WESTERN MUSIC EDUCATION SYSTEMS IN TEACHING STUDENTS OF CHINESE MUSIC UNIVERSITIES

The article examines the problem of mastering Western music education systems in the training of future music teachers at pedagogical universities in China. The relevance of the study is due to the contradiction between the declared goal in China’s state educational standards — to actively use foreign experience — and its insufficient implementation in the actual classroom practice. Drawing on the syllabi of the course “Western Music Education Systems” at four universities ‒ Zhaoqing University, Beijing Normal University, Capital Normal University, and Henan University ‒ a comparative analysis was conducted across five parameters: course volume, range of systems covered, teaching methods, assessment formats, and the share of practical classes. The empirical base is supplemented by a questionnaire survey of 750 students (712 valid responses) aimed at identifying students’ attitudes toward the content and structure of the discipline. The analysis focuses on the systems of C. Orff, Z. Kodály, E. Jaques-Dalcroze, S. Suzuki, and D. B. Kabalevsky, included in the syllabus, their didactic potential, and the significance of each for training future school music teachers. It was found that lecture-based formats dominate (42-67% of classroom hours), while practical music-making is marginal; 64.3% of respondents rate the practical component as insufficient. The methodological framework includes comparativepedagogical analysis, content analysis with independent dual coding (κ = 0.87), and statistical processing of survey data. The following directions for modernizing the course are proposed: increasing practical work, introducing a module for independent methodological design, and strengthening the comparative component. Based on the research results, the main directions for updating the disciplines within which Chinese students master Western systems of music education have been identified, namely: to increase the number of hours for practical training, to assign a number of topics for independent study, to find ways to integrate Western systems with the national musical‑pedagogical tradition, and to introduce assignments in which students themselves develop methodological materials. The research results can be applied in the design and adjustment of curricula for music‑pedagogical disciplines in Chinese universities.

western music education systems, pedagogical universities of China, course syllabus, professional musicpedagogical training, modernization of music-pedagogical education, comparative pedagogy, educational borrowing, curriculum, practical music-making, student questionnaire survey, adaptation of western methodologies

Chang Ruoling. Western music education systems in teaching students of Chinese music universities. Biznes. Obrazovanie. Pravo = Business. Education. Law. 2026;3(76):594—599. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2026.76.1716.