SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Music

CONTRIBUTORS:

Nnam G. Nnenna
Onuora- oguno N. C.

ABSTRACT:

This study examines the present state of music education in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in Enugu State, Nigeria. It delves into the problems and makes proposals for improvement in learning music as a subject in Senior Secondary Schools. This research reveals that music as a subject in Senior Secondary Schools is marginalized beginning from the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level. The root of this present status of the subject is to be found in the general curriculum on music; in which it is subsumed under Cultural and Creative Art (CCA) in the Junior Secondary School (JSS) Curriculum. This impacts negatively on learning music as a subject even at the Senior Secondary School level with a consequent decrease in the number of students selecting music as a subject in the midst of other very competitive subjects in the SSS curriculum. The investigation focuses on some Senior Secondary Schools in the six (6) educational zones in Enugu State. The methodology involved the use of survey design, while distributed questionnaires and conducted interviews were used as instruments for data collection. The findings of the research reveal that the general music curriculum in Senior Secondary Schools is still Western oriented, because it lacks a link to our Nigerian indigenous cultural identity which is relevant to the Nigerian situation. It also found out that there is a general ignorance of the therapeutic effect of music, especially on young people in the country. These contribute immensely to the poor selection of music as a subject by Senior Secondary School students in the country. In conclusion, the study recommends that the future direction of music education rests on the re-structuring of the general music curriculum in the country, as well as the enhancement of learning music at all levels, including the Senior Secondary School level.