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Music teaching and the process of enculturation: A cultural dilemma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2015

Eric Debrah Otchere
Eric Debrah Otchere*
Affiliation:
Department of Music and Dance, Faculty of Arts, College of Humanities and Legal Studies (CHLS), University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, [email protected], [email protected]
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Abstract

The history of music in Ghanaian school programmes can hardly be separated from the general history of education in Ghana. Since the time of colonial administration in Ghana, music (especially as manifested through singing) has formed part of the educational curriculum for different reasons, one being a tool for promoting the culture of the colonialists. Several advances (particularly after independence in Ghana) have been made to incorporate aspects of the Ghanaian culture into the educational curriculum. Over 50 years down the line, what is the extent to which Ghanaian (African) music is studied in Ghanaian schools? In this paper, the extent to which African music is taught in African (Ghanaian) universities is analysed by looking at the undergraduate music course content of two Ghanaian public universities. Although African music is taught, it only forms an infinitesimal proportion of the total music courses that are offered to music students in these two universities. Considering that the process of music education is also a process of enculturation, the concluding recommendation is that although a multicultural music programme is necessary, the teaching of African (Ghanaian) music in Ghanaian universities should be the dominant feature.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , November 2015 , pp. 291 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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