Navigating Pedagogical Shifts between China and the UK: Chinese Instrument Teachers’ Practices and Beliefs

Within academic music scholarship contexts, studies on Western instrumental musicians’ educational pathways, their portfolio careers, and Western instrumental pedagogy informed by neuropsychology have increasingly emerged. However, amidst the globalisation of education, the characteristics of Chinese instrument teachers’ (CITs) pedagogical experiences and challenges, how CITs establish their teaching practices, and what underlies CITs’ pedagogical understandings have remained largely unexplored. To fill this gap, this thesis investigates instrumental teaching beliefs and practices from the international perspectives of pre-service CITs undertaking instrumental/vocal pedagogical training at a UK university, as well as from the China-domiciled perspectives of pre- and in-service CITs in Chinese higher education and school contexts. Additionally, the investigation of cross-cultural pedagogical learning and practice experiences of those UK-trained pre-service CITs expands the scope of existing literature on Chinese international students in English-speaking countries, concerning their subject-specific pedagogical knowledge adaptation, transformation, and application across cultures.
This research consists of a survey study (104 pre/in-service CITs), a longitudinal study facilitated by the video-stimulated interview technique with three UK-trained pre-service CITs, and a multiple case study (three cases) through interviews: 1) seven China-domiciled pre-service CITs, 2) eight China-domiciled in-service CITs, and 3) 16 UK-trained pre-service CITs (including the three longitudinal-study participants). Findings concentrate on dissimilarities between music instrumental pedagogical cultures in China and the UK, distinct curricula and academic criteria within higher music (teacher) education, challenges in pedagogical practices as pre/in-service CITs, the impact of the UK instrumental pedagogical training, and cross-cultural identity dynamics of those international CITs. This research highlights socioculturally-contextualised instrumental teaching beliefs and practices and has implications for CITs/teacher educators/policy makers in China, as well as for stakeholders within (music) teacher education navigating cultural diversity.