Specialist music teachers needed

Specialist music teachers are needed to implement the new primary school music curriculum, a study on the teaching of subject in schools has revealed.

The Wexford Music Education Initiative, an ongoing project in primary schools in the county, has found that teachers consider themselves inadequately skilled to teach music in the classroom.

The project, the first phase of which ran from February 1998 toJune 2000, brought specialist music teachers into classes in nine Co Wexford schools, with a view to "developing the primary teacher as a music educator and developing the pupils as young artists".

The project is now in its second phase, involving six new schools, but Rosaleen Wilson, director of the project, says the teachers in the original nine schools have found themselves unable to cope without continuing support from the music professionals.

"Essentially the project succeeded in developing the pupils' talents, but failed to make teachers music educators."

They were approaching the subject as teachers, she says, when they needed to be approaching it as artists. "Artists can nurture the children's creativity, but teachers may not have the confidence to go with children and explore the music."

Wilson is calling on the Department of Education to provide funding for specialist music tuition to be available to schools. The Department says skilled practitioners will be available to assist schools in the implementation of the new curriculum and on-going support will also be provided. However, it is not clear whether this support will be in the form of specialists in the classroom or in-service training for teachers.

The Department has also introduced a £6.1 million arts and music grant to enable primary schools to buy equipment and materials. The grant can also be used to organise activities in the areas of visual arts, music, drama and dance.

All 3,200 primary schools in the State will receive the grant, which works out at £13 per pupil. This means that a school of 600 pupils will get a grant of £7,800. A minimum of £780 will be provided for schools of fewer than 60 pupils.