Music Education Policies of Northern Cyprus

Abstract

This research is a descriptive study aiming to examine the music education policies of North Cyprus in accordance with the documents determining the music education policy. In the research, the general purpose of North Cyprus regarding education, the general structure of the education system, council decisions of the Ministry of Education, government programs and the activity reports of the Ministry of Education, since 1982, were examined and put forward in connection with the existing music education in North Cyprus. The research was conducted by using descriptive analysis, one of the qualitative research methods. However, it was not possible to reach any resources related with the four council meetings held between the years 1982 and 1985, therefore, the research was limited between the years 1995-2015. The findings obtained were sorted in relation with music, music education, and art and culture concepts, then associated with the activity reports and council decisions of Ministry of Education and education programs of the government of the period. The study results revealed that, no expressions on music, music lessons or, culture and art were took place in the council decisions taken between the years 1995-2005, however it is also seen that the council meetings held and some of the decisions taken in 2014 were a little more comprehensive. Furthermore, in the activity reports of Ministry of Education, it is seen that there are conceptualized music-related articles, however, most of them are not realized and/or sufficient.
Keywords: Music, Music Education, Activity Reports, Government Decisions