132 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 INTEGRATING CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN TEACHING MUSIC FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACQUISITION OF UNITY SCHOOL STUDENTS’IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA. Scholastica Ifeoma Ezugwu Department of Arts Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka scholastica.ezegwu@unn.edu.ng Abstract This study examined the impact of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South-East Nigeria. One research question guided the study. A survey research design was used for the purpose of the study. The sample of the study was all the 30 cultural and creative arts teachers hence; no sampling technique was adopted by the researcher for the teachers while purposive sampling was adopted for selecting 60 students. A 16-item statements/questionnaire were used to collect data from the respondents(teachers) and ‘Focus group discussion on Cultural Music (FGDOCM)’’for students. The instrument was validated by two experts in Department of music, another expert in cultural and creative arts in Department of Arts Education and one expert in Measurement and Evaluation all from Faculty of Education University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The instrument yielded the following reliability estimates of 0.84 using Cronbach Alpha method. The result was analyzed using mean scores and content analysis. The result revealed that integrating cultural elements in teaching of music has a lot of benefits like helping students to develop life coping skill, embrace cultural diversity, improve creative engagement in music and music related field among others. It was recommended among others that cultural and creative arts teachers of Unity Schools in South-East Nigeria should be exposed to sensitization programmes through conferences, workshops, seminars on the need for integrating cultural elements in teaching music. Keywords: Music, cultural elements, integration, students acquisition, entrepreneurship skills. Introduction Education has been of great importance to nations aspiring for growth and development. This is attributed to its roles in enhancing national development in the areas of political, economic, religious, and socio-cultural aspects of life of the people. According to Ogbonnaya (2017), education is seen as pivot where all the developmental efforts of nations revolves. In line with the above, Obanye (2017) observes that, education is the process whereby individuals acquire the requisite knowledge, and skills which enable them to be useful to themselves and the society in general. Ugbor & Ugbor (2018) explain education as, the hub of individuals and nations development as, it enables them to acquire basic knowledge, skills, right values, belief system, and attitudes which enable them to be functional members of the society. From all these definitions, education plays a key role to individuals’ and national development. The Federal Republic of Nigeria in her National Policy on Education observes that, education is an instrument per excellence for national development (FRN, 2014). The Policy further states that, education enables citizens of Nigeria to live in Unity and harmony as one indissoluble, democratic, and sovereign nation founded on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, among others (FRN, 2014). The above implies that, education enables individuals to live in harmony, despite the diversities 133 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 in economic, political, religious, and socio-cultural aspects through the acquisition of knowledge, values, skills, right attitudes and values to be useful to themselves and the society at large. A nation cannot be developed if there is no Unity amongst its people, thus the need to use certain agents in achieving that, music is one of those agent. Music is a magnetic agent that draws people together, creates room for the sense of brotherhood and instills the sense of belonging and collective responsibility. Music is a means of communication, which encompasses a non-verbal and verbal means of communication. Music is a universal medium of expressing the deepest feelings and aspirations that belong to all humanity, and therefore it is used as a communication event between cultures (Ducan, 2018). It is imperative to know that, music exists in every human society and is fundamental to the nature of man/woman, and as well functions in the context of the personal and world view of each culture of the society. Music as a subject of study in Nigerian Schools existed since 1842 through the introduction of missionary Schools (Adeogun, 2018). Adeogun further states that the current state of studying music takes off from the Nigerian National Policy on Education (1981), which states that ‘’ the Federal Government, realizing the importance of arts and culture in the development of science and technology has, given Arts and Cultural Education its legitimate right in the nation’s educational system at all levels, with their educational goals clearly stipulated”. Thus, music is being taught as a component of cultural and creative art subject in Secondary Schools today, together with arts, crafts, and drama. Music as a component of cultural and creative arts, has its curriculum focused on harmony and counterpoint, aural training, history and literature