Music Learning Outcomes and Music Teachers’ Expectations: Trialing an Adapted Music Curriculum for Students Aged 15-18 with Intellectual Disabilities in Hong Kong

Addressing a gap in the literature about the music learning outcomes of students with intellectual disabilities (ID), this study is designed as a qualitative multiple-case study. The purpose of this paper is to investigate special schools music teachers’ expectations of students’ music learning outcomes and the observed music learning outcomes of students with ID. Seven cases are reported with a focus on special school music teachers’ trialing the adapted music curriculum for Hong Kong students with ID. Data analysis confirms the possibilities for students with intellectual disabilities to achieve music learning outcomes in listening, performing and creating; Deno et al. (2001) that using curriculum-based measurements as growth standards can help scaffold students’ learning outcomes; and Sutherland and Wehby (2001) that repeating opportunities for students to respond can produce positive behavioral outcomes. Further, this analysis supports both Colwell’s (2013) view that many music teachers lack an understanding of the music abilities of students with special needs, and VanWeelden’s (2007) findings that students with special needs remain a challenging area for music educators. A recommendation is made to address the conclusion that the potential promise of scaffolding tangible development in students with intellectual disabilities remains as yet unfulfilled.