Facilitating musical composition as 'contract learning' in the classroom: the development and application of a teaching resource for primary school teachers in the UK

Clennon, Ornette D. (2009) Facilitating musical composition as 'contract learning' in the classroom: the development and application of a teaching resource for primary school teachers in the UK. International Journal of Music Education, 27 (4). pp. 300-313. ISSN 0255-7614

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Abstract

Despite national initiatives in the UK such as Creative Partnerships, an organization formed in 2002 for exploring creative approaches to learning in the classroom, there is still a gap between aspiration and practice. This is especially evident in the teaching of musical composition in primary schools, partly because there seems to be a profound fear of music, especially for many primary school teachers who are not music specialists, and a lack of knowledge of participatory practice. This article describes the development of a resource for facilitating compositional processes using classroom management skills, as adapted from Knowles’s ‘contract learning’. I will also highlight the creative tensions raised by the sometimes conflicting approaches of instruction and facilitation.