of music and performance, in which students develop their careers and function well in the society. Elendu (2017) views music as a component of cultural and creative arts, and a research area in which scholars investigate ways of teaching and learning music. In support of the above, Devika (2019) asserts that music as a component of cultural and creative arts, is also seen as the process of preparing dedicated individuals/students for positions of leadership so as to give vitality and priority to a society’s musical life. It encompasses the study of music to be in command of musical thoughts, values, tastes, practices, and wisdom not only of one’s society but also of others’ and to interpret such from one’s own perspective (Adeogun, 2018). Music helps students to develop important personal skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, strengthens perseverance, engagement, persistence, enhances fine motor skills, emotional well-being of students and learning how to work cooperatively toward shared goals (Bell, 2019). With respect to facilitating student academic achievement, Bell asserts that music, as part of a School subject, helps to: prepare the brain for achievement, fosters superior working memory, improves recall and retention of verbal information, sharpens student attentiveness, supports better study habits, advances achievement in other subjects like mathematics, and boosts reading and English language arts (ELA) skills. Music as component of cultural and creative arts subject does not exist in isolation in the music classroom, it is influenced by integrating trends in general education, society, culture, and politics. Culture is the patterns of learned and shared behaviour and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic, or age group (Oji, 2016). Culture is seen as an accumulation of elements produced, or integrated and possibly adapted by a cultural group. Cultural elements are therefore those features that explain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching 134 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 cultures from the standpoint of what is common across all cultures. Many components of cultural elements like value, norms, rituals, architecture, food, language, taboos, music, symbols, holidays, clothing, dance, arts and creative, festivals, artifacts, ideology, traditions among others, however, the present researcher will explain culture through a set of main components namely: values and beliefs, norms, symbols, language, and cognitive components. Values are very important element of culture and involve judgments of what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. A culture’s values shape its norms. Values are deeply embedded and critical for transmitting and teaching a culture’ beliefs. Beliefs therefore are the tenets or convictions that people hold to be true. Individuals in a society have specific beliefs, but they also share collective values. Therefore, values are the consistent, unwavering beliefs of a society over time. Norms are very important element of a culture as it concerns the formal and informal rules and regulations regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a culture or in a society. Norms are aspects of culture that humans live by, standards set up to tell one right from wrong and expectations for behaving. Social norms are the perceived informal, mostly unwritten and codified rules of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that define acceptable and appropriate actions within a given group or community, thus guiding human (Sonia, 2019). Language is the most basic and most important element in a culture because it is used as a medium of communication in the society. It can also serve as an identity of a given society in particular or nation in general. Every culture has a particular language which is passed by the persons belonging to that particular culture to the next generation and the following generation also has to learn the language. Language makes effective social interaction possible and influences how people conceive of concepts and objects. Language thus influences how we understand the world around us. Many aspects of culture depend upon how people within that culture communicate with one another. In terms of culture, language depends on what type of language is used in that speech community. A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different concepts and experiences (Oji, 2016). Symbols are significant because of their meanings. Probably all societies have nonverbal symbols we call gestures, movements of the hands, arms, or other parts of the body that are meant to convey certain ideas or emotions. However, the same gesture can mean one thing in one society and something quite different in another society like shaking of hands, wearing of cap. Cognitive components are the element of culture which deals with the management of difficult times or natural calamities. Cognitive components of culture are those through which an individual learn how to cope with an existing situation whether natural or social (Sonia, 2019). So cognitive elements are otherwise known as life coping skills. These skills and qualities are learned by children and taught to them by the parents, teachers, for them to adapt to any situations. These cognitive components include patience, hard work, honesty, humility among others. From