2001 Volume 31 Issue 2-3 Pages 33-42
Even though music is a part of Japanese compulsory education, most developmental research has focused on the preschool level. Unfortunately, such research has made a minimal contribution to teaching practice. The present study presents a research for the developmental study of school-age children, so that research findings can directly benefit school teachers who wish to improve their practice.
The present paper examines the literature concerning curriculum development and instructional strategies, and discusses the importance of studying musical development of school-age children from both ontogenetic and sociocultural angles. By doing so, I propose that the following aspects need to be incorporated in developmental research for compulsory music education : flexibility of spiral development, importance of sociocultural context, synthesis between subject matter and teaching method, and inclusion of affective domains.
