Opportunities and Challenges of Chinese Music Curriculum Standards: The gap between urban and rural areas music education

Abstract

In 2011, the Ministry of Education issued the Music Curriculum Standards for the purpose of deepening curriculum reforms. This thesis explores the challenge of implementing the Music Curriculum Standards, in which the disparity between urban and rural music education forms the main obstruction. I trace the history of the National Music Curriculum Standards by exploring its academic, social, political and ideological basis. As well as analysing the strengths of Music Curriculum Standards, I explore existing opportunities to energetically develop their implementation. I am attempting to find a way to narrow the achievement gap between urban and rural music education. The methodology I used was the SWOT analysis, which was first proposed by Learned et al. in 1965. It has been gradually extended to include medical care, education and other fields. The SWOT analysis helps one to analyse the Music Curriculum Standards in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT analysis simplifies the understanding of the Music Curriculum Standards, and provides more streamlined and effective options for decision makers to make effective choices for future improvements. Applying SWOT to analyse the Music Curriculum Standards, which can be better implemented in the compulsory education stage, may provide a reference for narrowing the disparity between urban and rural music education. In this thesis, I focus on one of the main weaknesses of Music Curriculum Standards, which is the gap between urban and rural schools when it comes to implementation. The educational resource distribution imbalance, urban and rural music education appears polarised, which has led to increased resistance to implementing the Music Curriculum Standards. I provide a few possibilities for narrowing the gap between urban and rural schools in the implementation of Music Curriculum Standards: (a) establishing an itinerant music teacher system, (b) setting up an online music classroom, and the like. The aim of this study is to facilitate the implementation of Music Curriculum Standards in the nine-year compulsory education stage, to narrow the disparity in music education between urban and rural schools, and to promote equitable development of education by making solid steps. Expanding the sharing of high-quality educational resources and striving to improve the quality of education in compulsory education.