the above discussion it is important to note that these cultural elements are supposed to be transmitted from one generation to another, and the process is to ensure continuity of traditions within a group of people, thus the need for music teachers to integrate the language, value, norms, symbols, ritual, tradition, ideology, arts and creativity, custom in the teaching of music. If these 135 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 cultural elements are integrated in the teaching of music, this will not only help students to use the knowledge to add vibrancy to communities, engaging the brain, strengthening the sense of belonging and connection with others but equip them in using their talents to reflects a society’s history, values, conventions and attitude. The goals of integrating cultural elements in the teaching of music are to widen the scope through which students see and hear music and examine the universal qualities cultures share through music (Finma, 2015). Kennedy asserted that teaching music from cultural perspectives will x-ray learning experiences, thus the need for integrating cultural elements. These learning experiences in the arts include aesthetic experiences, creative engagement, and development of skills of expressive participation, as well as acquisition of knowledge and skills related to specific arts. In support of the above, Babiner (2020) believe that art experiences are unique learning experiences because they combine sensory perception, the affective domain, and the kinesthetic domain with the cognitive domain. This helps to provide opportunities for learning that involve the whole person, and context for making wide-ranging and personal connection s. Thus, the present researcher wants to find out the benefits of integrating cultural elements in the teaching of music in schools. Statement of Problem Music as a component of cultural and creative arts subject is the extension of pedagogical and training practices to be in command of musical thoughts, values, tastes, practices, and wisdom not only of one’s society but also of others’ and to interpret such from one’s own perspective. However, it has been observed that music as subject of study has been known to occupy a lowly position in school curriculum and also considered to be unworthy of serious academic study, since imposition of Western education in the 19thcentury. Inheriting this notion has led to the gradual decadence of music in Nigerian schools which is evidenced in the merging of music, fine arts and drama under cultural and creative arts as one subject in school today, instead of teaching music separately as a subject of its own. It has also been observed that there is erosion of cultural perspective in the teaching of music in School. Thus music teaching in School today is not certain if it is culturally oriented, as teachers mostly use Western musical framework which has a greater emphasis on Western theory, belief, notation among others, while indigenous music and arts which are deeply rooted in culture continue to be a rare occurrence. Based on the current teaching, the respect, zeal and necessary skills for indigenous African musical systems and tradition diminished and the Western musical system increased, which is not in conformity with 21st century teaching. It has been also noted that music has been faced with a long-standing predicament in content, teaching method and skills. This is evidenced in poor academic achievement of Junior Secondary School students in music in universal basic education examination (2017 – 2019) (Source: Federal Ministry of Education (Basic and Secondary Education Department, Abuja) and also in young Nigerian musician who anchored their songs from classical Western music, which most of them is considered corruptive both musically and morally. Thus, teaching music as a component of cultural and creative arts is essential since music is considered a fundamental component of human culture and , thus the need to teach music from cultural perspective. Purpose of the Study The main purpose of this study was the need for integration of cultural elements in the teaching of music for entrepreneurship skill acquisition in Unity Schools in South-East Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_behavior 136 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 1. Find out the benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South-East Nigeria. Research Question The following research question guided the study: 1. What are the benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South-East Nigeria? Methodology The research design employed for the study was descriptive survey which involves obtaining information from respondents based on the responses from a section of respondents which represent the entire population used for the study. According to Nworgu (2006) when a survey centers on describing some variables in relation of a given population, the descriptive survey research design is the most appropriate. The area of the study was all the Unity Schools in South- East of Nigeria. The population of the study was all the cultural and creative arts teachers and students. The sample of the study consisted of 30 cultural and creative arts teachers and 120 students drawn through purposive sampling technique. A 16 items questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents and focused