Development and effects of music education on the Presbyterian college of education, Akropong- Akuapem

Abstract

Western and Ghanaian traditional music form an integral part of the formal school curriculum. This study, therefore, traces the advent and development of music education and its role in the lives of students in the Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong. The study adopted a qualitative paradigm using a single case study as a design. Ten (10) members (both past and present) comprising the principal, tutors, students and the clergy were purposively sampled for the study. Interview, observation, and classified documents were used to collect primary data. Qualitative data gathered from the sample was analyzed using a thematic content analysis method — responses from respondents were categorized into themes. The findings of the study revealed that the emergence of Western music in the formal school curriculum in Ghana is credited to the missionaries, but its development and the birth of traditional Ghanaian music in the college curriculum is credited to Dr. Ephraim Amu and Professor J. Nketia. The study of both Western and Ghanaian traditional forms of music in the school curriculum have soaked up in students a sense of patriotism, socialization, responsibility, creativity and spirituality. The study recommends that both western and traditional songs should be taught in schools, colleges and universities through the rudiments of music. Music tutors in these institutions should encourage students to use the rudiments of music in composing original versions of Ghanaian traditional music.