Sensitivity analysis

Education in all disciplines advocate, for teaching and learning of subjects in schools for effective result. Here are some of the methods that can be applied for effective teaching and learning of music as researched by music educators. Okafor (1991) agreed that:

Methods of teaching fall into two broad categories teacher – centered and student- centered. Instruction planning is dominated by the teacher, both the class activities and evaluation of result in teacher centered but the students assist in the selection of objectives, choice subject matter and in evaluation of result in student centered method of teaching.

The student exercises the optimum amount of control of the total learning situation. (p.108)

40

The teacher of music must go for innovations in the field of music in order to be more effective (Adeogun, 2006a). Sadkar and Sadkar (2005) affirmed that no other method of teaching provides the solution for all music teaching problem. No educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers and without a high standard to succeed the students cannot achieve excellence. When student interest are not properly motivated and maintained the natural thing is for them to withdraw from the subject because they are not convinced that it is not a waste of time to study the subject.

The low enrolment received in music as a subject in senior secondary schools can partially be blamed on the music teacher who failed to make music come alive in class room. The teacher of music must vary the teaching methodology to suit the topic he wants to teach and the learner too, because changes take place in educational programmes on daily basis.

The following are some teaching methods that can be adopted in teaching music in senior secondary schools.

 Lecture Method: Lecture method according to Akínbotè (1988), involves the teacher delivering his teaching while the students listen. This method can be used to teach history of music and composer.

 Montessori Method: This method was developed by Maria Montessori. It makes use of graded pieces of apparatus that the learner can use by himself to learn. It is a very good method of learning. It can be used in teaching sight-reading in music.

 Demonstration Method: This is when the teacher shows or demonstrates to students through actions. This method can be used to teach playing of musical instruments.

 Discussion Method: The students participates in class discussion and teaching, they ask questions and provide answers to questions discussed. Students should be allowed to listen to other pupils as they discuss on a particular topic.

41 2.2.4 Musical balanced diet:

The physicians speak of a balanced nutritional diet; musicians refer to theirs as balanced musical diet- that is the development of music curriculum that will provide the students with experiences and comprehension of all types and style. The Nigerian society seems to recognize only those who claim to have studied music and can prove it practically. According to Onyiuke (2007), “well balanced programme in music education should give students opportunity to make music as well as listen to music”.(p.147) The music curriculum is expected to at the end produce people who are musically literate and competent both in theory and practice from the primary to secondary levels.

Unfortunately, these goals seem to need a lot of strength, determination or effort to be carried out.

Hardly is music taught in primary schools except for the privileged private schools. For music to be balanced, it must include theory and practice.

2.3 Empirical Framework

In this section, is a review of empirical studies focusing on the state of music as a subject in senior secondary schools to ascertain its challenges and proffer possible solution. Most recently, a wide-range of intellectually inspiring works on Music education in Nigeria has been published. Based on the foregoing, we can observe that different scholars have carried out different studies in this area. Even though, music is generally accepted as integral part of African culture, widely accepted for various purposes and has long been on the school syllabus, hitherto, it is not a preference school subject to the students at senior secondary school level and the turnout of students enrolling for music at that level has been declining every year. Research findings by various music education experts such as Ekwueme (2000), Okafor (2005), Faseun (2001) observably unveiled that music

42

as a senior secondary school subject has not enjoyed the support given to other school subjects over the years of their coexistence in the Nigerian School curricula. Many scholars have reacted to some of these lingering problem in music education in senior secondary schools in Nigeria at different times and their researches are found in books and journal articles. For instance, Okafor

& Okafor (2009:35), Agu (2006: 18), Anya-Njoku & Onu (2016: 383), Nzewi (2007: 117) and Aninwene (2003) reports that the curricular are western oriented and that the music relies solely on western concepts and models of music and music education. The resultant effect is that Senior Secondary School Students shy away from the subject because they think that learning music must be difficult. This reactions shows that individuals are saddened by the situation of music education in Nigeria. These scholars agreed that music education should be society oriented so that more students will be interested to learn the music they see around them. So that when they graduate they will carry on preserving Nigerian Music Culture while also earning their livelihood through music. This state of affairs prompted the need for a study of music as a subject in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in Nigeria, this study is aimed at to ascertain the real state of the study of music in the SSS and proffer a way of improvement.

Okafor and Okafor (2009) asserts that music is listed as the fourth out of the 5 vocational electives out of which only one subject shall be offered. It does not fare better in the senior secondary school.

Here, music is swallowed in the heap of figures (35). Consequently, very few student offer music in senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE) and general certificate examination (GCE). According to them, the curriculum laid more emphasis on western music Culture than African music and music of other groups. That is where we have the problem. The curriculum is well designed to produce a musician of the world and the musician of the world has not become a musician of Nigerian society. They observed that the likes of Nzewi, Uzoigwe, Akin Euba,

43

Olaniyan, Onyeji, Okafor and Idolor etc; want to integrate the Nigerian into the musical system of the world rather than integrating the system of the world into the Nigerian music education (34 – 38).

Agu (2006) opines that the study of music terminates at the Junior Secondary in most Nigerian Secondary Schools. The curriculum consist mainly of rudimentary lessons on western music.

While at the senior secondary level, music studies becomes optional. Writing about this, he states that much still deserves to be done owing to the pressing problem of music at this level. Aninwene (2003) asserts that the development of a more relevant music education in secondary schools in Nigeria has not manifested in the implementation due to the lapses in the curriculum. According to him, the music curriculum is fashioned after the western culture. He also listed some of the challenges of music as a subject in the senior secondary schools and in conclusion, he recommends that reorganizing the junior and senior secondary school curriculum is needed in order for music education not remain a fantasy in Nigeria.

In the views of Anya-Njoku and Onu (2016: 382), the music profession in Nigeria is still under the aegis of colonization. The system is propagating the music tutelage system of the colonial masters and they recommend that there is an urgent need to stop theorizing and pragmatically restructure the curriculum, instructional strategies/ materials and upgrade the teacher so that graduates of music school can be groomed to become self-elate and relevant in the society then the resultant curricular should be energized by African repertoire, instruments and other resources for better results (pp. 383, 402- 403). Nzewi (2007) opines that considering that anyone who have received some disciplinary training whatsoever were wrongly oriented and trained to rely solely on western concepts and models of music and music education. Modern African music education is stuck in the dark ages of the western music education it has copied in which most music teachers

44

are not equipped to bring about a re-generation of African heritage (p.117). The above assertions are factors that militates against the study of music as a subject in the senior secondary schools.