Historical development of singing instruction in primary schools in Serbia from 1918 to 1941: Normative and methodological frameworks

This paper examines the development of the normative and methodological frameworks for singing instruction in primary schools in Serbia between 1918 and 1941. It focuses on the relationship between the prescribed status, aims, and content of the subject and the teaching procedures recommended in methodological and textbook publications. The aim is to identify continuities and changes in lesson allocation, educational aims, repertoire, music literacy, part-singing, and methodological principles. The purposively constructed, non-exhaustive corpus comprises sixteen sources published between 1920 and 1940: eight normative and curricular documents, six pedagogical, methodological, and textbook publications, and two sources related to teaching practice. Additional curricular arrangements reconstructed from secondary literature are used only to supplement the chronology. The central comparative corpus consists of the 1926 teaching plan and the accompanying 1927 curriculum, together with the 1933 teaching plan and curriculum. Historical-pedagogical and comparative analyses, together with qualitative content analysis, are used to contextualise the sources, identify continuities and changes, and compare formulations relating to aims, content, and recommended teaching procedures. The findings indicate continuity in the compulsory status of singing instruction, but not in its weekly allocation. The 1920 curricular arrangement provided two lessons per week, whereas the 1926 plan reduced the allocation to two half-hour periods, equivalent to one lesson per week, which was retained in 1933. The 1933 curriculum therefore represented continuity with the 1926/27 model rather than a break. Vocal and aural development, folk repertoire, gradual progression, and the educational function of song remained central. Changes concerned the organisation of teaching time, a more precise articulation of aesthetic, patriotic, and broader educational aims, and a more explicit emphasis on cross-curricular links. Music literacy and part-singing were formulated differently: the 1927 curriculum referred to the recognition and graphic representation of musical tones and to two-part singing, whereas the 1933 curriculum introduced basic concepts of notation and scale and used the more general term part-singing. These formulations alone do not establish that the 1933 requirement was substantively broader. The 1938 draft curriculum strengthened cross-curricular integration, a tendency also evident in the unimplemented 1940 curriculum. The methodological publications recommended different approaches to singing instruction rather than merely elaborating previously established curricular requirements, since some of them predated the 1927 and 1933 curricula that form the core of the analysis. Some authors emphasised the general organisation of the teaching process, listening, and holistic learning of songs, while others focused more closely on rhythm, melody, notation, and part-singing. Similarities between the normative and methodological discourses are reflected in their shared emphasis on gradual progression, age-appropriate song selection, understanding of song texts, cross-curricular links, and the transition from singing by ear to notation-based singing. The two sources offering observations on teaching practice suggest possible difficulties in implementing normative and methodological expectations, but do not support broader generalisations. By examining normative and methodological sources together, the paper distinguishes continuity in the compulsory status of singing instruction from changes in its weekly allocation and clarifies the continuities and shifts in its aims, content, and recommended teaching procedures.