Globalisation versus localisation in Australian music and music education

From the designated theme of the conference "Media and Music Education between Culfures" we are discussing aspects of the three sub themes within this paper. Through a consideration of historic trends, we examine the question of an identity and focus in Australian music from local and international perspectives. This question of an Australian identity is also an exploration of music between cultures: the colonial British culture and the developing national culture with the indigenous and folk. In considering the theme of the commission we have looked at curricula from the eight educational authorities in Australia to establish the extent to which Australian music is encouraged and supported within the school system

Art is a place you can go

The arts provide a powerful means for learning and insight about ourselves, others and the world in general. We have endeavoured to show you the importance of the arts and their capacity to engage children in meaningful learning, both from a theoretical perspective and from how theory translates into practice through the case studies and exemplars. In this chapter, we decided to leave you with a collection of quotes and comments as some of the highlights of previous chapters. There didn't seem much point in us providing you with our reflections---the authors have done that throughout the book. Instead, we encourage you to read the following and reflect, alone and in discussion with others

Education in the arts: teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum

There is an increasing trend for primary school teachers to be asked to work across a number of art forms, including drama, art, music, media, technology, photography, dance and performance. Education in the Arts covers all these areas, as well as addressing the issue of being the arts education teacher in the school, rather than an art, music or drama specialist. It is well grounded in theory and research, with links to teaching practice, allowing students to apply what they are learning to new contexts, and encouraging them to become reflective practitioners. Students can continue to use this book as they become practising teachers, drawing on guidance on how to implement the various arts practices in a school setting

Role ambiguity: it's impact on the effectiveness of organisational change

While the literature widely acknowledges the influence of role ambiguity and occupational stress there has been scant recognition of the impact and effect on organisational change. People’s expectations of occupational roles are often derived from their perceptions of how others perceive their role (Scheib, 2003) and these perceptions become more salient when there is a disparity between what the bureaucracy and the practitioners expect from middle management roles. The interactional intricacies that occur in deciphering these perceptions lead to cognitive distortions that result in problems concerning role definition, ambiguity, and conflict. Research acknowledges the integral part of role ambiguity and role conflict in management positions (Elovainio and Kivimaki, 2001) and the literature and occupational climate can be used as a template for the investigation of the problems of educators who find themselves in positions of middle management within state education systems. Many state education systems support or have supported a music position within the administrative centre of education departments. The roles and responsibilities assigned to these positions may vary from state to state but the one thing they do have in common is that they provide a reference point and voice for music in the broader context of education and subsequent policy making and implementation. This paper focusses on issues of role definition, ambiguity and conflict which come about as a result of disparate perceptions of the expectations of these positions held by upper management and classroom practitioners

Australian music: a unique approach in the NSW curriculum

This paper examines the emphasis on Australian music in the music curriculum developed by the Board of Studies, NSW over a number of years. It investigates the historical roots of the search for an "Australian" identity in music and examines possible links between this development and the inclusion of Australian music in the State's music curricula throughout the period 1954 to 2002. The NSW Board of Studies has also provided the rationale and climate for the promotion of Australian music by the Australian Music Centre, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Hunter Singers. This Board is the only educational administration that has a stated emphasis on the study of Australian Music, mandating this at a number of levels

Contextual Factors and Wellbeing Outcomes: Ethnographic Analysis of an Artist-led Group Songwriting Program With Young People

Group-based therapeutic songwriting has been applied to enhance the wellbeing of young people. Artist-led songwriting experiences have potential to enhance wellbeing of young people but this has not yet been fully explored. Understanding how this activity impacts wellbeing can advance practice. This study offers a music therapy perspective on artist-led group songwriting, highlighting contextual factors that impacted wellbeing outcomes. A two-day artist-led songwriting program with 85 young people was observed. Video footage, ethnographic field notes and artefacts were thematically analysed and produced themes relating to contextual factors and wellbeing outcomes. Three overarching themes resulted: young people feel safe; young people have fun; young people push beyond boundaries. Contextual factors (sub-themes) included direct and honest feedback, high-energy rituals and emphasis on artistic excellence. Insights into circumstances permitting wellbeing outcomes for young people were obtained. Contextual factors helped shape the songwriting environment by promoting fun, safety and pushing boundaries. This environment enabled young people to engage in the program and benefit from its wellbeing-focused activities. Findings can inform music therapy and other professions using group songwriting with young people to foster wellbeing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved

