Music education will encompass learners of
all ages from birth to death. Schools will become community-based
agencies providing a wide variety of services, including music
instruction, to persons of all ages. Music-making and music
study will make a major contribution to the quality of life
for every individual and every community.
Recognizing the critical importance of early
childhood development, parents, caregivers, and teachers will
provide an abundance of high-quality music experiences from
infancy through the years of early childhood.5
Every adult will have opportunities to acquire the skills and
knowledge called for in the standards, if not acquired earlier,
or to raise those skills and that knowledge to a higher level.
New music offerings will be designed to meet the special needs
of aging adults.
Preliminary research has shown that music instruction
in the early years can have positive effects on the brain functioning
of young children, particularly on their visual-spatial ability.6
Recent studies suggest also that music-making by older adults
can minimize the effects of aging and exert a significant positive
effect on their health and well being.7
These findings, if confirmed by further research,
will have enormous impact in expanding the demand for music
instruction beyond the traditional school-age population.
Music educators in 2020 will need a broad repertoire
of skills, knowledge, and experience. They will understand the
developmental processes that their students are undergoing,
and they will be skilled in diagnosing student needs in music
and prescribing suitable instructional remedies. They will be
prepared to design and participate fully in a comprehensive
and balanced music program. They will themselves possess the
skills and knowledge called for in the standards, together with
the ability to teach those skills and that knowledge not only
to school-age students but also to the very young and to adults,
including older adults.
Teachers
will be aware of the stylistic differences among the various
genres and periods of music. They will be able to use media
and technology to compose, notate, perform, and study music;
and they will be skilled in planning instruction for students.
They will be able to relate music to the larger concerns of
society and to teach music in a cultural and historical context.
Teachers will have a broad knowledge of assessment
techniques and materials in order to select or create the most
appropriate assessment strategies for each learning task, and
they will be skilled in interpreting and utilizing assessment
data for the purpose of improving learning. They will have access
to tools that will enable them to assess where students fall
along the continuum of achievement for each learning task. Various
agencies, including, for example, professional organizations
and representatives of the music products industry, will collaborate
in the production of assessment materials.
The population of teachers will represent a
broad diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Music educators'
concern for diversity will include, for example, attention to
differences in learning style, cultural or ethnic background,
age, gender, emotional needs, physical needs, and family structure.
Regardless of his or her field of specialization,
every music teacher will be able to teach courses open to students
lacking the time, background, or interest to participate in
the school's select performing groups. Because oral traditions
and aural learning are key to most of the musical styles of
the world, awareness of these traditions and facility in teaching
them will be essential for music educators.
Preservice Teacher
Education
Every prospective teacher will be expected
to demonstrate not only the skills and knowledge called for
in the standards, including skills and knowledge in improvisation
and composition, but also the ability to teach those skills
and that knowledge. Teacher education institutions will provide
models for integrating composition, improvisation, performance,
and analysis in their theory, history, studio, and ensemble
classes.
The development of musical and personal flexibility
is an important goal of preservice music teacher education.
Accordingly, every prospective teacher will be expected to be
able to perform in at least one performance tradition in addition
to the European tradition, to develop skill in teaching students
with diverse learning styles, and to be receptive to new repertoire
and new musical styles that reflect changes in the music cultures
of the United States and the world.
Inservice Professional
Development
New and expanded opportunities for professional
development for music educators will be increasingly necessary.
Teachers will be expected to update their skills and knowledge
on a regular basis to reflect changes in the philosophy and
practice of music education. They will be expected to have knowledge
of the current styles and genres of music that exist outside
the school in order to select the best music from each genre,
traditional or new, as appropriate, for use in the curriculum.
