Current and Future Challenges

Music teacher training for academic lower schools (secondary level I) is currently seeing a continual reduction of the number of so-called contact hours (from nine to seven periods in the joint degree course). In the academic year 2007/08 the first Bachelor exams were held and revealed differences between individual universities with regard to the topics included in the examinations. Increasing emphasis on self-study and the reduction in the number of lessons are leading to a decrease in quality, especially in practical disciplines, of teacher training courses in arts subjects at universities. The areas worst hit by these cutbacks are usually ensemble activities such as choirs, orchestras and folk art forms.

Current challenges:

• The new schools reform that came into effect in September 2008 has not yet been incorporated into music teacher training;
• A continuous fall in the number of applicants for places on music teacher training courses due to the low number of births from 1990 onwards and the emergence of new universities;
• A continuous rise in the number of students studying for a term at universities abroad;
• Accreditation of new PhD courses;
• The lack of a degree course in “Educational Theory of Instrument Teaching” for teaching instruments at music schools is incompatible with the requirements of a higher education course for teachers at this type of school.