Countering inequality in Nepali music education

Abstract

Music Technology (MT) has been an effective tool in music education by providing helpful means that can guide students to develop a better understanding of music. MT is mostly used in notating, arranging and composing music which in turn lets students understand how music is created. The new high school music course in Technical and Vocational Stream of Education implemented in 2016 in Nepal, has put MT as a compulsory subject and this study was carried out in Nepal’s first music school of this kind. The overall aim of this study was to investigate how music teachers can promote equality in their classrooms. This was investigated through two research questions: 1. How have these two girls experienced inequality in the music technology class? 2. How can the teacher work to enhance equality in the music technology classroom? The findings of this study indicated that the access to technology is the most important factor which influences how students learn and use technology in their music studies.

Keywords: Equality, Music Education, Music Technology, Nepal, Practitioner Research