Surfacing Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions of World Music Pedagogy: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to surface pre-service teachers’ perceptions of World Music Pedagogy(WMP) as designed by Patricia S. Campbell. Study participants(N = 20), who were enrolled in the Elementary Music Learning and Teaching Methods course, engaged with the pedagogical theory of WMP and learned a representative musical piece in the Cumbia of a coastal musical genre, <Chicitios pero Picos>. They participated in interviews, class discussions, and submitted reflection papers to share the pedagogical meaning from their perspectives. Findings centered around (a) expanding one’s understanding of global musical cultures and traditions; (b) encouraging one’s active participation and creativity via the content integration of music appreciation, performing, creating and interdisciplinary areas; and (c) maximizing one’s learning achievement from the creating stage. These findings strengthened the significance of the application of WMP to a diverse range of music genres around the world when in-service elementary teachers organize world music lesson plans.