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David Wade (1942-2012) - Choral Conductor, School Music Teacher and Kodály Music Education Practitioner
David Wade’s belief in the effectiveness of this classroom music method was demonstrated in a Research Paper entitled “Approaches of Music  Educators to Kodály-based Music Education in the Australian Context” which he completed in 1996 as part of his Master of Education degree from  Deakin University.  This research paper is not only a fine piece of scholarship but also represents a significant contribution to music education  research which has on-going significance for Kodály-based classroom music teaching in Australia. Please see the abstract of this research paper  below. To access a PDF copy of this research paper, click on the following icon: 
Wade, D., “Approaches of Music Educators to Kodály-based Music Education in the Australian Context”, MEd Professional Research Project, Faculty of Education, Deakin University, 1996. In undertaking this research study, it was hoped that further information would be obtained, together with further insights into the reasons underlying particular courses of action adopted by practitioners of music education in the chosen (not random) sample. The participants were selected for their experience with regard to the Developmental Music Programme (Kodály based) of Deanna Hoermann. The study is placed in its historical context by a discussion of the origins of Kodály's philosophy of music education and the pre-reformation state of music education in Hungary. The research problem is then considered. The focus shifts to Australia, for one aspect of the research question is the need to discover the effect of a foreign culture's system of music education upon an English-speaking society, such as that of Australia. The desire to discover the extent and manner of modification, its underlying motives, and its resultant value in comparison with Kodály's Hungarian original, was a driving force of the inquiry. The research methodology, 'qualitative research' is considered and its suitability for the purpose of the inquiry discussed, including a review of the methodological literature. Case study is employed as the research vehicle, but with the difference that here the participant is not the 'case' to be studied, but rather the particular approach to Kodály-based developmental music education. One medium for the gathering of data was the questionnaire, another was the interview and the third the non-participant observation of class music lessons. The participants consisted of two Kodály experts and four Kodály practitioners. All were interviewed separately, one set of questions being directed to the experts and another to the practitioners. The experts' areas of agreement formed the basis of the questions later included in the practitioners' questionnaire. Non-participant observation of class music lessons was used still later to locate areas of teaching practice apparently at variance with answers supplied in the questionnaire. It was seen to be of importance that the study should have a foundation in music educational research already published. To this end the substantive literature was consulted and any area relating to the present inquiry noted. This literature considered Kodály's educational beliefs and the influences upon his professional development, and in addition tabled descriptions of experiments in music education in which the Kodály approach was examined, both in isolation and in comparison with other music systems. Two chapters are devoted to the description of the collection, presentation and discussion of data from the Kodály experts and the Kodály practitioners, one chapter for each group. Included are the formulation of questions, the format of interviews, the method of data analysis and the comparison of responses, among others. These two chapters carry the main body of detail in the research, the data being examined both by topic and by question. The final chapter seeks to draw conclusions from the data in order to establish a realistic and reliable impression of the current state of the Kodály approach to music education in one area of Victoria. On a personal level it seeks to document the beliefs of Kodály music educators, as set beside those of Kodály, so that insights may be gained into their activity in music education, not only regarding their thoughts and actions, but more significantly, the convictions which daily direct their professional lives. From the conclusions, certain recommendations are made by the researcher. These fall into two categories: recommendations for changes in approach to the task of music education among Kodály music practitioners, their employers and the parent body in schools, and recommendations for further research into topics of interest brought to mind by the present inquiry, but lying outside its scope. Research