Music Pedagogy and Grade Four Learners Acquisition of 21st Century Learning Skills in Public Primary Schools of Bungoma County, Kenya

Music is one of the compulsory learning areas introduced in primary schools in Kenya under the Competency-Based Curriculum. It has three strands which are Performance, Creating and composing and Listening, responding and appreciation. This study sought to investigate music pedagogy and Grade Four learners’ acquisition of 21^st Century learning skills in public primary schools in Bungoma County. The specific objectives of the study were: To determine the pedagogies employed by teachers of Music in teaching Music; to determine the effect of Music pedagogy on learners acquisition of communication and collaboration skills; to determine the influence of Music pedagogy on learners development of creativity and critical thinking skills;  to find out  the influence of music pedagogy on learners development of citizenship skill and to determine challenges facing teachers and learners in relation to music instruction. This study was based on Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Theory of cognitive development and Bruner’s Cognitive Development Theory. Respondents were Grade Four learners, Music teachers of Grade Four, head teachers, curriculum support officers and KICD official. The study was based on Descriptive Survey design. The target population was 200 teachers of music, 2000 pupils, 200 head teachers, 10 curriculum support officers (CSOs) and 5 Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) officials. Purposive sampling was employed to sample teachers of music and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development official while stratified sampling was used to sample the representatives of pupils from each school. Simple random sampling was used to sample head teachers and curriculum support officers. A sample of 20 teachers, 300 pupils, 20 head teachers, 2 CSOs and 1 KICD official was used for the study. The research instruments employed were questionnaires, interview schedules and observation guides. Data was descriptively analyzed by use of frequencies and percentages. This was done objective by objective. Data was presented in form of frequency tables and pie charts. As for inferential statistics, regression analysis was done. Findings indicate that singing and dancing are the main activities that learners do to promote communication and collaboration. Learners are not exposed to most activities that promote creativity and critical thinking. Singing of the national anthem and folksongs is the main medium that teachers use to inculcate citizenship skill in Grade Four learners. Challenges include lack of resources and teachers’ inability to handle some music strands. There are gaps that need to be filled. It is recommended that teachers should be retrained in music theory and practice. In addition, the government should fully provide teaching and learning resources. This study is expected to provide data for teachers to gauge their levels of preparation and efficiency in teaching Music. Findings from this study will guide the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to produce relevant materials for Music, the Teachers Service Commission to employ more teachers of Music, Quality assurance and standards officers to sensitize head teachers on the requirements of Music as a learning area and scholars to undertake more research in the area of Music pedagogy in primary schools in Kenya.