Researching a new perspective on music education in Southern Africa

After the first democratic elections in South Africa (1994), music educators were afforded the unique opportunity to place music in perspective in the national education system. To enable all role players in education to obtain accredited national qualifications, which may include a wide variety of music styles and practices specifically in Music Education, a working model in which all the unit standards to be generated in music education, can be organised within the parameters set by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority). In order to accomplish this, experts in various fields in South Africa as well as in other countries were called upon to give input. The result of this process was the developing of an integrated cubic Model, which can be manipulated according to the needs of the specific music practice involved, while at the same time accommodating the broader context of music education in South Africa. If appropriately adopted, this concept could form the basis for structuring other educational fields as well, thereby looking at the broader picture from a holistic perspective. This article will focus on a discussion of the development of the Model and not on the specific content and structure of unit standards and qualifications per se.