2.2 Formal music education before independence
2.3.4 Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) syllabus (Standard 1-7)
The aim of the CAPA syllabus as envisaged by Curriculum and Development Unit (Lower Primary syllabus, 2002) is to provide an opportunity for learners to acquire basic knowledge, practical skills and self expression within the fields of all the practical subjects included in the syllabus. The Creative and Performing Arts syllabus (CAPA) has been divided according to the levels of education in primary schools e.g. there is a CAPA syllabus for Lower Primary
and for Upper Primary respectively. The Lower Primary syllabus draws its content from Music, Art and Craft, Dance, Drama, Design and Technology and Physical Education.
However, the Creative and Performing Arts syllabus for Upper Primary draws its content from above disciplines, and in addition includes contents from Home Economics and Business Studies (Revised National Policy on Education: Government paper no. 2 of 1994).
Teaching of CAPA has been organized into 4 modules which are as follows: 1) Health and safety, 2) Communication, 3) Listening, composing and performing and 4) Designing and making. Music falls under the third module as is explicitly implied by the sub-heading. Each module has its own aims and objectives which spell out what learners are expected to achieve within a specified period. CAPA is allotted 5 periods per week in the primary school time- table. Curriculum Development Unit of Botswana believes that the time is enough since the arts are taught as a unit using integration. This is evidenced in a set of aims which have been packaged to guide the Arts syllabus. The aims are stated as follows:
Development of psychomotor skills in the use of materials, tools, instruments/equipment;
Awareness of emerging issues such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Population Family Life Education (POP/FLE);
Problem-solving skills through designing and making products;
Awareness and appreciation of pre-vocational skills in Creative and Performing Arts;
Awareness of the effects of Art, Science and Technology on society in everyday life;
An understanding of simple technology applicable to real-life situations;
Critical thinking, inquiry, creative, initiative and interpersonal skills;
Safe working habits and appreciation of healthy working environment;
Positive attitude towards practical work and productivity;
An appreciation of the environment in a conserving and preserving manner;
Competence in performing skills such as manipulative, locomotor, vocal and stability;
The ability to maintain physical fitness and well-being;
Knowledge, skills and values that contribute towards individual development;
The ability to express themselves through the medium of visual arts, dramatization, sounds and movements;
A spirit of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
Challenges of integration
Integration of musical arts has been strongly backed by eminent scholars such as Dargie (1996), Mans (1997), Nzewi (1997), Mngoma (1988), Nketia (1966) and Kwami (2001).
However the type of integration they refer to is of musical arts such as drama, dance, visual arts, media arts and language arts/poetry. These aspects are closely intertwined in African music making matrix and depend on each other. This is so because in an African music making milieu, singing, reciting poems, dancing and wearing of costume (visual arts) are done simultaneously. The medium of communication is usually the dancer‟s body. Nzewi in Herbst (2003) sums the interrelatedness of the musical arts thus:
Structured sounds from sonic objects (music) Aesthetic/poetic stylization of the body (dance)
Measured stylization of poetic language (poetry and lyrics)
Metaphorical reflection of life and cosmos displayed in action (drama)
Symbolized text and décor embodied in material objects (costume and scenery).
On the contrary, the way Curriculum developers have planned the Creative and Performing Arts syllabus appears inconsiderate for both non-specialist and specialist teachers themselves, because as mentioned earlier student teachers are obliged to specialize in one subject within the arts subjects, during training. As such to lump subjects such as Home Economics, Business Studies, Physical Education together with musical arts appears incompatible. This is because the mentioned courses have their own academic in-depth content which specialists in other areas may not be comfortable with. This notion was highlighted by Phuthego (2007:3) who states:
… the challenge posed by the diverse nature of the subject matter in the Creative and Peforming Arts syllabus, especially to the teacher who is a specialist in only one specific area, is paramount. Researchers from other areas, that make up the Creative and Performing Arts could equally well have been interested in carrying out a similar study on the syllabus since it directly concerns their area. A similar study could therefore have been carried by someone with a background from any of the subject area included in the package…
Phuthego further subscribes to the idea of packaging the subjects on the grounds of financial, time and resource challenges. He observed that in view of the overwhelming logistics that go
with teaching arts subjects individually, such as time-table space, large staffing to mention but a few, there would be some serious remuneration implications. However, on the contrary, the researcher perceives this as a situation where quality is being compromised with quantity, because there is no point in striving to teach many things without doing justice to the real demands of such tasks. If anything, it is better to spend on quality instruction than it is currently the case, since the two approaches have long time implications which could either be negative when compromised or positive when they are effectively attended to.