group discussion conducted. The instrument was structured on a 4-points likert type scale on which the respondents reacted to. The items in the questionnaire were weighted as a follows: Strongly Agree (SA)-4 points, Agree (A)- 3 points, Disagree (D) -2 points and Strongly Disagree (SD) -1point. The criterion mean of acceptance is 2.50. The instrument was face validated by two senior lectures in cultural and creative arts and music department and one in measurement and evaluation, all from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The Cronbach Alpha, Co-efficient method was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. It yielded a co-efficient of 0.90. A total of 16 copies of the instrument were administered and retrieved and focused group discussion conducted. The data was analyzed using mean scores, while content analysis was used for focus group discussion. Any item statement with mean rating of 2.50 and above was accepted value while item statement with a mean rating less than 2.50 was rejected. Results The results of the data collected from the study are presented in table 1 according to the research question. 1. Research Question: What are the benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for acquiring entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria? Table 1: Means and standard deviation response of male and female teachers on the benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for acquiring entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria. S/N Item 𝐗i SD2 𝐗2 SD2 𝐗3 Dec. 1. It encourages students to embrace cultural diversity. 3.18 .60 2.95 .62 3.03 .61 A 2. It helps in development of multicultural awareness. 2.82 .60 3.05 .71 2.97 .67 A 3. It helps in developing life coping skills/cognitive elements. 3.36 .67 2.84 .76 3.03 .76 A 137 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 4. It does not foster aesthetic experiences. 3.18 .75 3.32 .95 3.27 .87 A 5. It improves creative engagement. 3.09 .83 2.68 1.00 2.83 .95 A 6. It helps in development of tolerance. 3.73 .47 3.47 .70 3.57 .63 SA 7. It gives students opportunities to develop musical concepts from their cultural values and norms. 3.00 .89 3.00 .75 3.00 .79 A 8. It helps students to develop critical thinking skills. 3.00 .63 3.11 .74 3.07 .69 A 9. It also helps students to develop a more sensitive perception of presenting musical elements with symbols and beliefs. 3.27 .79 2.79 .79 2.97 .81 A 10. It exposes students in identifying differences as well as commonalities in cultures and conventions. 2.36 .67 2.89 .74 2.70 .75 A 11. It plays important roles in the construction of one’s’ identities. 2.73 .65 3.32 .82 3.10 .80 A 12. It helps in improving the language skills of the child. 2.91 .94 3.00 .88 2.97 .89 A 13. It does not widen students’ knowledge in reflecting society’s history and attitude. 3.27 .79 2.63 .83 2.87 .86 A 14. It also improves the students’ oral communication. 2.81 .87 3.05 .78 2.97 .81 A 15. It helps to perfect the child’s indigenous language. 2.91 .83 2.89 .99 2.90 .92 A 16. It enables the child to express his creative self with ease. 3.00 .63 3.11 .57 3.07 .56 A Cluster A 3.03 .05. 3.01 .06 3.02 .06 A KEY: X̅1 = Mean for male SD1 = Standard deviation for male X̅2 = Mean for female SD2 = Standard deviation for female X̅3 = Total mean SD3 = Standard deviation for female The result presented in table 1 shows the mean scores and standard deviations on the benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for acquiring entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria. Table 1 indicates that items 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 had overall mean scores of 3.03, 2.97, 3.03, 3.27, 2.83, 3.00, 3.07, 2.97, 2.70, 3.10, 2.97, 2.87,2.97, 2.90 and 3.07 with standard deviations of .61, .67, .76, .87, .95, .79, .69, .81, .75, .80, .89, .86, .81, .92, and .58 for male and female teachers. The mean scores fall under the decision of agree based on the real limit of numbers. On the other hand, items 6 has means score of 3.57 with standard deviation of .63 which fall under the decision of Strongly Agree based on the real limit of numbers. The cluster mean is 3.02 with the standard deviation of .06 which fall under the decision of agree using the real limit of numbers. This indicates that the items are all benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for acquiring entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South-East, Nigeria. 76 138 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 The researcher had discussion with the students to find out the benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for acquiring entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria. The researcher found out the following: During the discussion, the students mentioned many prominent cultural music from their areas that contain cultural elements like Nkwa Ụmụagbọghọ music of Afikpo, Atịlịọgwụ music of Ezeagu, Ikorodo music of Nsukka, Apala music, Fuji, Folk music, Waka, Bata and Gelede music of Yoruba tribes. However, one of the students stated that the cultural music in her place Imo state, known as Abịigbo music of Mbaise, contains a lot of these cultural elements. The students stated that Abịigbo/Agbacha ekuru music of Mbaise contain certain language that is used for advice and one that is used for criticizing people of bad character, and highlight some behavior