Competences developed in the course

Transversal competences:

CT1: Organise and plan work efficiently and in a motivating manner.

CT2: Collect meaningful information, analyse it, synthesise it and manage it appropriately.

CT3: Solve problems and make decisions that respond to the objectives of the work being carried out.

CT5: Understand and use at least one foreign language within the scope of professional development.

CT6: Carry out self-criticism regarding one’s own professional and interpersonal practice.

CT7: Use communication skills and constructive criticism in teamwork.

CT8: Develop ideas and arguments in a reasoned and critical manner.

CT9: Integrate appropriately into multidisciplinary teams and diverse cultural contexts.

CT10: Lead and manage work groups.

CT11: Develop, in professional practice, an ethical approach based on aesthetic, environmental and diversity awareness and sensitivity.

CT13: Seek excellence and quality in professional activity.

CT14: Master research methodologies for the generation of projects, ideas and viable solutions.

CT16: Use available means and resources responsibly towards cultural and environmental heritage.

CT17: Contribute through professional activity to raising social awareness of the importance of cultural heritage, its impact in different areas and its ability to generate meaningful values.

General competences:

CG8: Apply the most appropriate working methods to overcome challenges arising in personal study and collective musical practice.

CG10: Argue and verbally express points of view on diverse musical concepts.

CG12: Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the musical phenomenon and its relationship with the evolution of aesthetic, artistic and cultural values.

CG16: Know the social, cultural and economic context in which musical practice takes place, paying particular attention to its immediate environment while also considering its global dimension.

CG18: Communicate, both in writing and orally, the content and objectives of professional activity to specialised audiences, using appropriate technical and general vocabulary.

CG19: Know the pedagogical and educational implications of music at different levels.

CG24: Develop capacities for self-training throughout professional life.

CG25: Know and be able to use study and research methodologies that enable continuous development and innovation of musical activity throughout one’s career.

CG26: Be able to link one’s own musical activity to other disciplines within scientific and humanistic thought, to the arts in general and to other musical disciplines in particular, enriching professional practice with a multidisciplinary dimension.

Specific competences:

PE1: Understand and explain the foundations of contemporary music pedagogy, both in the area of systematic knowledge and in its application, and use them as a basis for critical reflection on one’s own and others’ musical educational practice.

PE2: Develop, select, apply and evaluate musical teaching/learning activities, materials and resources according to the demands of each educational context, and demonstrate versatility in the use of instruments and other musical resources, applying new technologies functionally.

PE6: Contextualise music pedagogy in the present time and in different cultural contexts, critically reflecting on the role and outcomes that music education practice can contribute to improving individuals and society.

PE8: Actively participate in educational-musical projects through cooperative work and assume responsibility for developing the profession of music education as a collective task.

PE9: Design and carry out systematic educational evaluation processes concerning students, teachers, programmes and institutions, and base educational improvement planning on their results.

PE10: Design, conduct and evaluate research in music education, both individually and as an active member of research teams.

Learning outcomes (general objectives)

1. Use scientific knowledge in music pedagogy appropriately and value educational research as an essential activity for the professional development of teachers and for improving teaching effectiveness.
2. Possess the specific knowledge and skills required to design and carry out educational research, analyse the data obtained and apply conclusions to improve educational processes.
3. Identify topics and lines of action that allow the final project and, eventually, postgraduate research projects to be developed.
4. Broaden the understanding of the field of specialisation and learn to value cooperative models and creative, interdisciplinary exchange of ideas.
5. Know and understand the current national and international landscape of the main perspectives in music education research.
6. Know and coherently relate the different research methodologies and paradigms in music education according to the aims and topics of the proposed research.
7. Construct, validate and use the main research tools in music education coherently and appropriately according to research approaches.
8. Understand the foundations of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis, recognising both their specific uses and their complementarity.

Contents

Research in music education today: topics, agents and determining factors. The model of the music teacher as a researching professional. The concept of research in music education.

Research paradigms in music education: positivism, interpretivism, socio-critical approaches, complexity and post-qualitative research.

Underlying anthropological and sociocultural theories: critical rationalism and functionalism; symbolic interactionism and structuralism; Critical Theory, Cultural Studies and Feminism; Neomaterialism, Posthumanism and Transhumanism.

Research methodological strategies: experimental, ethnographic, interaction-intervention and rhizomatic approaches.

Research designs: experimental, quasi-experimental and ex post facto designs; single and instrumental case studies; action research; complementarity methodology; diffractive methodology.

Foundations of quantitative data analysis: descriptive analysis and probabilistic inferential analysis.

Foundations of qualitative data analysis: narratives, images, videos and objects; segment coding and structural coding.

Relevant software for quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

Interpretation in quantitative and qualitative research.

Scientific standards for writing research reports.

Relevant software supporting academic referencing.

Teaching methodology

The teaching-learning methodology in classes includes lectures (presentation of topics), debate and discussion sessions, group work sessions and sessions in which students present topics.

Assessment systems

The assessment system is based on continuous assessment, founded on a diagnostic evaluation and developed through a summative evaluation that leads to the final grade.

Continuous assessment is carried out through different assessment records derived from specific evaluation activities, such as participation and class work, presentation of assignments in class, completion of assignments and/or readings outside class, submission of written work or completion of written or oral examinations.