Music as a Tool for Social Inclusion (PDF) - Cork City Council

The Use of Music as a Tool for Social Inclusion
Section 1: Policy Context
In terms of education, local provision of services is envisaged in two key areas:
Instrumental and vocal music education services outside school hours;
Complementary music curriculum support services in the classroom.
The Arts Council recognised the value of the framework proposed in the MNI study
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in its policy paper, Education: Arts in Schools, and proposed that the study’s
recommendations should be implemented through a multi­agency partnership at local
and national levels. As a result of this process, Pilot Music Education Partnerships were
set up in Donegal and Dublin, with funding from the Department of Education and
Science. An evaluation of these projects was commissioned, and is due for completion
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in 2009.
Primary and Secondary Level Music
The Department of Education and Science is responsible for the provision of access
to music education at primary and secondary level. There are three main strands of
learning: listening and responding, performing, and composing. The Primary
Curriculum, implemented at the start of the school year in 2005, “envisages that
children will learn simple music performance skills within the classroom by singing and
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playing musical instruments.”
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