Abstract:
The objective of this study was to evaluate and study the effectiveness of the
education system in music theory courses that take place at the music faculty in
Thaksin University. In the hypothesis, the study samples were taken from the
committee chairman, who is in charge of the curriculum, teachers from the course
itself, retired lecturers from the course, and students that are currently studying the
degree program, ranging between the first and the fourth year. The method used for
gathering data was in the form of a questionnaire.
The results of the study were as follows; the music theory courses were largely
isolated from each other and much of the same subject content was repeated in many
courses and therefore the range of courses could be shortened to 1-4, also the data
suggested that more emphasis should be put on Ear-training. The method used by the
lecturers were as follow; discussing topics, classic style and demonstrating techniques
to the students, giving exercise to complete, and pre-examination testing and
organizing students into big groups. There were suitable classrooms for students to
study in, but there was not enough educational media or equipment, or textbooks. The
students use lecture note from narration and copying exercises from the teacher. The
grading and evaluation system was evaluated by examination of returned homework,
the period of evaluation was over a mid-term testing period, finals and evaluation. The
same curriculum has been used since 1996 and no improvements have been made.
Students have differing background knowledge of the subjects. Also the students
thought that the educational equipment and media available was not modern enough.