An investigation of pre-service music teachers’ preferences and willingness to teach six ethnic music styles in Taiwan

The study aimed to examine Taiwanese fourth- and fifth-year pre-service music teachers’ preferences, familiarity, and willingness to teach six ethnic music styles (Chinese, Hokkien, Hakka, Taiwanese Aboriginal, Vietnamese, and Indonesian) to the largest ethnic student groups in Taiwan. Participants ( N = 126) listened to 18 ethnic music excerpts and rated their preferences, familiarity, and willingness to teach using 7-point Likert-type scales. As a validity check, the pre-service music teachers were required to identify the ethnic language in which each music example was performed. However, their ability to identify the languages did not strongly correlate with their preferences, familiarity, and willingness to teach the music examples.The findings indicated that the pre-service music teachers’ preferences and familiarity were positively correlated with their willingness to teach the six ethnic music styles. Moreover, the year of enrollment and the interaction between enrollment year and certificate level significantly influenced participants’ familiarity with the ethnic music styles. Furthermore, music training was a significant variable affecting the willingness to teach Hokkien music.