The new Cypriot music curriculum: teachers’ interpretation and implementation of differentiation

Abstract

Differentiation is a key concept in the Cypriot music curriculum, last revised in 2010. This paper aims to investigate teachers’ interpretation and implementation of differentiation in their music classrooms. Interviews with Cypriot classroom music teachers and focus groups with their students took place within the context of a larger research project that investigated how elements of the Cypriot music curriculum were interpreted and applied by teachers and how this pedagogy in turn influenced students’ motivation. Interviews were carried out with eight music teachers. Differentiation, as understood and implemented by these Cypriot music teachers, differed in fundamental ways to differentiation as conceptualised in academic literature concerned with this concept. These findings may serve as a point of reflection for future professional development in Cyprus relating to differentiation and its implementation.