An exploratory study of special schools music teachers' perceptions and classroom practices of creativity in music education for students with intellectual disabilities

Under the principle of “one curriculum framework for all”, students with intellectual disabilities in Hong Kong special schools follow the same curriculum framework as their counterparts in mainstream schools. The four learning targets of the Music Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 – Secondary 3) (2003) include “developing creativity and imagination”, “developing music skills and processes”, “cultivating critical responses” and “understanding music in context”. How to help students with intellectual disabilities to achieve these learning targets has been the major challenges for special schools music teachers.

Music is believed to be an artistic medium for people to express their creativity. Students with intellectual disabilities are traditionally being negatively perceived as students with low capabilities. Developing creativity in music education for this group of students seems to be a mission impossible. Some music educators found that teachers’ perceptions on creativity contribute to their educational connoisseurship that influence their ways of adapting creative music activities to their students. Up-to-date, there is a lack of literature about teachers’ perceptions about creativity of students with intellectual disabilities. In order to better understand the perceptions of special schools music teachers about creativity in music education for students with intellectual disabilities and their practices of developing creativity of students with intellectual disabilities in music classrooms, this study is necessary and valuable. The findings of this study can shed light on the development of creativity in music education for students with intellectual disabilities in special schools.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study is to explore special schools music teachers’ perceptions and concerns of developing creativity in music of students with intellectual disabilities, as well as their classroom practices of developing creativity of their students with intellectual disabilities. Purposeful sampling will be used to select nine cases of special schools music teachers, three from each category of special schools for mild, moderate or severe intellectual disabilities. Classroom observations and interviews will be used for data collection. The scope of study will include (1) perceptions about creativity in music learning of students with intellectual disabilities; (2) concerns about developing creativity in music learning of students with intellectual disabilities; (3) rationale and curriculum emphasis of the observed lessons; (4) reflections about classroom practices for developing student’s creativity in music learning; and (5) classroom practices that teachers regarded as effective in developing creativity in music learning of students with intellectual disabilities.