Integrating the arts: a warm bed for student learning in education in the arts: teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum

Chapters 11 and 12 deal with ways in which the arts can be differently situated in the curriculum. In Chapter 11, the two case studies provide a wide-angled and a close-up view in contrasting examples of arts-based work that bring together a number of arts disciplines. In the Frida case study, Chris Sinclair and Neryl Jeanneret each take an active participant's view of a multi-arts workshop for pre-service primary education based on an arts-rich picture book about Frida Kahio. Sinclair and Jeanneret present the case study as an open-ended invitation to primary educators to consider the use of challenging and rich materials for multi-arts collaborations in their schoois, The second case study re-introduces the readers to Julia Reid and her Year 3 and 4 students. They welcome a large cohort of university students, enrolled in an 'Integrated Arts' subject, into a school-university partnership focused on the creation of an arts festival in which all participants explore a range of artforms in the production of an event for a public audience. The chapter is bookended with a discussion about the principles that inform arts education across disciplines, and a consideration of the question of what can be gained when a number of artforms are brought together in a primary school context

Who's teaching music?: a cross-cultural comparison of what music content is valued and useful to elementary classroom teachers in Australia, Japan and the United States

This paper reports on an investigation that surveyed elementary classroom teachers (not music specialists) in California and Colorado in the United States, New South Wales in Australia and Tokyo Prefecture in Japan. Through a survey, inservice elementary classroom teachers were asked to rate the influence of music methods courses and professional development experiences on their use of music in the classroom. The classroom teachers also rated the usefulness of music skills and knowledge typically taught in university teacher certification programs. The investigators were interested in the extent to which music skills and knowledge from music methods courses were utilized by inservice elementary teachers in their regular classroom instruction. Results indicated some local differences in what music content was considered most beneficial although there was agreement across locales and cultures about the general usefulness of much of the music content in preservice classes. A major finding was an inconsistency of music preparation among classroom teachers, with large numbers of teachers in both Colorado and California indicating they had no music methods courses in their preservice preparation

Encounters with engaging pedagogy: arts education for the pre-service primary generalist

The preparation of generalist primary teachers to teach the arts is an important role for universities in their teacher education programs. Preparation programs for primary generalist teachers in these settings usually include one or more specialised courses in the various art forms. These classes generally provide basic competency with skills as well as knowledge of instructional techniques, arts materials and content that are appropriate for use with primary school children (Jeanneret, 1996). It is intended that these arts courses will provide sufficient arts experiences, knowledge and skills to allow primary generalist teachers to successfully incorporate the arts into their classroom instruction on a regular basis, either through content integration or as discrete subjects (Imms & Lloyd, 2004). Most decisions regarding the content of specialised arts courses for pre-service primary generalist teachers are based on the professional wisdom of the lecturers and many of these opinions generally focus on what the discipline believes classroom teachers should know and use rather than on what knowledge and skills these classroom teachers will be likely to use (DeGraffenreid, Kretchmar, Jeanneret, & Morita, 2004; Jeanneret, 1997; McCullar, 1998). To date there has been little theorising about a framework or model for learning aimed at these particular students in the arts that takes into account their novice status as arts practitioners in the disciplines of drama, music and visual arts, and the need by the end of the course to be versed in the disciplines' approaches to pedagogy for primary children. The arts education team within the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne is exploring a basis for a common teaching philosophy that can inform arts education for the primary generalist. Of critical importance is the acknowledgement within the team of the development of students' confidence in engaging with arts education practices. Consistently positive feedback from students would appear to support the success of this arts education approach. This paper explores the common challenges and issues across arts form for the team and the beginnings of a model for the arts education of the pre-service primary generalist