BE

Belgium’s special (cultural) political situation with three different language communities that are clearly separated from each other means that the political framework is crucial to understanding the current situation, also with regard to the form and importance of general music education. Since 1993 Belgium has been a federal state, split on the one hand into three language communities and on the other into three regions (Flanders, with its capital Brussels, Wallonia with its capital Namur and the municipal region of Brussels). The population is divided into the three language communities as follows:

Since the end of the 1970s responsibility for culture and education policy has no longer lain with the national government but with the three individual language communities.

In the "communauté française", the French-speaking community, music education takes place at the following institutions:

Note: since the academic year 2002/03 a sweeping structural reform of the music academies in the French community has been taking place that has chiefly affected the three royal conservatoires in Brussels, Liège and Mons. The entrance requirement has been changed to match that of the music academies, i.e. the school-leaving examination equivalent to A-levels in the UK. The range of additional compulsory subjects has been increased considerably to include music theory, philosophy, information technology, history of music etc.

In the Flemish community, the “Vlaamse Gemeenschap”, music education takes place at the following institutions:

· In addition there are four other educational institutions offering a "Bachelor of Education" degree course with a special focus on music. At all four, students graduate as qualified teachers of two school subjects at secondary school level, e.g. music and mathematics, music and art etc.

No specialised music teacher training is offered for music teaching at kindergarten and elementary level because in those institutions music is taught by the class teacher. Kindergarten and primary school teachers receive their musical instruction and their training as teachers of music at teacher training college. However, the time devoted to this music-related training during the three-year (bachelor's) degree course is very limited, as is the content, so the course does not generally enable the future elementary school teacher to produce music lessons of any great quality.

For music education at secondary level either a degree from one of the two music academies (the IMEP or the Lemmensinstituut) or a master's degree from one of the six conservatoires is required. What presents problems here, however, is the fact that every didactic master's course in music (including instrumental studies, a course in music theory etc.) also qualifies graduates as teachers at secondary level.

Music teacher training consists of a single stage. A year of supervised practical training at a school (usual in other countries) is not required.

In the Flemish community, the newly founded Flemish Centre for Music Education is responsible for coordinating the various different educational institutions, some of which have representatives on the centre's board of directors.

Music Education as a Degree Subject

· Bachelor in "éducation musicale" for music teaching at lower secondary level (ages 12-15)

· Master in "éducation musicale" for music teaching at upper secondary level (ages 16-18)

After completion of the bachelor, a "Master's degree in Music" is then required to qualify the trainee as a music teacher at every school type.

In addition, the conservatoires in Antwerp and Gent recently introduced master's courses in music education (with a special focus on teaching at music schools). There are currently 55 students enrolled in the bachelor's course in "Music Education" in Namur and 15 enrolled in the master's course at the Lemmensinstituut.

“Agrégation” (Certificate of Aptitude for Teaching)

It is possible to qualify as a music teacher either after or during a master's degree course in a purely arts subject by taking an additional two-year course (30 ECTS credits), the so-called “agrégation pédagogique”.

This additional course leading to a certificate of aptitude for teaching is rendered redundant by graduation in any master of education course (e.g. even in the Educational Theory of Instrument Teaching for Violin).

II. Curriculum

Students choose either a short study cycle lasting three years (bachelor, 180 ECTS credits) or a longer one lasting five years (master of education, 120 ECTS credits, master of arts, 114 ECTS credits). The master's degree can be followed by the PhD or “maîtrise” (4 semesters).

Subject group	Subjects
Arts subjects	· Piano (main subject/private tuition) · Second instrument – optional group lessons (usually recorder or guitar) · Singing – group lessons · "formation musicale" (formerly "solfège" lessons): sight-singing with solfège syllables (absolute) and conducting movements; ear training and notation · Choral singing, choral conducting, instrumental ensembles, creative music-making (Orff, Kodaly), eurhythmics and expressive movement (Dalcroze) · Music-making, arranging and elementary composition for school instrumental ensembles, Piano-playing for teaching
Music theory / musicology	· Analysis of music, written harmony · History of music, contemporary music, music encyclopaedia · Comparative art history · Musical ethnology · Listening to music · Music and the computer, acoustics, instrumentology
Music pedagogy	· General music pedagogy · General psychopedagogy · Philosophy · General psychology · Music didactics
Other courses	· Interdisciplinary course: comparative arts · Practicals ("stage") in communication at schools 20% of the practicals take place at other institutions (cultural and media centres, concert institutions and promoters, etc.)

The following charts show the subject fields during the Bachelor and Master studies:

Important: These pie charts will soon be obsolete for Flanders due to the sweeping reorganisation in progress there that will also have the effect of increasing the amount of time spent gaining teaching practice in schools during teacher training.

“Agrégation” (Certificate of Aptitude for Teaching)

The curriculum includes the following subjects, among others: education laws, musical ethnology, music pedagogy, specialised methodology, improvisation, didactics, information technology and teaching practice in schools. A table showing all the subjects taught can be found at www.imep.be/etudes.php or in the document Éducation musicale BA agregation.

III. Learning and Teaching Approaches

The most common forms of teaching in training courses for music teachers are private instruction in the main arts subjects (one or two instruments plus singing) and group instruction in the remaining arts, music theory, musicology and education theory subjects. Every now and again "master classes" in aspects of music education are held. Although electronic media are available as learning aids for topics related to music (arranging, composing, notation) they are not used in every year of the course. E-learning is also used in isolated instances.

Skills related to making the teaching activity more professional (presentation techniques) and working with learning software especially developed for use in schools are not taught as part of the training course but are left to the students to learn themselves.

IV. Assessment / Examination

Entrance examinations

· Artistic aptitude (instrument, etc.)

· Melodic and rhythmic ear training, sight-singing

· Written task: write an essay on a musical topic (e.g. comment on a review of a concert)

· No admission criteria based on music education

Examinations during the course

There are two periods of examination per year during the bachelor's and master's courses.

Finals

The finals include a so-called "mémoire" or a "thesis“ on a subject relevant to music education that must be defended in front of a jury.

V. Current and Futures Challenges

It is becoming necessary to redefine and revise the guidelines for music education ever more frequently (teaching and learning objectives, lesson content etc.). Schools, institutions that maintain schools and ministries recommend further education courses, and in some subjects such courses have recently become compulsory. It is for this reason that an institute dealing specifically with further education, the IFC (Institut de Formation Continue) was founded two years ago. This institute is responsible for the planning and implementation of further education courses. In Flanders, or the Flemish community, most of the activities are organised by the Flemish Association of Music Teachers ("Muzes"). The new curricula for secondary school education demand an interdisciplinary approach to education. In order to meet this demand, music teachers will have to be more heavily involved in general arts instruction and training in future; the intention is that this will be achieved both within the undergraduate course as well as by means of special courses offered in the field of further education for teachers.

I. Background / Organisation