Global Spotlight on Music Curriculum Standards: China

Tu, X. (2022). Opportunities and Challenges of Chinese Music Curriculum Standards: The gap between urban and rural areas music education. Masters Thesis-University of Auckland.

This article examines the Music Curriculum Standards of China and their impact on the gap between urban and rural music education; a long-standing issue in the United States.

  • Introduction

    Using the SWOT analysis, the author analyzed the 2011 Music Curriculum Standards of China, which continue to be used in music classrooms across the country today. The intent of the author was to find strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats pertaining to the nation’s national standards for music education. Even more specifically the author made connections between the existing standards and their effect (or lack thereof) on rural and urban schools. Many parallels can be drawn from the findings of this study, and the issues the United States Education system faces today.

  • Findings

    Strengths:

    The standards:

    -promote the moral standards of citizens

    -highlight the cultural values of music

    -guide practicing teachers and content creators.

    Weaknesses:

    -lack of consistent and relevant in-service training on the standards

    -classroom hindrances including a lack of resources and large class sizes in rural and urban schools

    -codified value in learning inherently Chinese music and music history

    Opportunities for improvement:

    -Education Monitoring (policy makers analyze and reflect on the impact of the standards on rural and urban students’ learning in the performing arts)

    -modernized music teacher education programs that incorporate the guidance from the standards while addressing hurdles in rural and urban education

    Threats:

    -uneven distribution of resources

    -the international competition that exists in education

  • So What?

    Several of the findings from this study are consistent with struggles that exist in the United States. US education systems can learn how to strengthen music programs from the action and shortcomings of other countries. Furthermore, as the US attempts to make strides in culturally responsive/sustaining teaching and diversity, equity, and inclusion, understanding the standards of music learning in other parts of the world can help policy-makers design standards that are authentic to diverse content.

  • Meg's Riff

    Although standards may be a valuable tool, the teachers bring the tool to life. Rural and urban teachers are commended for being extra resilient, creative, and caring. The state’s resources should be invested in the teachers themselves by offering higher salaries, appropriate release time for professional development, and funding for resources. When the state invests in teachers, the standards come to life.