University teachers' beliefs and pedagogies to engage students' affective response during music listening and teaching in mainland China and Hong Kong

摘要

Music listening occupies a central part of music studies at all levels of education. However, according to the relevant research, teachers have been emphasizing students' cognitive responses with limited connection to the affective domain during. Undergraduate music majors have little interest in those teaching materials chosen by their teachers. This study is based on motivation theory, which emphasizes cognitive and affective responses during the learning process as well as requiring teachers to understand students' behaviors, thoughts and feelings. The aim of this study is to investigate and explore teachers' beliefs and pedagogies toward students' affective responses during music listening in higher education under the context of mainland China and Hong Kong. The following two research questions guide the whole study: a) what are university music teachers' beliefs and pedagogies toward affective response during music listening and learning in higher education? (b) How do their teaching pedagogy represent their belief? This study uses a mixed-method approach and includes two phases. Phase I aims to investigate the current situation regarding teachers' belief and pedagogy towards affective responses while listening and learning to music. A questionnaire surveyed the views of 185 university music teachers recruited from 17 universities in mainland China, together with ten university music teachers from two universities in Hong Kong. From the questionnaire survey findings, three major issues were identified by teachers and considered critical to informing their beliefs and pedagogies when teaching music: (1) the correlation between teachers' beliefs and pedagogy, (2) perspectives and pedagogic strategies toward affective response in music listening and learning, and (3) the factors influence teachers' beliefs and pedagogies. Phase II aims to explore what the teachers' actually teaching and the influences upon teachers' belief and pedagogy towards affective responses in music and learning. Two case studies were carried out simultaneously, it described teachers' beliefs and pedagogy based a series of class observations and semi-structured interviews. Two teachers from two institutions were invited to join this research. Five class observations were carried out in one semester and the duration of each class was approximately one and a half hours in Institute A; four class observations were carried out in one semester and the duration of each class was approximately two and a half hours in Institute B. Non-participant observation involving video recording and note-writing was used in all the class observations. Findings revealed that two participating teachers agreed that affective response plays an important role in listening response, but their pedagogy is still focus on music cognition. However, different strategies for affective responses to motive students learning employed by two teachers. Together, these findings included that music higher education has been paying more cognitive than affective responses. Teacher-centered model, teaching experiences, and teaching facilities influenced teachers' teaching. In the future, cognitive and affective response, and a student-centered approach during music listening and learning should be emphasized at all levels of students' development.