An Inquiry-Driven Music Programme That Scales From Kindergarten to Diploma
At AOBA Japan International School (Japan), music learning is shaped by inquiry, student agency, and a belief that practical music-making should be accessible from the earliest years through to senior study. As an IB continuum school, AOBA provides a compulsory music programme from K–6 and elective music from Years 7–12, aligning naturally with an approach that values student voice, reflection, and authentic creative work.
PYP Music Teacher Sean Tait has been using Musical Futures with students and has actively shared the framework with colleagues across Kinder, MYP, and DP. This has generated significant interest within the school, with a growing push to incorporate Musical Futures principles across all stages of learning, not as a set of isolated activities, but as a coherent approach.
For Sean, Musical Futures provided something rare: a collection of already-prepared learning experiences that closely matched the kind of teaching he was designing, and in many cases strengthened it. The framework’s emphasis on learner-driven decision-making, values-based practice, and reflective learning meshes with his own approach and has become a cornerstone of his teaching.
Check out this interview with Sean about his experience with Musical Futures:
The wider ambition is clear. AOBA is working towards using Musical Futures from K to 12, recognising that the principles are developmentally flexible and culturally portable. In an inquiry-driven environment, Musical Futures supports students not just to participate in music, but to ask questions, make choices, collaborate, and develop ownership over their musical identities.
AOBA Japan International School’s Champion School story is one of alignment: when a framework designed for practical, inclusive music-making meets a school culture built on agency and inquiry, it becomes more than a resource. It becomes a shared language for music learning across an entire continuum.