Intellectual Quality and Higher-Order Thinking in Music Education

Field: Arts and Humanities (Social Sciences)

Between 1997 and 2000, Education Queensland and the School of Education at The University of Queensland participated in a joint research project called The Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study (QSRLS), which informed a comprehensive school reform process in Queensland state schools. The findings of that project, together with subsequent government policy initiatives, focused attention on a need to enhance intellectual ‘demandingness’ in education and on ways to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in schools. One of the most significant government responses to those findings has been the Productive Pedagogies initiative, the principles of which are now well established in the Queensland state education system. While music teachers were not involved in the joint research project, they are expected to address the issues raised by the reform process. The place of music in Productive Pedagogies is problematic, however, especially in the area of intellectual quality. Productive Pedagogies is based on a theoretical rationale that identified four dimensions and 20 elements of productive pedagogy to provide a model for classroom teaching and learning practice. It is uncertain whether that model takes into account the essential nature of learning in music or supports the processes and behaviours that may enhance intellectual quality and higher-order thinking in music. The purpose of this study was to investigate intellectual ‘demandingness’ in music and the extent to which the beliefs, assumptions and pedagogical practices of classroom music teachers may foster the development of higher-order thinking in music students. The study used a methodological framework based on two separate studies: a survey to seek the opinions of Queensland classroom music teachers on aspects of music education, with a particular focus on pedagogy and higher-order thinking in music; and a classroom observation project that was closely aligned with the materials and methodology used in the Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study. The classroom observation project involved 20 teachers of music classes from Year 6 (students aged 10-11 years approximately) to Year 10 (students aged 15-16 years approximately). These teachers were interviewed, asked to complete a survey about their pedagogical goals, and were observed in their classroom music lessons. The survey and the classroom observation project were connected through reference points and key issues that were drawn from a review of research literature in the fields of child development, educational psychology, cognitive psychology and music cognition. This study identifies a need for education policy documents that embrace both domain-specific and domain-general knowledge and skills in the pedagogical models that are promoted for use in schools. It advocates the development of music curriculum documents that recognise and support the thinking skills that are essential to music. The study also identifies a gap between research and teaching practice in knowledge about higher-order thinking and how it may be developed. It highlights the importance of developing strong links between researchers and classroom teachers in order to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between the development of higher-order thinking and teaching practice in the acquisition of music literacy and the development of aural musicianship skills. This has significant implications for teacher training and professional development programs. Findings of this study identify a pressing need for further investigation into effective pedagogical practices in music that are informed by research from the fields of music cognition and developmental psychology.