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Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town

The study examines how piano teachers employed at Quintile 5 public high schools in Cape Town adjusted to conducting online piano lessons during the COVID-19 restrictions on face-to-face teaching. Following the announcement of a national lockdown, schools in South Africa had to transition rapidly to...

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Main Author: Kim, Gyu Min
Other Authors: Kruger, Esthea
Format: Thesis
Language:Eng
Published: College of Music 2025
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access_status_str Open Access
author Kim, Gyu Min
author2 Kruger, Esthea
author_browse Kim, Gyu Min
Kruger, Esthea
author_facet Kruger, Esthea
Kim, Gyu Min
author_sort Kim, Gyu Min
collection Thesis
description The study examines how piano teachers employed at Quintile 5 public high schools in Cape Town adjusted to conducting online piano lessons during the COVID-19 restrictions on face-to-face teaching. Following the announcement of a national lockdown, schools in South Africa had to transition rapidly to online methods of teaching in April 2020, and as a result, many piano teachers had to transform their conventional methods of teaching into online instruction. Very few studies exist on online methods of teaching, especially in the practical instruction of a musical instrument, and even fewer in the South African context. The study aims to address this gap in the literature by focusing on the impact of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, learners, and school environments in Cape Town. At the centre of the study are the personal experiences of piano teachers who taught online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus a qualitative approach was followed. Data was collected via short questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with seven piano teachers from seven different Quintile 5 schools in Cape Town. The data was then analysed with qualitative coding. As theoretical framework, Jack Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory was selected as it posits that, following a disorienting dilemma, individuals can undergo profound changes in their perspectives through critical reflection. This study reveals diverse perspectives on the shift to online teaching among participants, many of whom initially struggled with the transition. Despite facing obstacles, participants proactively improved their online piano lessons through careful planning, involving the parents, setting specific goals, and offering emotional support. Schools also played a pivotal role, offering different support systems, ranging from providing counselling to learning materials. Teachers extended personal help to their learners by maintaining regular communication, an empathetic approach in lessons, and tailored guidance for learners who did not own a proper instrument. Participants still continue to use some of the said methods in face-to-face teaching, which suggests that they transformed their teaching methods on a long-term basis. This research touches on the socio-economic aspect of education, but it fell outside the scope of the study to investigate this in detail. Further research is thus required to fully comprehend the relationship between South African learners' socio-economic status and their academic progress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language Eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:41.376Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41048 Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town Kim, Gyu Min Kruger, Esthea Music The study examines how piano teachers employed at Quintile 5 public high schools in Cape Town adjusted to conducting online piano lessons during the COVID-19 restrictions on face-to-face teaching. Following the announcement of a national lockdown, schools in South Africa had to transition rapidly to online methods of teaching in April 2020, and as a result, many piano teachers had to transform their conventional methods of teaching into online instruction. Very few studies exist on online methods of teaching, especially in the practical instruction of a musical instrument, and even fewer in the South African context. The study aims to address this gap in the literature by focusing on the impact of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, learners, and school environments in Cape Town. At the centre of the study are the personal experiences of piano teachers who taught online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus a qualitative approach was followed. Data was collected via short questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with seven piano teachers from seven different Quintile 5 schools in Cape Town. The data was then analysed with qualitative coding. As theoretical framework, Jack Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory was selected as it posits that, following a disorienting dilemma, individuals can undergo profound changes in their perspectives through critical reflection. This study reveals diverse perspectives on the shift to online teaching among participants, many of whom initially struggled with the transition. Despite facing obstacles, participants proactively improved their online piano lessons through careful planning, involving the parents, setting specific goals, and offering emotional support. Schools also played a pivotal role, offering different support systems, ranging from providing counselling to learning materials. Teachers extended personal help to their learners by maintaining regular communication, an empathetic approach in lessons, and tailored guidance for learners who did not own a proper instrument. Participants still continue to use some of the said methods in face-to-face teaching, which suggests that they transformed their teaching methods on a long-term basis. This research touches on the socio-economic aspect of education, but it fell outside the scope of the study to investigate this in detail. Further research is thus required to fully comprehend the relationship between South African learners' socio-economic status and their academic progress during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2025-02-28T08:07:21Z 2025-02-28T08:07:21Z 2024 2025-02-27T12:14:34Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41048 Eng application/pdf College of Music Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Music
Kim, Gyu Min
Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town
title_full Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town
title_fullStr Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town
title_full_unstemmed Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town
title_short Teachers Perspectives on One-on-One Remote Piano Lessons in Selected High Schools in Cape Town
title_sort teachers perspectives on one on one remote piano lessons in selected high schools in cape town
topic Music
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41048
work_keys_str_mv AT kimgyumin teachersperspectivesononeononeremotepianolessonsinselectedhighschoolsincapetown