile, middle schools (Grades 6, 7, and 8) are growing in number. The training of music teachers for middle schools is still a work in progress. As one can see by the grade configuration this kind of school is a hybrid of both elementary and junior secondary schools. How teachers in this kind of school are going to get appropriate training to teach music is a key question.
Because of the many challenges that exist with music education in our schools, many potential music teachers are deciding that music teaching is not a sustainable or healthy profession to pursue. As a result enrollments have dropped in recent years in music teacher education courses in some faculties of education in BC.
Most music training is done in BC in the music (not music education) faculties that tend to stress music performance and theoretical training. The core large group ensembles of choir, band, and orchestra, with occasional and important offshoots of jazz performance, are the most common. As has been mentioned these courses prosper under a sequential, longitudinal development of music performance skills. There appears, one can conclude, to be an inherent disconnect between what is happening in teacher training in music and in what the students in schools are increasingly electing to do. In summary, there is a trend in music teacher preparation towards having performance training on the one hand, and in the field towards a sampling of diverse offerings on the other.
BC Coalition for Music Education
This Coalition group has performed admirably, but is having a hard time recruiting a new generation of advocates who are willing to put in the time speaking out for music education. The Coalition has managed to produce some excellent materials that have been used by many schools and district parent advocacy coalitions. There are a number of programmes that have been saved by the efforts of these parent coalitions. Advocacy efforts have tended, however, to focus on band, orchestra, and choir – in that order. There is seldom a concerted effort to speak out for elementary general music. As a result 68 % of schools in BC report they have no school-wide, coherent music programme (Synovate Study, 2005).
Music Educators
Many music teachers are electing to teach other subjects. Some teachers report that it is just too hard to teach music given the political, educational, and fiscal realities of the profession. They are deciding to retire early or move to the private school system where many teachers report they are better appreciated.
In BC schools there is a trend towards privatizing the arts and music instruction. “Learning Through the Arts”, a national project, and “Arts Starts”, a BC initiative, are often used incorrectly, in our view, as a substitute for school-based, sequential music study that is integral to the whole educational programme.
In many schools teachers report that they have to take on more responsibilities with fewer resources, and minimal clinical and counseling training. More time is spent on team meetings, phone calls, collaborative planning sessions, curriculum team meetings, and parent interviews. There appears to be less and less time, so experienced teachers report, to follow one’s own professional development needs.
At this time of writing the BC public school teachers have been working for nearly a year without a contract. Job actions in the form of potential strikes and work to rule are a constant topic of conversation. Music programmes, so dependent on extra-curricular and co-curricular activity, seem to be in recent years especially negatively impacted by these job actions.
Conclusion
We salute the many hard-working teachers who over the years have achieved so much in BC even under the difficult circumstances outlined above. We have much to be proud of. A number of BC music educators have assumed leadership roles in Canadian music education associations. BC music educators have figured prominently in the formation Canadian Music Educators’ Association and the International Society for Music Education. Many BC musical ensembles have achieved outstanding success in national and international festivals.
In spite of the present real challenges that we face in BC school music education at this time, we look to the future with optimism. The academies, universities, and colleges are graduating scores of fine musicians. Our community choirs, bands, and orchestras are some of the finest in the land and are increasing in number. There is a growing talent pool of young musicians in our province who will inevitably have an influence on the music education in the schools. BC is increasingly becoming a multicultural province. There are many fine musical groups in these various cultural societies. The future opportunity and challenge will be to tap these fine community resources and integrate them, breathing new life into the school system.
References
Bartel,L.R. (ed.) (2004). Questioning the music education paradigm. Toronto. Britannia Printers.
Campbell, G. (2005). Statements reported in the media issued from the BC Premier’s office.
Statscan. (1997, 2000, 2003). Studies of volunteerism in Canada. Ottawa.
Synovate BC Music Education Survey (2005). This study conducted by the BC Coalition for Music Education with the support of Synovate Research. Toronto. Similar BCMEA research papers were consulted (1973, 1995).
Ungerleider, C. (2003) Failing our kids, how we are ruining our public schools. Toronto. McClelland & Stewart.
Wyman, M. (2004). The defiant imagination, an impassioned plea to keep culture at the heart of the Canadian experiment. Vancouver. Douglas &McIntyre.
