The Realities of Music Education in Korea and A Case ... - Unesco

The Realities of Music Education in Korea and A
Case Study on the Influence of Musical
Abilities upon Math Achievement and Behavioral
Traits of Elementary Students in Korea
Ki-Beom Jang Ph. D.
Professor
Department of Music Education
Seoul National University of Education
Seocho Dong, Seocho Gu, Seoul, 137-742 Korea
The Realities of Music Education in Korea
Background
In the 7th National Curriculum, 10 basic schooling subjects are identified. Music is
included in the 10 schooling subjects. Teaching time allocation for music per week
is shown in table 1.
Grades Time Allocation Per Week
classes/wk (minutes)
1-2 3(40) Joyful Life
Title School
Level
Elementary
3-6 3(40) Music
7
8-9
2(45)
1(45)
Music
Music
Middle
10 1(45) Music High School
Music Education in Public Schools
Korean government employs public school system as a major educational venue. The
Korean Ministry of Education is the bureau that is in charge of its nations’
education as a whole.
Contents
The content of the 7th National Music Curriculum is consisted of “Concept” and
“Activity”. Under the ‘concept’ component, seven elements of music, ‘rhythm’,
‘melody’, ‘harmony’, ‘dynamics’, ‘timbre’, ‘tempo’ and ‘form’ are
enlisted. The ‘activity’ component includes singing, instrument playing,
composition, and music appreciation. The public school music curriculum is
formulated based on the concept of the spiral curriculum. Western music, Korean

traditional music, and some of Asian folk songs are major components of Korean
public school music education.
Methods
General music class in elementary schools is taught either by general education
teachers or by music majored teachers. In middle and high schools, music discipline
is taught by music majored teachers.
Music Education in Arts Schools
There are twenty arts high schools in Korea. These schools are for students
concentrating on the arts (western music, fine-art, ballet, traditional music, etc.).
Contents
There are two kinds of music classes in arts schools. One is general music class and
the other is music major class. Music major classes include the following: music
theory, music history, sight sing and dictation, major lesson, chamber music,
choral/orchestra, performance practice, computer and music, and music appreciation.
Methods
General music class is taught by full time music teachers. Each music field (major)
is taught by a corresponding part-time lecturer.
Music Education in Alternative Schools
There are 10 alternative schools in Korea. Each school's music program is quite
unique.
Contents
Some alternative schools follow the national music curriculum, where as others have
developed unique music programs such as 'samulnori', 'band' ,'choir', and 'rock
band', based on the needs of their students.
Methods
Music is taught by a certified music teacher or by part time teachers. In general,
the class size of the alternative school is smaller than that of the public schools.
Music Education in Private Institutions
Private music institutions in Korea are very active. Most parents send their
children to these private music institutions for various purposes, such as learning
musical instruments, fostering emotional growth, harmonious development of character,
cultivating aesthetic sensitivity, and etc.
Contents
In private music institutions various instruments are taught. The instruments taught
include: piano, flute, violin, cello, clarinet, danso (a Korean vertical bamboo
instrument), kayakeum(a Korean origin 12 stringed plucked instrument), vocal
training, etc.
Methods
Private music institutions offer teaching based on individual needs. Thus, major
teaching method provided is individual lessons and small group teaching based on a
selected method book.

A Case Study
Introduction to a Case Study
The main purpose of this study is to measure the influence of musical abilities upon
the development of elementary school children in Seoul. The field of ‘development’
is limited to academic and behavioral fields. In the academic field, math
achievement was the first subject chosen for this study, whereas in the behavioral
field the following school report card variables were chosen; assiduity,
responsibility, cooperation, creativity, sociality, and cheerfulness. In order to
measure musical ability of the subject the Korean Music Aptitude Profile (KoMAP) 1 is
used.
Subject
One hundred and eighteen 5-6 th graders of Sangwol elementary school in Seoul
participated in the study.
Period of Study
The case study was conducted throughout a period of 15 months. The pretest was
assessed to the subject when they were 5 th graders (from September 30 th of 2002
through October 7 th of 2002). The post-test was administered when the subject became
6 th graders (from October 28 th of 2003 thru November 1 st of 2003). Since KoMAP
consists of 5 components, only one component of the test was assessed each day.
Procedure and Method
The author of this study and the teachers of the Sangwol elementary school have
agreed to conduct a quasi-experimental study in order to measure the influence of
musical abilities upon the development of elementary school students.
The writer has decided the character of the study be quasi-experimental and adhere
to the following procedures.
1) Identification of subject
2) Assessment of the pre-test (KoMAP)
3) Analysis of pretest scores
4) Analysis of school report card of the subjects (5 th graders)
5) Examination of relationship between the musical abilities and other variables
6) Assessment of the post-test (KoMAP)
7) Examination of any changes in musical abilities between the pre-test and the
post-test
8) Analysis of the school report cards of the subjects (6 th graders)
9) Examination of the relationship between musical abilities and other variables
10) Examination of any changes in other variables between the 5 th graders and the
6 th graders
11) Examination of the relationships between the changes of musical abilities and
the changes of other traits
1 The Korean Music Aptitude Profile was developed by the author of this study. KoMAP is a
half- standardized and Web-based aptitude test consisting of five musical elements:
rhythm, melody, dynamics, timbre, and tempo. The test is for 5 through 13-year-old
children.

