Teaching Experiences of Hungarian Music Teachers During the Pandemic

Julianna Kish and Rita Kerekes
Foundation for the Art of Future 4032 Debrecen Nagyerdei Krt. 82. Hungary

Abstract

The introduction of digital (online) education in Central Europe in the spring of 2020 has radically changed the tools, methods and strategies of teachers. It also had a marked effect on music education, in which it caused significant changes due to its training characteristics. In addition to knowledge transfer, skills development is also an important goal of music education. Although the international equivalent of the Hungarian term “skill object” is not known (and the division of subjects into such rigid groups assumes some inaccuracy) (Kárpáti, Gaul, 2011), it clearly indicates that the acquisition of subjects in this category imposes different requirements on the student. While partially acquired knowledge may be a well-utilizable partial knowledge, semi-acquired skill is not a real skill. The form of individual training of instrumental and vocal lessons plays an important role in the success of music learners, which gives the teacher and his / her student the opportunity to develop a personal relationship between them (Váradi, 2014). An important condition for the success of group music / singing is cooperation, adaptability; the community experience plays a key role in developing commitment and maintaining motivation. The Music Pedagogy Research Group of the Doctoral Program in Education and Cultural Studies of the Doctoral School of Humanities of the University of Debrecen (with the support of the Art Theory and Methodology Research Institute of Hungarian Academy of Arts ) conducts a survey on the experiences of basic, secondary and higher online music education. In our presentation, based on the responses of 258 teachers, we seek answers to questions such as whether elements of digital music education can be used in the future; whether group music lessions can be implemented online / digitally. We attempt to summarize the pros and cons of digital education based on respondents’ opinions, and also address educators’ motivations and experiences in curriculum development. Our results showed that digital education during the pandemic stimulated the creativity of music teachers, and teachers were able to solve emerging problems constructively without prior competencies. The results of the research can contribute to making music education more effective for educators, enriching the transfer of information through new channels and, where added value is present, adapting to the increasingly popular digitalisation.

Presentation