Digital competencies of music teachers under the ‘new normal’ in Hong Kong

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to education systems around the world, resulting in a ‘new normal’ for school music education in which teaching and learning can no longer rely only on conventional classroom practices. Concerns have also been raised over music teachers’ digital competencies, given the perceived importance of the use of technology within the new educational landscape. This article presents the results of a study that examined the challenges and experiences associated with the digital competencies of music teachers during the pandemic period. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with full-time music teachers (N = 18), all of whom taught music as a subject at mainstream primary or secondary schools in Hong Kong. The findings revealed challenges and upskilling of music teachers during the lockdown period, including the technological constraints imposed by the school and the online environment, how they made use of technology to teach music online, and the different ways they developed their digital competencies. Alongside with the catalyst effect of the pandemic that stimulated their upskilling, curriculum changes in teacher training programmes are necessary to better prepare music teachers for the digital transformation of music education and future challenges under the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ situation. 新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)對全球教育系統造成衝擊，導致學校的音樂教育進入了一種「新常態」，令教學不能只依賴傳統的面授課堂。鑒於「新常態」下的教學非常倚重科技的運用，音樂教師的數碼技能尤為重要。本研究旨在考察音樂教師在疫情期間運用數碼技能的經驗及其所面臨的挑戰，對18名在香港主流小學或中學教授音樂課程的全職教師進行了半結構化訪談，調查結果顯示在實施新冠肺炎封鎖措施期間音樂教師所面臨的挑戰和技能提升，包括線上教學環境及學校面授課堂的限制，科技的運用，以及他們學習數碼技能的方法。除了疫情的推動之外，課程改革及教師培訓也是必要的，以便音樂教師在數位化音樂教育和後疫情「新常態」下的未來挑戰做準備。