There is no denying the decline of GCSE numbers of Key Stage 4, which respected scholars and music teaching professionals have much debated over the last decade. This issue is ongoing and vital for our much-loved subject to grow and develop positively. However, the complete picture of the state of the nation's young musicians is still being determined due to the rising acceptance and study of vocational music courses that have been steadily growing since their inception in 1994. The introduction of vocational courses has been designed to “serve a far wider and less economically and educationally advantaged cohort of students'' according to Norton York, the Rockschool Limited Vocational courses founder. Suggesting that maybe the GCSE approach could be exclusive in its method, outdated in its content and irrelevant to today's students.
In 1994 (when the vocational course was introduced), just 83 people in England obtained a BTEC vocational music qualification, and nearly 37,000 received a GCSE in music. But now, looking at the wide range of musical qualifications available from exam boards such as Pearson, ESL, UAL and NCFE, it appears that vocational courses are becoming the teacher's choice for their students. This is evident in the fact that close to 40,000 students are studying them across Key Stages 4 and 5. The numbers continue to grow year on year despite the recent Ofqual reform of vocational qualifications, making it harder to accredit vocational musical qualifications that are league-table worthy. Something that many curriculum leaders across the country are bound to by their schools' structure.
It is fair to say that a stigma of vocational music has been formed over the years. Vocational courses have been viewed as less academically or musically challenging than the GCSE. Despite these views, the things being assessed on paper look like the GCSE, with the main focus continuing to tackle performance, composition and listening to music. What changes within the courses are the hierarchical assessment criteria for the practical aspects (composition and performance) and the selection of music that is listened to whilst appraising.
There is room for much more student choice in vocational courses, which give colossal potential to situate learning within the student's real-life musical experiences. Within the vocational setting, students are required to justify their choices and explore their selection's cultural background and meaning, which is then presented as coursework. This forms part of a more extensive live “set” that the student then performs, requiring a large range of skills needed for a professional performance setting. This arguably can give more depth than the GCSE requirement of recording a musical piece, which is then assessed against a metric of criteria based on technical skill, accuracy and expression.
Questions about the musical content and curricula delivery are now possible thanks to a shift in social consciousness and awareness. Some instructors and students are increasingly criticising the outdated conceptions of musical knowledge and admitting that the goal of music education is changing. Heading towards a more just structure for music education can only be a positive thing. The vocational courses available could allow for repurposing the curriculum and individualising the experience. This is done while fighting the power structures that control curriculum and dispelling the notion that the GCSE course delivers a more "academic" experience.
Even though this is the case, it's vital to avoid undervaluing the topic by failing to meet specific musical standards that would also be required in a professional context; the assessment of a person's musical accuracy, technical control and expression are vital parts of what it means to be a musician. Music as a topic maintains its academic integrity through carefully handling assessment and content, and this must remain the case. The risk is that music gets dropped from the school's curriculum because of the need for more rigour used to evaluate essential musical abilities. What those musical qualities are, I feel, could change over time.
Where a truly socially just curriculum is impossible due to the power structures and the history of education, there is a positive step forward for Music educators and students in this direction. A happy medium is yet to be found between these two very different courses, and it remains our duty as educators to comprehend the significance of this choice for our students. It will undoubtedly shape the experiences and identities of our pupils. Giving teachers and students the tools to be critical of the many problems within music education is a beneficial place to start.
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