Exploring the Value of Piano Pedagogy Methods in China’s Educational Landscape

Research Advisors: Dr. Darryl Edwards and Dr. Asher Armstrong

Introduction

In China, the gaokao, a national college entrance exam, filters and ranks post-secondary admissions for more than 8 million students every year (Davey et al., 2007). How well a student scores influences the quality of education they can receive and career opportunities in the future (Davey et al., 2007). While this exam occurs at the end of high school, its structure is replicated at the middle to high school level: greater exam results for middle school students grant access into more prestigious, competitive high schools. From 2008 to 2018, the zhongkao, which is the high school entrance exam, awarded bonus points for students with level 10 piano certification (Xinyu, 2021). This led to a surge in piano students, with the piano industry selling around 400 000 units from 2017-2020 (Zijin, 2024). These bonus points were later removed after it was criticised for undermining the meritocratic ideal of these entrance exams at both the local and national level (Xinyu, 2021). Even more striking was that applying as a prospective university art student was seen as a “shortcut” to better universities due to a lower score needed on the gaokao (Xinyu, 2021). However, China amended this ‘loophole’ in 2021, requiring art students to have the same gaokao scores as non-art students (Xinyu, 2021). Under these educational reforms, the social demand of music education has fluctuated based on its ability to further a student’s success within the entrance exam system. 

With the revision of the zhongkao and gaokao policy, the piano industry has suffered. Across China, piano studios are shutting down and manufacturers are losing money due to inventory not selling (Zijin, 2024). As such, music educators and business owners are seeking to find solutions to increase the social demand for piano against the academic interests in a student's life. Conflicting narratives that work against music education are often ignored or treated as a problem that cannot be addressed by music educators (Westerlund, 2008). To facilitate effective music education, there is a need to adopt the perspective of the learner’s experience (Westerlund, 2008). By bringing attention to the environments that a student pursues music in can help educators find the appropriate tools to create the conditions for students to pursue a life-long interest in music over a fleeting one (Bogdan & Biklen, 2006). 

While existing literature on Chinese music education has explored the structural dynamics of Gaokao and Yikao, most studies focus on institutional outcomes, policy shifts, or large-scale enrollment patterns. Far fewer have examined how students and teachers personally navigate these high-stakes systems, or how meaning is formed—and fractured—through their lived experiences within them. Drawing on John Dewey’s theory of valuation and the means-ends continuum, this research frames learning as a process in which value is constructed through action and reflection, rather than derived from fixed outcomes. However, Dewey’s processual lens alone cannot fully account for why individuals often remain emotionally invested in educational pathways that no longer feel meaningful. Žižek’s theory of fantasy adds a critical dimension by illuminating how students and teachers may internalize external expectations—such as appearing successful, devoted, or competent in the eyes of others—and build identities around imagined perceptions. By combining these perspectives, this study aims to investigate not only what participants experience, but how they make sense of those experiences under social and institutional pressures to aid music education reform. 

Research Objectives & Questions

Figure 1. Primary Research Objectives and Relevant Secondary Questions 

1. How do music students and teachers describe the original goals or motivations that led them to pursue music education, and how have those aims evolved over time?
2. How do students and teachers perceive the expectations of others (e.g., family, institutions, society), and how do these perceived expectations influence their self-concept and educational choices? 
3. In what ways do participants describe moments of meaning, conflict, or disconnection in their music learning or teaching, and how do they interpret the value of those experiences?
4. How do institutional structures such as the gaokao influence the design and delivery of music education, and how do participants experience or respond to these structures?
5. How do students and teachers imagine the future role of music in their lives, and how do past educational experiences shape or challenge those future visions?

Background 

Background will be split into three categories: specific literature and references will be further developed once literature review has begun. Topics for exploration are listed below. 

Figure 2. Literature Review Exploration Topics 

Methodology

The research process for this project will follow three stages: literature review, qualitative interviews and observations and data analysis and transcription. 

Stage 1: Literature Review

Utilizing the theoretical frameworks outlined previously, a comprehensive literature review will be conducted prior to travel. The following chart is based off of “Doing Case Study Research” (Hancock and Alogizzine, 2008). 

Figure 2. Literature Review Stages

Stage 2: Case-Study Qualitative Methodology 

This project relies on qualitative research methods, specifically a case-study methodology based off of a sociological framework that focuses on social relationships, social institutions development and interaction with an organized group of individuals. It will utilize an explanatory, instrumental case study research design, exploring cause-and-effect relationships to determine how social attitudes, beliefs and piano pedagogical construction of students, teachers and parents connect to the theoretical frameworks that underpins the research project. Research methodology will involve qualitative interviews for all research questions along with naturalistic observations to supplement data collections for the second question. 

Figure 3. Typical and Atypical Cases 

Qualitative interviews will follow a semi-structured methodology using a pragmatic means of sampling based on voluntary participation and availability of students/professors due to the short timeline. Prior to sampling, information leaflets and consent forms should be prepared in conjunction with REB approval sought as well as inquiry into REB approval at the East China Normal University. 

Stage 3: Data Analysis and Transcription

Data analysis and interpretation will be an encoding process of segregating words, themes, concepts, characters and items and ascribing meaning to these respective categories. This methodology is still subject to greater exploration once data is collected after stage 2. 

References

Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2006). Qualitative Research in Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. Allyn & Bacon.

Burkhoff A. (2015). One exam determines one’s life: The 2014 reforms to the Chinese national College entrance exam. Fordham International Law Journal, 38, 1473–1510.

Davey G., Lian C. D., Higgins L. (2007). The university entrance examination system in China. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 31, 385–396. https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.1080/03098770701625761

Westerlund, H. (2008). Justifying Music Education: A View from Here-and-Now Value Experience. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 16(1), 79–95. https://doi.org/10.2979/pme.2008.16.1.79

Xinyu, D. (2021, September). China to Revoke ‘Gaokao’ Privilege for Students With Special Talents #SixthTone. ‌https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008596

Zijin, Y. (2024, February). Has China’s Piano Craze Played Itself Out? #SixthTone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1014703