12) Documentation of research findings
So far 1) through 7) of the above procedures have been conducted.
An Interim Report of the Obtained Data
Mean score of KoMAP
Mean score of KoMAP can be summarized in table 2.
Test Period
Pre-test Post-test Mean score difference
Test elements
rhythm 16.65 (21) 18.91 (21) 2.26
tempo 14.47 (21) 15.47 (21) 1.00
timbre 17.69 (21) 17.88 (21) 0.19
dynamics 15.23 (21) 16.38 (21) 1.15
melody 16.25 (21) 16.49 (21) 0.24
(21) is a maximum point for each component
Though, the mean score of the post-test is somewhat higher than that of the pre-test,
the results will be subjected to a statistical analysis to determine their
reliability.
A Comparison of Musical Ability Scores to Math and Other Behavioral
Traits
The subject’s musical ability is divided into three grade levels (high, normal, and
low). Then, each group’s mean score of math and other behavioral traits are
calculated. The results are summarized in tables 3 to 7.
Variables
Mean
Rhythm Math Assid Resp Coop Creat Soc Cheer
Group
High(31%) 20.14(21) 2.30 2.41 2.46 2.32 2.32 2.38 2.46
Mod(40%) 18.10(21) 2.00 2.26 2.38 2.28 2.30 2.21 2.36
Low(29%) 14.78(21) 2.06 2.47 2.47 2.29 2.26 2.32 2.35
Assid: assiduity; Resp: responsibility; Coop: cooperation; Creat: creativity; Soc:
sociality; Cheer: cheerfulness 2
2 These six behavioral traits are of major concern in the Korean public school system.
Thus, at the end of each semester, teachers are responsible to evaluate each
student’s performance in these areas. The evaluation is three levels; good(3.00),
moderate(2.00), and poor(1.00).

Variables
Mean
Tempo Math Assid Resp Coop Creat Soc Cheer
Group
High(32%) 16.71 2.18 2.55 2.63 2.39 2.39 2.24 2.55
Mod(44%) 14.84 2.12 2.31 2.27 2.19 2.25 2.40 2.29
Low(24%) 12.84 2.00 2.21 2.46 2.36 2.25 2.18 2.36
Variables
Mean
Timbre Math Assid Resp Coop Creat Soc Cheer
Group
High(31%) 19.39 2.19 2.25 2.44 2.41 2.28 2.38 2.44
Mod(40%) 18.02 2.15 2.52 2.46 2.35 2.28 2.33 2.43
Low(29%) 16.23 2.00 2.28 2.40 2.15 2.33 2.20 2.30
Variables
Mean
Dynamics Math Assid Resp Coop Creat Soc Cheer
Group
High(25%) 18.43 2.37 2.53 2.50 2.43 2.37 2.33 2.37
Mod(46%) 15.91 2.16 2.40 2.55 2.27 2.27 2.31 2.47
Low(29%) 13.24 1.79 2.15 2.18 2.21 2.27 2.24 2.27
Variables
Mean
Melody Math Assid Resp Coop Creat Soc Cheer
Group
High(21%) 17.88 2.16 2.36 2.44 2.20 2.20 2.36 2.32
Mod(49%) 16.54 2.10 2.36 2.41 2.41 2.33 2.26 2.41
Low(30%) 15.01 2.09 2.37 2.46 2.17 2.31 2.30 2.40

Summary
Though this study has not been completed, by examining the obtained data, the author
would like to suggest the followings:
1) There is a positive relationship between musical abilities and math
achievement scores.
2) In most cases, groups with high musical abilities display better behavioral
traits.
3) Dynamics ability shows a positive relationship with math scores and
behavioral traits.
4) It is not safe to say that musical ability has a positive relationship with
academic achievement and behavioral traits.
5) Further investigation of the relationship between musical abilities and
academic and behavioral traits are necessary.
Bibliography
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