that are acceptable and appropriate within their culture, like need for purity, developing good moral standard, and respect for elders. Another student from Idemili North emphasized that the moon light music and folktales music in their place does not only equip them with life coping skills but guide and shape their individual personalities and responsibilities. The students further stated that the life coping skills they learn from that music include patience, hard work, determination and critical thinking skill. Discussion The findings of this study revealed that there are lots of benefits of integrating cultural elements in teaching music for acquiring entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria. This shows that integrating cultural elements in teaching music plays a crucial role in students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill as it will help students to embrace cultural diversity, develop multicultural awareness, life coping skills, aesthetic experiences, creative engagement, tolerance, critical thinking skills, among others which are major tools for entrepreneurship acquisition and construction of one’s’ identities. It equally improves the language skills of the child, and give room for a child to express his creative self with ease. The finding is in line with Sonia (2019) who observed that the use of cultural elements in teaching helps students to bring history to life and practicalize learning. Sonia further asserts that establishing culture in the background of teaching and learning of music will influence greatly the way students see the world, understand it and achieve goals. The findings are also in line with that of Lary (2021), who opines that integrating cultural elements in teaching of music will allow students to understand the inner workings of a cultural group and to gain an understanding of how others view themselves musically. However, one will conclude that integrating cultural elements in the teaching of music will encourage the students in the area of developing life coping skills, aesthetic experiences, creative engagement, and expressive participation, as well as acquisition of other knowledge and skills related to music. Conclusions Teaching of music in schools still occupies lowly position in school curriculum in this 21st century due to erosion of cultural perspective in its teaching. However, realizing that each culture has its own musical qualities and appeals, teaching music with cultural perspective and mindset in our music classrooms will allow to deepen students’ knowledge in values, norms and language, of society. This will make them feel for the ways in which music was deeply social, cultural, ideological, political, and 139 Awka Journal of Research in Music and the Arts (AJRMA) Vol 17 June 2024 personal. Therefore, the fundamental value of music from any culture needs to be appreciated by students through teaching, thus the need for integrating cultural elements in teaching music for development of tolerance, life coping skills and creative engagement. Recommendations Based on the forgoing, the researcher recommended as follows: 1. Music teachers should be encouraged to integrate cultural elements in teaching music as it will facilitate students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South- East Nigeria. Seminars, workshop and symposiums should be organized for teachers to ensure they acquire diverse knowledge on cultural music and its elements for the integration of these cultural elements in the teaching of music. 2. Effective techniques are needed for integration of cultural elements in the teaching of music. Music teachers in Unity Schools are advised to adopt appropriate techniques by making use of songs, instruments and resources in integrating cultural elements in teaching music as itwill facilitate students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill. 3. Music teachers in Unity Schools should develop good qualities towards integrating cultural elements in teaching music for students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria. The teachers are advised to embrace diversity and be creative to enable all aspect of their teaching to be organized, articulated and effectively coordinated, while meeting up the immediate needs of difference groups in their music classrooms. 4. Music teachers should try to overcome the challenges they will encounter while integrating cultural elements in teaching music for students’ acquisition of entrepreneurship skill in Unity Schools in South – East, Nigeria. Teachers should therefore try to understand the fundamental knowledge and history of cultural elements, how and where it is related to teaching music. 5. Music teachers should help students to achieve their career. Music teachers are advised to ensure proper integration of cultural elements in teaching of music to equip students in building their career, developing 21st century skills and curbing of unemployment. References Adeleke, M. (2018). Socio-cultural factors as determinants of student participation in music programmes in Kwara state. Music Educators Journal, 13(1), 34-58. Adeogun, A. O. (2018). A historical review of the evolution of music education in Nigeria until the end of the twentieth century. Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa, 15 1- 18. Babiner, K. 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