Pre-Service Music Teachers’ Views on the Effectiveness and Implementation of the Undergraduate Program

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the views of pre-service music teachers enrolled in the 2018 undergraduate music teacher education program, which was developed and mandated by the Council of Higher Education (CoHE, 2018), regarding the curriculum and its implementation. The research was designed as a descriptive survey, which is one of the survey models. The study group consisted of pre-service music teachers enrolled in the Music Education Programs within the Departments of Fine Arts Education at the Faculties of Education of various universities. For data collection, a questionnaire regarding the undergraduate program was administered to the participants. The instrument included both qualitative and quantitative questions related to the courses. Some findings can be drawn from the study: Pre-service music teachers generally considered the proportion and content of the “Field Education Courses,” “Pedagogical Knowledge Courses,” and “General Culture Courses” in the program to be adequate. However, students believe that the program placed excessive emphasis, time, and effort on “General Culture” courses. Nevertheless, pre-service music teachers predominantly requested an increase in the hours allocated to music-related courses, and to some extent, the hours allocated to certain pedagogical skill courses.