Music education beyond technique: Cultural memory and intercultural pedagogy

This article explores how pre-service and in-service teachers in Albania perceive and integrate folk music within teacher education, rethinking music pedagogy through the lenses of cultural memory and intercultural practice. Adopting a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, data were collected via an online questionnaire that combined quantitative Likert-scale items with open-ended qualitative responses. A purposive sample of 100 participants (predominantly women; age clusters 18–28 and 38–48; enrolled in Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes or active in primary and secondary schools) contributed to the study. Descriptive statistics highlighted a strong recognition of the pedagogical value of folk music, with more than 90% of participants affirming its educational relevance, though confidence levels differed between Bachelor’s and Master’s students. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses identified fourinterrelated themes: (a) folk music as cultural validation and transmission, (b) identity and belonging, (c) participation and creativity, and (d) systemic barriers such as limited resources and hierarchies of repertoires. Joint interpretation revealed alignment between quantitative patterns and qualitative narratives, yet also underscored tensions between policy frameworks and classroom realities. The findings suggest that integrating folk repertoires in teacher education can foster culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, strengthen teacher identity, and support intercultural learning. Implications include the need for teacher education modules, community partnerships, accessible resources, and professional development to bridge gaps between tradition, pedagogy, and contemporary educational demands.